Communication drives businesses, creating the need for a reliable phone system. A telephone system ensures communication within and outside your organization by offering an easy way to interact with customers and suppliers and vice versa. With a functional system, business calls will go to the right people within your defined service levels.
When procuring an advanced phone system, certain factors come into play. You should understand the features of the system and the needs of your business and merge the two. You will also need the right phone network and internet gateway with your specified solution for efficiency.
Read on for what to look for in advanced business phone systems.
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IP Business Phone Systems (On-Premise)
The IP phone systems support VoIP and Unified Communications Services for companies. These systems combine the internet gateway functions with a classic phone system and provide powerful applications, including:
- Desktop client integration
- Fax server
- Instant and unified messaging
- Call recording
- Presence
- Advanced call handling
- Call logs
- Screen pops
If integrated with Microsoft Exchange, these systems can also support ACD, IVR, contact center, video calls, call recording, Voice Mail, and text-to-speech announcements.
In addition to communication efficiency, VoIP systems are resource and energy efficient, hence useful in maintaining a green company.
IP Phone Mobility
Job markets in the digital era comprise individuals who have never used a desk phone, and their job description does not need one. If you have such staff, go for business phone systems that blend with their operations. You can use your Android or Apple IOS as your business phone extension through IP phone mobility, especially if you have single-number access. You will give out the office number, and the system will handle the rest for you. The IP allows your call to follow you within reach of cellular, IP, or wireless LAN connection.
Scalability Of The Phone System
As your business grows, you will add more staff and phones to your system. Some phone setups are sophisticated, while others are elaborate. IP business phone systems are easy to scale to meet business communication needs. All you will do is upgrade your license.
Off-Premise Phone Systems
The off-premise phone systems are the latest innovations in advanced phone systems. With this system, the only onsite hardware will be your physical phones and a network switch. This system uses cloud flexibility, and using it in your business means connecting through the internet rather than in-house.
Off-premise phone systems are available in many options, including unified communications solutions. With the unified communication solution, employees can enjoy efficiency through the following:
- Mobility features enable desktop applications on your mobile for your employees to work remotely.
- Presence management. This system provides real-time information about your employees, including their availability or unavailability when they are on the phone, in a meeting, or on lunch break. Presence management provides customization and communicates the best options to reach you.
- Instant chat or messaging. This feature gives you the ability to text or receive a text across the world. After that, you can access the chat and action taken.
- Unified messaging that enables viewing of files and sending attachments from your email on your laptop, desktop, or mobile device.
- Audio conferencing allows collaboration among employees through a scheduled invitation. You can reduce the costs by removing third-party services.
- Call recording. This feature is especially useful in employee training to improve customer service and quality. According to studies, an employee that is aware they are recorded will offer better customer service and representation of the company image.
These features make remote offices act transparent to customers. You can also enjoy flexibility, work from home and pick up calls while at work.
Phone System Virtualization
Phone systems for businesses function like servers and can be virtualized. You can link multiple sites of your telephone systems, enabling them to function as one with common features. Through virtualization, you can transfer a call from your office in one state to another in an extension. Networking also allows sharing of receptionists and voice mails between offices, saving on costs where there are several branches.
Phone Service Quality
The Quality of Service allows voice trafficking from one location to the other. Since voice is real-time, interruptions in the traffic will cause poor call quality. A hosted solution for your business will point your phone system to a remote location’s IP address through the public internet.
Care And Maintenance
Maintaining a business phone system is key to its success or failure. Before installing the system in your business, check its ease of use and whether it fits your staff well. While a refurbished phone system can serve the functions, it is not worth it if you must conduct many repairs and maintenance.
Getting The Best Phone System For Your Business
With the above features in place, the concern remains on the best system for your office phone. To settle for the best, understand your business needs to determine suitable business phone systems.
The volume of calls in your business is another key determinant. Your employees should be able to call and pick up calls from each other, customers, vendors, business partners, and other offices. Flexibility is also important when getting a phone system for your company. You need an easy-to-expand phone system that you use remotely based on your goals and strategies.
Finally, getting the best phone system for your business will depend on the support and reliability of your vendor. Downtimes are costly and damaging to a brand. A functional system backed by excellent services will be an asset to your organization.
Settle For An Advanced Phone System
Your office phone system is key to your company’s success in the long run. With the market featuring competitive investment options, finding the best system for your office phone system can be challenging. Therefore, a critical evaluation of the above systems will set you on the right track in your search for the best software to upgrade your system. A good phone system will boost employee productivity, positively impacting customer satisfaction.