If you are like many small businesses your company needs to replace out dated and aging equipment such as your phone system or your expanding and opening new offices driving the need for additional equipment. The problem is even though business is good that doesn’t mean there is any more budget for new phones and new offices sound like a great idea until you realize how much all the infrastructure costs to run your business.
The good news is there is a way to upgrade that old system or get a new system to accommodate your expansion without the need for capital. The way we do that is by leveraging technology. In past 20 years the mentality was always about bundling. Take for example Cable TV companies. Why are they losing so much business? One reason is because of all the forced bundling. They force you to buy big expensive bundles of channels rather than letting you pay only for the ones you want. Technology is changing that and allowing consumers more choices and more control with less forced bundling. Phone systems were much the same way. You were forced to purchase major upgrades to scale your equipment, followed by software upgrades etc. Maybe you only had a handful of users that needed specific features or functionality. In the traditional PBX world that meant you had to purchase the system that allowed all users to have that functionality. Later they started licensing everyone to death. You want mobility? You'll have to purchase the software key for that. You want call center functionality? Again you'll have to purchase the software license for that.
Today we at Agility Communications are taking a different approach, away from forced bundling. We know our clients want to consume IT as a service, on demand, paying only for what you want and when you want it. We know you want the flexibility to drop and add new users as your business needs change.
3 Financial benefits of Hosted VoIP that allow you to upgrade for the same money you already spend.
The way to upgrade your phone system or accommodate a new office without added capital expense is by moving your voice communications (phone system) to hosted VoIP. One of the key benefits to hosted VoIP is that it allows you to avoid the capital-intensive investment in legacy technology. In a hosted solution the necessary capital investments are made by the service provider. By Outsourcing the hardware procurement, maintenance and software development to your telecom partner, your able to stay lean and enjoy the benefits of VoIP technology without the risk. You simply replace your phone bills with a VoIP solution, getting all new phones and features without incurring additional cost.
Another benefit of hosted VoIP that helps your business run faster is its nearly infinite scalability. Traditional pbx systems have built-in limitations on the number of lines they can accommodate, the number of phones etc. Hosted solutions don't, in fact the only limiting factor is how much bandwidth you have to carry phone traffic (which fortunately doesn’t require much). In the traditional pbx you were again forced to purchase a bundle which included X amount of lines and available ports for phones. Your hosted VoIP system can be custom fit by user, by desired endpoint(phone) and you can scale up and down depending on the needs of the business without major upgrades. If you have 5 users that want mobility you simply order a premier user license for those users. Same thing goes for break room phones or basic users. You simply order the type of user you need for each person on your staff and the whole thing is custom built, pre-programmed and shipped to you so all you have to do is plug in the phone and go to work, anywhere you have internet. Maybe you need mobility for your executives who are tired of using their personal cell number. With hosted VoIP you can add functionality without adding costly upgrades.
Lastly hosted VoIP allows you to get a new system with zero out of pocket expense because you are not required to purchase the phones or endpoints. They are included as part of the service. You no longer have a phone bill for a PRI or analog lines either. That’s the real trick in a zero cost upgrade, you are already paying a phone bill in addition to the capital expense you made for a pbx. In most cases you can re-purpose the funds you pay to the phone company for dial tone to cover the cost of hosted VoIP service with all new equipment. The provider simply ports your numbers to their system and sends out your phones ready to go.
There is no need to wait to upgrade that out dated system, take advantage of technology and the new IT as a service market place because your communication technology has a direct impact on the speed at which your business operates and takes care of customers.
Download our free phone system checklist to determine the impacts of migrating to VoIP
