Millions of companies switch to Voice Over IP (VoIP) and unified communications (UC) every year. Is it time for your company to do the same?
Your team needs the right tools to be successful, productive, and communicate effectively. Over time, using an outdated phone system ends up becoming an obstacle, and your team may end up feeling like they’re paddling upstream.
Switching over to a VoIP solution that includes UC features is a popular strategy because of the impact on company margins and scalability. Unfortunately, choosing the wrong provider can result in unnecessary costs and inefficiencies for your company.
Your company deserves a custom-tailored phone system solution. In this article, we’ll review the top reasons to switch over to VoIP and unified communications, so you have all the information you need to make a decision.
How VoIP and Unified Communications Impact Your Business
The days of on-site, legacy phone systems ruling the market are over. VoIP systems like cloud-hosted PBX and unified communication systems have been increasing in popularity over the last decade and show no signs of slowing down. The market size of VoIP and UC are expected to grow 15% and 29% respectively every year, with future projections into the billions.
The overall benefit of switching over to VoIP and Unified Communications, also known as UCaaS, is being "in the cloud" rather that in the silo on site. On-site legacy systems have expensive equipment, maintenance, and repair costs and often require extra staffing and space to maintain. When your business switches to a cloud-hosted business phone solution, you’ll notice a significant difference. Let’s explore the benefits of switching to a VoIP system that includes unified communications features.
1. Fast Setup
On-site phone systems can often take months to install and configure, in addition to the time it takes to set up individual workstations and provide user training. This is a significant wait time, especially for a growing company that needs a solution now.
Cloud-hosted solutions have much faster setup times. Although timelines may vary depending on your VoIP/UC provider, generally, this migration can be done relatively quickly because of the lack of PSTN circuits and hardware that needs to be installed. Our experience over the last decade has shown that VoIP solutions can usually be set up within 30 days of signing your initial contract. The task that typically takes the longest time is porting your numbers from the losing carrier.
2. Cost-Effective
The costs of VoIP and unified communications systems depend on many factors, including the number of users and additional features needed. VoIP and UC systems often cost around $40 per user (including all hardware and calling plans). So if you have a 10-person team, it would cost ~$400 per month. A VoIP system is significantly less expensive in the short term and long term compared to an on-premise PBX phone system, especially if the VoIP includes UC functionalities.
A comprehensive on-premise PBX phone system can cost tens of thousands of dollars to install and maintain. There are also unexpected costs associated with on-premise PBX phone systems. The costs of unified communication solutions can be divided into three categories: upfront costs, ongoing costs, and total cost of ownership. When you switch to a VoIP system with UC features, you’re also saving on IT staffing costs because this cloud-hosted solution is usually “plug and play” and very user-friendly.
3. Scalability
Previously with on-site PBX systems, scaling your company’s communications required a physical upgrade to your office space and communication equipment. In addition to the physical upgrades, your software would also need an upgrade to allow for more users.
With cloud-hosted solutions like VoIP and unified communications, scaling up or down is as easy as a couple of mouse clicks. The scalability of cloud-hosted communications is perfect for seasonal businesses who need to scale up and down and growing companies who need to add new users to their system quickly. We were able to turn up a community college administrative staff over a weekend during the opening weeks of the global pandemic. As they started to work from home, they needed access to PBX features even though they weren't in the office.
4. Accessibility
Reaching a team member or customer service agent should be easy for your customers. With VoIP and unified communications, you can set your customer service up for automatic rerouting to find an available representative fast for your callers. This allows for a consistent customer service response from your team.
If your team can be reached at extended hours, that also means you can expand your workforce. When working with on-site employees, you’re limited to only the local talent pool. With cloud-hosted communications, you can quickly add any user no matter their location and get them set up remotely. Team members who travel frequently can set their communication preferences to phone, video, instant message, or email, and are able to jump right into work no matter their location.
5. Increased Productivity
With cloud-hosted VoIP and unified communications, you’re able to eliminate the silos and inefficiencies your team has. Strategy, operations, and production all intersect within your UC platform to maximize collaboration, communication, and accessibility to information.
This means less time spent searching for files, sending and responding to emails, and more time focused on valuable initiatives and delivering great results for your customers.
Get Started with Cloud-Hosted VoIP and Unified Communications
Switching to a cloud-hosted VoIP and Unified Communications solution is a powerful way to help improve your company’s communication and productivity. The next step to take is choosing the right provider and starting your migration.
We’ve put together all the information you need before choosing a cloud-hosted PBX provider and starting your migration. This information helps ease your transition to a cloud-hosted solution, along with answering common questions.
