Hosted telephony has been around for years and as an early adopter of VoIP (voice over internet protocol) we have seen how popular it has become.
There are many reasons why people have migrated to a hosted platform, here are just a few.
Reliability
Lessons have been learned over the years of how best to implement VoIP. The early adopters soon found out that just plugging a VoIP handset into the customer’s local network caused many problems as both the broadband (internet) and traffic was a major factor in complaints of quality. With the increase of high speed fibre internet connections VoIP has become more reliable but again it depends on the ISP (internet service provider). If the ‘line’ suffers jitter and has latency issues these can affect the quality of the VoIP call. Always consult the hosting telephony company first as they should be able to offer advice and possible suggest a quality broadband connection. At Comspec one of our suppliers provides broadband that plugs direct into the hosted telephony system for an assured service.
Scalability
At Comspec we are often asked “We may employ more staff in the coming years, what happens if we need more telephones?” The simple answer is you can add extensions and handsets as the system will grow with your business. Of course this can work in reverse by downscaling anytime by removing the unwanted extensions. This could apply to those businesses with seasonal demands.
Control
With most hosted telephony systems you are in control of how the system is setup. You should be given access to a web based portal where you can login and administer the system yourself, of course you may not want this in fear of doing something wrong and will normally appoint someone to do this for you, for example the telecoms company you purchased this from. At Comspec we can manage this for you in our Horizon portal.
Features
Most VoIP systems are feature rich with hunt groups, auto attendant, call queues and voice mail to name a few. Always ask which features are included and what is extra as an add-on.
Business Continuity
We have all experienced internet failures when the broadband goes off, sometimes for hours. The benefit of a hosted system is that you can easily redirect your calls elsewhere if the extension isn’t picked up or even ‘pair’ your extension with your mobile phone. This feature is also known as ‘follow me’. Should a disaster happen and you have fire or flood, handsets can be deployed at another location to get you up and running with little disruption.
Cost
We’ve added cost last because most decision makers look at price first where in fact they should look at all the above first before deciding on which hosted system to go for. There are cheap offerings out there as telecoms companies try to attract you, just be aware that their systems may not be as rock solid as one which may cost a few £ more. Weigh up the risk – losing calls and customers or staying ahead of the competition and sounding professional. We only get one chance and a one bad customer experience could cost your business dearly.
Give us a call on 01204 898055 and learn about our Horizon hosted solution run on the renowned Broadsoft platform.