How to choose the best phone system for your business?

Not all telephone systems are created equal!

We all know that a phone service is required for any business. Customers must be contacted, vendors must be negotiated with, and teams must be coordinated. Email, smartphones, and messaging apps are all options. However, compares to having your own dependable business phone system, which is specifically built to enhance voice-based communications and assist your company in staying in touch with the people who matter. Furthermore, having a business phone number lends credibility to your company; customers expect to see real phone numbers on a company’s website or social media profile.

By combining messaging, conferencing, and mobility choices for enterprises and their employees, today’s technologies enable a more unified communication experience. When it comes to choosing a phone system, businesses now have more alternatives than ever before thanks to the emergence of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and cloud-hosted options. You are no longer relying on your local phone company. There are currently dozens of companies offering virtual, landline, VoIP, on-premises, and cloud-hosted phone systems.

With so many providers out there, it can be difficult to figure out which solution best fits your needs. There are a number of factors to consider, such as what type of connection you want, how you want the system hosted, if the cost structure fits your budget, if it has all of the calling features you want, whether it offers collaboration tools that suit your business, and if it provides the mobility tools your employees need when they are working outside the office.

Here are some helpful hints! Begin by asking yourself a series of essential questions about your present company situation:

Should I utilise a regular landline or subscribe to a VoIP service?
Should I use full phone systems with desktop hardware or virtual phones that can be used on any device?
Should I keep my VoIP on-premises or move it to the cloud?
In terms of industry, budget, staff count, office locations, and client base, what is the finest business phone service?

Hence, consider these aspects when considering a company phone system:

Telephone System:

First, choose a landline or VoIP connection. Landline systems employ a phone company’s copper wiring, but VoIP uses your internet connection. VoIP systems are inexpensive to install and operate, thus more companies are using them. Many phone providers don’t make new landline networks, thus no new technology is employed. Many companies still utilise the same old system.

Virtual System

Some businesses don’t need a full phone system. Small businesses with many remote employees may prefer a virtual phone solution. Virtual systems relay corporate calls to employees’ mobile or personal phones. Virtual systems contain important utilities like automated-attendants, call screening, online faxing, and voicemail.

Hosting options:

You can have the system hosted on-premises or in the cloud, depending on the connection you want. Some service providers provide only one option, while others provide both. All PBX equipment is housed within your company with on-premises solutions. You are responsible for its upkeep and any necessary upgrades. You don’t have to worry about the equipment or its upkeep with cloud-hosted systems. All PBX equipment is hosted in the cloud, and the provider handles all maintenance and upgrades. On-premises is the only option with a landline system. VoIP systems can be hosted in either of two ways.

Calling features:

Today’s phone systems provide small businesses with access to a variety of calling features that were previously only available to large organisations. Many phone system providers offer 20 to 50 calling features, such as automated attendants, voicemail, voicemail-to-email, call forwarding, call screening, call recording, call logs, missed call notifications, and softphones, which allow users to make and receive calls directly from their computers.

Collaboration:

Phone systems have evolved significantly in recent years with the addition of collaboration tools that provide employees with more options for collaborating with coworkers. Instant messaging, conference calling, web conferencing, and presence tools are available, allowing employees to see when their coworkers are available and when they are unavailable.