What to Consider When Choosing a Business Phone System

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions. We are all required to make many of them throughout any given day and their level of importance can range from small to very big. All decisions no matter how big or small deserve consideration and that starts with a thorough examination of specific information that you already have or you may need to do some research in order to obtain the information you need.

With the current technological landscape of business communications and its continuing evolution, choosing the right communication system for your company can be challenging due to the different options available and finding something that will meet your needs and budget. Here are some important factors to consider when choosing your business communications system:

Virtual/Hosted Phone Systems

• Virtual phone systems work by connecting dial tone to office or remote workers on their mobile or home phones with the main controller residing elsewhere than you own business.
• These types of systems work as an extensive call-forwarding solution, wherein calls are transferred to each employee’s designated phone (cell or home) when a customer or client calls the main business number and uses the IT infrastructure and Internet
• These systems include a variety of features, such as automated attendants, voicemail, call forwarding, call screening and online faxing.

Best for: Businesses with a large group of remote workers, or sole-proprietor businesses.

Traditional Digital/Analog Premise Based Systems

• Premise Based in this instance are traditional phone systems, typically supported on site by the solution provider and through employees trained on system Administration.
• Landlines, also known as public switched telephone networks (PSTNs), are analog connections that run via the telephone company’s traditional copper wiring.
• To run a landline service, you need on-premises PBX hardware. This is the hardware that’s used to create multiple extensions and allow for phone system features, such as call transferring and call directories.
• There are landline systems today that are considered a hybrid with VoIP systems. There is a traditional phone line that comes into the business that connects to a business’s data network. The data network within the businesses is then used to connect each individual phone.

Best for: Small, Medium and Large corporations. Also necessary for businesses without high-speed internet access.

VoIP Phone Systems

• Instead of the copper wires that landlines employ, VoIP phone systems use the same internet connection that a company is already using to get online for their PSTN connectivity
• VoIP systems provide features that previously only large corporations using expensive PBX hardware had access to, such as automated attendants, call queues and computer integration that allows voicemails to be sent to email inboxes and computers to be turned into “softphones.”
• VoIP systems give remote workers access to a business’s phone system from their mobile device.

Best for: Small, Medium and Large businesses that want the functionality of a sophisticated phone system at a reasonable price and also for businesses that want their remote employees to have access to the phone system.

To learn more about how NuEdge Communications can support your organization, utilizing any of the options mentioned above based on what is best for your organization, contact one of our communications specialists who can help your organization make the right choice for all of your communication needs.