If you are a person who is new to doing business, then you surely need to pay attention to some aspects that can mean a lot to you. Especially to business phone systems. This is why knowing about these things can be substantial, and if you are looking forward to it, then you are surely at the right place as you can get the complete beginner to professional knowledge about it here.
We are sure that there might be many such articles available over the net that guarantee the best knowledge which they might even do at times. Besides others who provide no concrete information at all, there are those who are very time consuming as they define each and everything which might not even be too needed and necessary. Thus, what makes us unique is that we shall provide the right balance of information about business phone systems that you need and won’t waste your precious time. So let’s get started with it straight away.
Related: How Using Call Center Services can Improve Your Business’s Customer Service?
Important to Know About Business Phone Systems
If you want to buy a business phone system, you should not do that without any known reasons as there are some important considerations that you need to make. To be precise, there are three things or questions that you should ask yourself for a better and clear understanding of the business phone system. These are given as follows
- What do you exactly need? Do you need a full business phone system (which means it includes physical office telephones) or if your company can work with the virtual phone service settings that are entirely dependent on cell phone systems instead of the mainstream office ones?
- The other question is that if you need office telephones then what service do you want to be achieved from them? It is because you need to choose a traditional landline telephone system service (provided by a local or regional phone company) or a Voice over Internet (VoIP) system (that is internet dependent).
- On the other hand, if you have chosen to opt for a VoIP setup according to your needs then you should know or think of which location you want it to be. If it is at a self-hosted business location or you, want a hosted one that is cloud-based and provided to you by your service provider.
Moreover, one secondary thing that you also need to identify is that you should well know your stance of whether you are installing a new phone system, replacing an existing business phone system, or expanding your already existing business phone system. Once you phone system needs are described in the best way, then you surely know where, to begin with. You can also look for vendors that are free for helping with these kinds of varieties for business phone system setups.
Beginners! What’s in Store?
If you are a beginner to this area, then you surely do not even know your needs yet. It is because you do not know what you should opt for with the same confidence as others can. However, you do not need to worry about that as we can help you with all the needed understanding of it. You can know what to expect and the pros and cons for these so it is clear for you to know about the needs and choose them.
The Business Phone Systems Types
First of all, you need to know that there are five basic types of business phone systems. These include virtual phone systems, landline systems, VoIP systems, self-hosted VoIP systems, and Cloud-based VoIP systems.
So What Are They?
1. Virtual Phone System: These work by connecting a bus phone line to the remote workers through their home or cell phones. They are extensive call forwarding solutions so that the calls are transferred to every employee’s chosen setting of the phone (landline or cell) whenever a customer calls the main business number. There can be many features that can be utilised here such as voicemail, automated receptionists, call forwarding, call screening, online faxing, and many others, etc. Thus, they can be the best for businesses that are totally made up of remote employees of business.
2. Landline Phone System: The traditional phone system is the one commonly supported by the local or regional phone company. They are also called public switched telephone networks (PSTNs) and are analogue systems that work through the traditional copper wiring networks of the phone company. Thus, for running this type, you need to have hardware available for the on-premises PBX. Through this hardware, many connections are made through extensions that allow certain phone system features like call transferring, call directories, etc. They are the best for big corporations that can have a budget for them besides having in-house IT staff to maintain and run it as well. Moreover, those businesses that require high-speed internet access for them also need this setup.
3. VoIP Phone Systems:
Instead of using copper wires, this system makes use of the VoIP phone systems through internet connections that a company is using to be online. They provide features like automated attendants, call queues, computer integration, etc. so that voicemails can be sent to laptops and email inboxes directly while desktops can also be used as softphones. They were previously only available to large corporations who could afford the costly PBX system, but it has changed now. The need for mobility has given remote workers a lot of access to a business just through their cell-phone. Thus, they are perfect for small businesses that require functions of the major sophisticated operations at an affordable price for those who want remote access for phone system access.
The other two self-hosted VoIP systems and Cloud-based VoIP systems options are same as their names indicate to be hosted the way companies need them.
Intermediate Levels
If you already know about your needs and can answer the above three questions well, then you are surely not at least a beginner but an intermediate level business person who knows the basics at least. Besides, all those who were beginners and have made it till here are also intermediates to pick the systems that are right for them now!