VoIP Phones, Why Should Businesses Care?

Phones are phones, right? A business gets a phone system, it rings, we talk to people, we should just forget about it, shouldn’t we?

Well, yes and no.  We should just be able to forget about it, we should be able to just expect to communicate with people and not have to think about if it’s working, but in the world of business how often does that happen? What features does the business need? And, more importantly, how much does it cost every month, both in money and in time spent calling tech support? Will businesses that take advantage of new tech coming out get an edge in the market? How long until the overall system demands an upgrade?

This is where VoIP phones comes in.  The iPhone spearheaded a revolution because it was so easy, so intuitive to learn to use.  It didn’t feel like we had to learn something new, it just made sense. It just worked. iPhones were designed using the Norman principle, named after the architect who decided to put a push plate or a pull handle depending on whether the door pushed or pulled. People saw the presentation and just knew how to use it, they didn’t have to waste time thinking about it.

How much do iPhones cost? Really quite a lot, if you look at the total price tag.  That kind of intuitively designed technology is not cheap, and there’s a lot going on behind the scenes to make it work. Like a swan, it’s very smooth on the surface but there’s a lot of frantic paddling under the water.  Apple has done everything in their power to make it not seem like it costs much, but a new generation iPhone will set one back about a thousand dollars.  People upgrade them over and over again. How many has each individual purchased? Five since they came out?

So, what does this mean for a business system? It means that something that just works on that level, that’s easy to learn to use and nearly maintenance free, is not going to be the bottom of the barrel in terms of price.  The good news, though, is that it proportionally doesn’t cost nearly as much as eternally upgrading an iPhone. 

VoIP technology has improved over the last ten years at rocket speeds.  The new technology coming out allows any company to access features that once only opened to big business. Businesses aren’t limited by “how many lines” they need because nobody has to run actual copper hard lines anymore.  Calls are even more secure because someone with a copper wire and access to the trunk line can’t listen in like they used to. Auto attendants, voicemail to email, virtual faxing, call groups, call cascades, all of these are simplicity itself with VoIP. Numbers can be ported over and kept, even if the business has had it for 30 years. Businesses with two employees can afford access, for less per month than most people’s family cell phone bills.

With these advances, the money/time question rears its ugly head again.  If a business has time but doesn’t have money, it might be worth the time investment for someone within the business to learn all that “under the surface” tech that makes the system seamless. Then pick the cheapest VoIP company out there, probably Twilio, that just hands over the equipment and expects the business to handle all tech and maintenance from there.

If, however, that’s a waste of an employee’s time that could be spent making money for the business, then it becomes worthwhile to consider a VoIP provider that’s more supportive.  NoContractVoIP, for instance, is at the entire other end of the spectrum.  Equipment maintained for life, with replacement at no additional cost US based tech support is available 24/7, we handle all the service providers, and the most we usually ask one of our clients to do is unplug the router, wait 30 seconds, and plug it back in. A business tells us what they want their customer’s experience to be when they call in, and we make it happen.

There are a multitude of options in between, of course. The question for any business is whether the change is worthwhile, how much time does the business have to train someone to manage the tech, and what’s the cost/benefit analysis in the end. 

If you and your business need a system that just works, with responsive US based tech support, give us a call for your custom quote today.