Your business phone system is starting to feel a little bit like a relic from the dark ages, but you aren’t quite sure if it’s time to replace your current system or  even what options are available to replace it with. Signs that it may be time for a change can come in many forms, but some stand out more than others.

Your Call Features Don’t Cut it Anymore

Features like caller ID and three-way conferencing once were sufficient to keep up with the competition, but those days are over. Luckily, a VoIP solution can provide your enterprise with a wide array of advanced features, including:

• System implementation and maintenance through a single vendor
• Excellent call sound quality
• Find Me/Follow Me call forwarding that rings home, work and mobile phones at once
• Unlimited conference calling with up to 150 participants
• Cloud-based auto attendants that direct callers to their desired destination
• Edge traffic shaping that preserves bandwidth and ensures call quality
• The ability to connect two Internet circuits on site for backup
• Disaster recovery protections like voicemail access from email and automatic call routing to remote locations and cell phones, which allows companies to keep operating even if their offices have been destroyed
• A single national carrier that can supply an entire nationwide company with lines, instead of many regional carriers

Your Phone Bill is a Drain on Your Bottom Line

With VoIP, long-distance charges are a thing of the past, as voice traffic travels across the Internet or private data network lines instead of across conventional telephone lines. Top-flight solutions include the features you need as part of your monthly rate, not as extras to be tacked onto your bill.  

According to Business2Community, VoIP phone service can cut costs by as much as 60 percent. Those savings not only boost profitability, they also give you a leg up on competition.

Geography is Hurting Recruiting and Productivity

Businesses are no longer limiting talent searches to prospects living close enough to physically commute to the office. Technology today is such that there is no reason to lose out on the perfect candidate simply because he or she lives in Philadelphia and you are based in Manhattan. If legacy technology is keeping you from making the best hires for your company, business VoIP might be the way to go.

Despite what many executives believe, allowing employees to occasionally work from home actually increases productivity. Gallup’s 2013 “State of the American Workplace” found that only 70 percent of workers are reaching their full potential in an office setting. The study also revealed that remote workers are more engaged than those on-site and a mobile workforce averages four more work hours per week.

If any of these signs sound familiar, consider looking into VoIP for your business phone system needs. Even if you decide now is not the right time to switch, it’s best to know all of your options because that day may be coming soon.
 
Joey Stone is currently the General Manager and Vice President of family owned and operated Teleco. Founded in 1983 as a full service telecommunications service provider, Teleco has partnered with Star2Star Communications to offer the latest in communications technology solutions and the latest Voice over IP technology. Joey and his team work with businesses of all sizes to customize systems for specific requirements from simple phone and voicemail systems to wireless networks and remote capabilities. To learn more about Teleco visit http://www.teleco-ilm.com. Joey is available for free demonstrations and consultations by calling: (910) 791-7000.