Finding the Best Phone System for Your Business

A phone system provides a business with the means to communicate both internally and externally, channelling conversations between colleagues, clients and customers in what should ideally be an unbroken circuit of correspondence.

This means that finding the best phone system for your business is not a task that should be undertaken lightly, since the ramifications of your decisions will continue to echo within the company for some time.

The size of your business will obviously have a major role to play in the type of phone system that you choose. Companies with less than 50 employees will probably be able to get by without a PBX system, but if you either have an existing need for more extensions than this or are going to expand beyond this threshold in the near future, securing an internal exchange set-up might be sensible.

For the smaller companies with fewer employees, a PBX can be too expensive, in which case a KSU (key system unit) is more appropriate. You will also want a system that is flexible enough to account for any changes further down the line, as well as a service provider that is able to accommodate your changing needs rather than shackling you to an immutable contract that might not look as attractive in a year or two.

The cost of calls can be another motivating factor that guides your choice of a phone system, because expenses like these can mount up and weigh heavy on budgets that might not have much ‘wiggle room’ built into them.

VoIP phone systems are a good choice for businesses that want to lower the call charges that they have to pay. Because VoIP uses an internet connection rather than an analogue landline service, calls can be cheap or free of charge, irrespective of where the callers are based.

This make a VoIP system particularly attractive for companies that regularly have to make calls overseas, since international rates can be expensive and by using internet telephony you can virtually eliminate these costs.

The cost of making calls to remote workers, or from one premises operated by your business to another, can also be reduced if you consider using VoIP rather than traditional analogue systems. There are all sorts of cost savings available, but you have to be willing to look into the matter before you can start to benefit from them.

A phone system needs to do more than simply connect the employees within your business to an outside line; you might also want to choose one that offers advanced integrated features from a provider that will be able to guarantee you as much uptime as possible to avoid costly outage periods.

Some systems will be able to offer features such as advanced call routing, voice conferencing and built-in answering services that will make it easier for you to handle inbound and outgoing communications.

This will not be the case with every system or service provider package, so you need to check to see what is on offer and also consider what solutions might be of real use to your business.

Modern businesses have the power to choose between different telephone systems and service providers as they see fit, although getting the right option does require that you carry out research and make an accurate assessment of your current needs and how they will develop in the future.

Small and medium-sized businesses can cut the costs of telephony by a sizeable amount if they take the time to consider the options, but this means that there is no room for complacency or guesswork.

Daisy Group PLC offer a range of flexible and scaleable business telephone systems. Visit their website to find out more at www.daisygroupplc.com.