A Guest Blog Post from Network Depot Partner CNSG by David Portnowitz of Star2Star Communications
Let’s face it: The decision to upgrade a business phone system is never easy.
It can be a difficult process, and one that requires a considerable amount of planning and strategizing. After all, who wants to deal with a lengthy migration process and the uncertainty that comes with using new technology?
The truth is that it can be one of the most important things that you do to protect the integrity of your overall communications strategy.
Here are some signs it’s time to make the leap and explore a new option:
Your Hardware Needs To Be Replaced
All hardware eventually depreciates in quality and needs to be replaced. This is unavoidable.
For this reason, many businesses are switching to softphones, which can be easily updated when they are needed, saving a considerable amount of money.
Whatever you do, don’t wait; if you need to update or replace your hardware, do it now before it continues to be a problem. You’ll also make your end users happy and give them better tools to do their jobs.
Your Business Has Grown
Chances are, your business is in a different place than it was, whether you purchased your business phone system a few years ago or a decade ago. Now, you most likely have a higher inbound call volume.
How is your interactive voice response system handling the extra traffic? A slow or inefficient system could lead to call abandonment, or even worse, a negative customer experience (CX). If this is the case, it’s time to invest in a cloud-based system that will make it easy to manage calls.
You’re Expanding
If your business is getting the opportunity to expand, this may be one of the best times to switch out and upgrade your phone system. It’s very important for you to think about how you will provide your new locations with high-quality communications. Do you really want to install new physical lines into your facilities?
Instead, consider upgrading to a VoIP system which will be highly scalable and cost-effective. By leveraging VoIP, you will be able to expand into new markets with greater agility. You can have the option to scale up or down, without having to rip and replace any infrastructure, saving you time and money.
You’re At Risk From Downtime
Stop and consider what would happen if an unexpected storm were to roll into your area, impacting your connection to the publicly switched telephone network (PSTN). Your company would instantly lose access to its core phone system.
Working with a cloud communications provider will give your company guaranteed business continuity and disaster recovery. Your phone system will remain up and running no matter what happens in your local area, providing a much greater peace of mind, and ensuring you are still able to provide for your customers.
You Don’t Have A Unified Messaging System
Even if your phone has been working properly, you could be getting more out of your communications system—so much more.
Most enterprises—your competitors included—are leveraging unified communications as a service (UCaaS). With UCaaS, companies have the ability to centralize all of their disparate communications mechanisms like voice, video, fax, email and messaging into one user-friendly platform. UCaaS is now the gold standard for business communications, and it’s something your company should absolutely be considering.
Also, if you’re upgrading to VoIP, take our advice and conduct a comprehensive network assessment to make sure your new system will be capable of working at the desired level. Oftentimes, businesses rush into a VoIP migration only to have to retrofit their network at a later time.
Whatever option you ultimately select, don’t rush into your decision. Plan ahead, and make sure you pick a system that will benefit your company the most.