Hosted VoIP vs traditional phone system

There are numerous advantages when you opt for a VoIP phone system over a more traditional set up. In this article we will look at each of these, and how they can help your business to maximise its potential.

Advantages

Installation: By its nature a hosted VoIP system is considerably cheaper to install than traditional systems. The high costs associated with hardware installation and line rentals are not necessary. In fact, in its most basic form, the installation costs nothing. Many users opt to purchase a few peripherals, but even then the cost is negligible when compared to the alternative. There is also the advantage of no physical installation being necessary. This means instead of waiting for an engineer to visit your premises, it can be set up instantly in the cloud.

Maintenance: These costs can quickly mount up, and over the full term of a contract represent a significant amount of money. With a hosted VoIP service you can control all the different elements of your system from a simple control panel. Any maintenance or updates required is done automatically at no additional cost to the users. This set-up also gives you far more control over the use of features, and how the various options are set-up.

Contracts: For many small businesses, especially new ones, committing to long-term contracts can be a daunting prospect. Traditional systems require a minimum of a 12-month contract, but often these can run for anything up to 5 years. Using a professional VoIP provider means there is often no contract required, and on the odd occasions when they are needed, they are usually for no longer than a few months at a time. This gives smaller businesses greater peace of mind, knowing they have flexibility built into their commitments.

Call charges: Current pricing plans can prove to be complicated. They can include minimum charges for calls and special offers such as capped pricing. With the average business call being relatively short (2-3 minutes) these don’t always offer the best value for money. On average the cost of calls using VoIP are a lot cheaper than with traditional companies.

Flexibility: With a traditional phone system the company will allocate you a number from what they have available. Then if in future you decide to move premises you will have to stay on the same exchange in order to keep the number, which severely limits where you can move to. With VoIP you can pick your own number from a list given to you by the provider, ensuring you get the most memorable one available. In addition to this there is also no location specific elements, so wherever you move you will know your phone system will operate in exactly the same way. There will also be no hardware to move and get reinstalled at new premises, reducing the cost of the move, and minimising any potential downtime.

In summary, the main advantages of choosing a VoIP phone system are:

Advantages

• Considerably cheaper set-up costs, with a much shorter implementation time.
• Cheaper ongoing costs with no maintenance fees.
• Far greater flexibility, giving you control of your service.
• Cheaper call rates.
• No long term contracts.
• Ensures you get the most memorable number available.
• Complete flexibility if you move premises.
• Many advanced features to allow for future growth.
• No hardware to maintain/move/upgrade.

When you look at all these benefits it is no wonder the small business community is waking up to the advantages of switching over to a business VoIP based system. With many VoIP providers offering free trials that allow users to test the quality, and the features they provide, we don’t think it will be long before everyone joins the revolution in business communication. So why not try out one today?