Business phone solutions
Business phone solutions abound for companies seeking to maximize profits, improve customer service, shorten hold times, and cut costs. There are solutions that improve network access for employees, converge data to free up capacities, link multiple offices on a single network, or even link the networks themselves. Best of all, most of these solutions can be applied remotely by a single telecom company.
The Business Phone Solutions that Are Right for You
As the methods we use to communicate expand exponentially, most managers are looking for ways to streamline the way these communications are managed. Bundling is one way to accomplish this. Finding providers that offer multiple services for one price is much easier than negotiating and establishing individual contracts for individual services. VoIP providers are an example of how bundling can really add up to big savings (in terms of time, money, and productivity) for just about any type of business.
When you implement VoIP, you're changing your phone communications from analogue to digital. Since you've already got digital communications going through any and all available bandwidth in the form of e-mails and wireless communication, the next natural step is to combine all digital services into one package, managed by one provider. To sweeten the deal, many VoIP providers have expanded their offerings to include mobile office solutions and unified messaging. You may wonder why a bundled solution like this hasn't become de rigeur yet. The answer lies in the timing.
When Is a Good Time to Switch to VoIP?
Switching over to VoIP makes more sense at certain times of a business cycle. Legacy communications systems like on-site PBX systems aren't cheap. Many companies want to squeeze every drop of use they can get from such a system before changing from analogue to digital. It makes sense if you've just bought a great cathode-ray TV, you're not likely to turn around in a couple months and buy a HDTV or a plasma TV. Responsible consumers want to get top value and usage out of existing resources, which is fine. That's also why the changeover to digital communications is slower than you might expect - companies need to do this at their own pace. Not everyone went from having a film camera to a digital camera overnight; the same is true with communications systems.
Whether it's call logging that you need, three-way conferencing capabilities, interactive voice response (IVR) components, or any other particular solution, VoIP may be the answer you're looking for. One of the amazing features of VoIP that is sure to catch on is the option many providers give you of selecting which area codes you want for your local calls. This is a wonderful feature for companies with several branch offices.
Suppose your three main branches are in San Francisco, New York, and Chicago. With VoIP, you can designate the 212 and 312 area codes as your local calling areas and escape the high-priced long distance you are currently paying for. Imagine how much money this saves for businesses like law firms that often engage in long, inter-office conference calls--choosing local calling areas is a gold mine. You could also set up 4-digit dialing between these locations, enabling employees to stay in contact more easily.