Establishing an effective communication system is critical in a business. It promotes streamlining all workflows and aligning them into the common business goals. It enables peer to peer communication that is also important in creating a unified professional mindset and work ethics. It encourages free exchange of ideas and insights among all levels of employees in the organization hierarchy, which also enables new opportunities to arise. But most importantly, effective communication is important in establishing a strong business-client relationship by being open and sensitive to client needs and concerns.
There is no doubt that VoIP technology provides remarkable benefits for the communication systems of most businesses. Among these are increased efficiency, mobility and huge cost savings. However, making big purchase decisions, like getting a business VoIP software, entails a lot of considerations and tough questions before adopting one. As they say, setting up a business will involve a lot of gamble. While in crucial decision making, the trial and error approach isn’t a professional way to impose. So it is important to know the impact of the purchase to the business, as well as to exercise strategic planning before diving in into buying one.
Common Business VoIP Purchasing Mistakes
The excitement of implementing something as powerful as business VoIP tools makes one vulnerable in falling into one of these pitfalls:
- Failing To Understand the Technology, and the Contract
Failure to understand the technology will also keep the business from maximizing its full benefits, thus making it a liability instead of an asset in the long run. There should also be a full and consented understanding of the full plan contract before signing it. If necessary, consult a lawyer to be able to understand legal clauses that are sometimes written in law jargons. Normally, a contract has clauses for non-termination, package and extra add on costs, quality of service agreement, implementation limitations, maintenance and servicing coverage, extra features and future optional upgrades. These should be fully understood and agreed on beforehand to avoid confusions and misunderstandings in the long run.
- Not Assigning Accountability and No Deployment Plan
Being a crucial area in a business organization, it is important that a business will dedicate one or a team of IT personnel who will take charge in implementing and maintaining the business VoIP software across all departments in the business organization. Just make sure that the people you assign are qualified and trained to do the job. Outline and designate each responsibility and discuss it well among the members of the team, and as well inform the whole organization of the authority and accountability given to them, so they will know who to look for when problems arise.
A relevant deployment plan is also necessary for a more effective implementation of the business VoIP software. This significantly reduces downtime and unnecessary interruptions along the way, because risks have already been anticipated and have taken countermeasures. A detailed deployment plan includes bandwidth calculations, hardware purchases, internet service speed, software integrations and other installation related matters. It should also indicate a considerable timeframe for a dry run and implementation adjustment period to give sufficient time for your employees to adjust accordingly.
- Not Reviewing User Requirements
A business should come up with a checklist of requirements for it to fulfill first before even considering getting a business VoIP software. This checklist is usually obtained from vendors, and must be filled first before diving into more details. Compatibility with your existing system and network is a must to ensure that the software will work.
- Failure to Research for Reputable Vendors and Evaluate Specific Business Needs
There should be comparisons of different business VoIP software vendors to make sure you get a reputable and reliable provider in the market. Expertise is important, because it will guarantee that the business will get what is expected from a business VoIP software. After getting the best business VoIP software vendor for you, it’s time to discuss with them the needs of the company you outlined beforehand, and make different sets of solution packages to choose from. This will ensure that the more important needs will be addressed first before taking on some add-ons, which most of the time can be availed only when the need arises later on.
- Enticed by Bargains and Not Negotiating
Failing to understand what a top business VoIP tool can do and how it works for the benefit of your business is a surefire way to fall into sales traps of getting the highest package that a vendor is offering. It is also good to negotiate to get the best deal by eliminating unnecessary features, or extending contract duration3 for lower cost.
- Not Anticipating Costs of Implementation and Training
Cost is important and all that related to it should be presented up front, and be put in a black and white agreement. Cost is especially and an important consideration in planning, so it should be accurate in the beginning. It is a fact that implementing new technology in a business is expensive, but cost efficiency is best maximized when all costs have been dealt accordingly at the beginning.
What to Look For in a Business VoIP Software
A business VoIP software should be able to deliver all the purposes it is created for. Combining sets of methodologies and its corresponding technologies enables a powerful communication system capable of delivering voice signals with increased speed and efficiency. Effective communication system is valuable in businesses because it often translates to productivity and profits. In a client’s viewpoint, this will promote overall satisfaction, security and guarantee that the business gives its highest regard in responding efficiently to their needs concerns, in the fastest way possible. In choosing the best business VoIP software for your needs, you should consider the following factors:
- How it lowers overall call costs
Making long distance calls in a legacy system are very expensive to execute. In this aspect, huge points were given in favor to a VoIP communication system. In a market report, small businesses reported cutting down on costs in making international calls up to as much as 90%, and 40% on local calls as well. In addition to its cost efficiency benefits, some business VoIP providers even offer flat rate charges for making both local and international calls.
- How it improves communication system manageability
Because of the application of technology and functioning in a web based platform, a business VoIP software improves management of the whole communication system. It is now easier to access each IP phone or computer in the system for ease in configurations and maintenance.
- How it enhances mobility
Since it is web based, a business VoIP software can be accessed on any computer at any time. Through the growth of mobile technology, there are business VoIP softwares that have call routing features that can redirect the calls to the user’s cellular phone, or to its home phone when the main system isn’t accessible. One can also access the software to a smart phone or tablet when travelling or just out of the office.
- How it establishes a unified communication channel
The use of business VoIP system doesn’t limit itself to transmitting voice alone. With the latest advancements in technology, even other forms of communicating like video calls and online chats have been integrated into it as well. This introduces more value added features to its already long list of basic advantages. This can also make a business VoIP software a one stop shop in using different ways of communicating, depending on what is comfortable for the user or the client, or what is accessible and more efficient to use at the moment.
- If it offers more advanced features
A business VoIP software hosts a lot of other impressive features that add value for its investment. It grants increased productivity and user friendliness by incorporating an intuitive handset, which has an LED display capabilities of all its functions. It can also store useful client information for them to be recognized right away when they call. Other powerful calling features that it is incorporated with includes 3 way calling, call waiting, call transfer and forwarding, voice mail, etc. It can also enable calls to be recorded and monitored, and in turn makes a valuable piece of data to be applied with data analytics. Data analytics is the way of transforming raw data into a useful report or insight for better business management and planning. As mentioned in a report, about 49% of the survey respondents asserted that the greatest benefit they had from data analytics is smarter decision making.
- If it has a dynamic integration capability
Another important aspect that benefits businesses in having a business VoIP software implemented in their communication network is its dynamic integration capability to other business softwares. This makes it a dynamic tool by removing the hassles of having incompatible softwares built around a business system. This feature increases the employees’ productivity and efficiency further in performing their tasks. This also enables them to share common access to important softwares and databases.
- If there is availability of a 24/7 technical support
This is crucial, especially for business that have high demand of users within a single business VoIP network. Availability of a reliable and round the clock technical support will ensure better achievement of uninterrupted service. It also increases the response time in taking action to errors or interruptions.
- How to choose a reliable vendor
Detailing the criteria in choosing the right business VoIP tool vendor would need a separate article to discuss, but it is important that you and the vendor “jive” considering your business needs and what they offer. A reputable vendor is mostly part of the more established roster of service providers and have already proven a lot in delivering effective communication solutions, including the VoIP systems.
- If it has high level security features
Security features are important since we are dealing with a professional communication system. Spamming is also considered as an internet offense, and should be minimized at all costs. Eavesdropping and phishing is also possible, especially that market competition is very tight these days. There have been also cases of communication system hacking and jamming, which creates significant problems in the operations, as well as with the reputation of a business.
How to Avoid Purchasing Mistakes
It boils down to getting the right education and a sensible, strategic way of decision making to avoid falling into pitfalls in making business purchases, especially the bigger ones. The way to success is by having a good sense of judgement, doing your homework, and extra common sense. The business VoIP software market is broad enough for you to find the best software for your company’s unique needs.
Strengthen your list of requirements for the best VoIP software for your business by checking out these CrowdReviews.com’s business VoIP tool reviews by clients and professionals alike.
Trevor Price
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