What Business Phone System Does Your Office Need?

In an information-dependent economy, communication is becoming increasingly crucial for businesses. Thus, having a business phone system in your office is important. To determine what business phone system your office needs, here are the types of phone systems that you need to consider.

Traditional Landlines

Traditional landlines use analog systems run by local or regional phone companies. These require on-premise PBX hardware to create multiple extensions and other capabilities, such as call transferring and call directories. In general, landline systems are very reliable. However, you should also know that providers are moving away from traditional landlines, and the technology might be phased out in the future. Nonetheless, this is a good backup communication technology in case of an unreliable Internet connection.

Virtual Phone Systems

As businesses become dynamic and mobile, even remote employees can access all phone services through a secured Virtual Private Network (VPN). Virtual phone systems connect a business phone line to remote employees through company-issued mobile phones or home phones. This system also includes an extensive call-forwarding solution where calls are being transferred to the designated phone or cell phone. However, virtual phone systems cannot be considered as a full-fledged phone system, as they are still processed using a mobile or landline phone network. Hence, calls are still charged on a per-minute basis. While this could be expensive, it is good for businesses that have few, but mostly remote or mobile employees. It is best to consider this as a backup communication technology rather than being your main business phone system.

On-Premise and Cloud-based VoIP Systems

VoIP systems do away with copper wires that traditional landlines have and, instead, use the same Internet connection that the company utilizes to connect online. On-premise VoIP systems have all the equipment including the PBX hardware installed within your office. This means that you may need to shell out significant upfront costs to buy all the equipment needed and hire additional IT staff to maintain your business phone system. On the other hand, in a cloud-based VoIP system, all the works are done by your Internet service providers. You also don't need to install all the needed hardware. However, you are basically dependent on your Internet service providers to maintain your own business phone system. If their system goes down, your phone system is down, too. Nonetheless, it could be cost-effective as you'll pay either a monthly fee on per-user basis. It is best for you if you have a fixed budget for your business phone system and prefer a unified communication platform.

Communication is vital for all businesses regardless of size, location, and operation. The type of business phone systems that your office needs will depend on numerous factors like your budget, Internet reliability in your area, number of remote employees, and many others. You can also pick more than one type of business phone system to compensate for all of your needs. To learn more about what phone system is best for your business's needs, contact a professional phone service, such as DO Communications.