Finding the best office telephone system can be a daunting task if you don’t know what you are looking for. It is advisable to set a baseline data based on your requirements on what you would like for a phone system and stick to it. This will help you identify the best possible options for your business, assist you in making a sound decision on what solution to go for and lastly which provider to move ahead with.

What an Ideal Office Telephone System should be

Firstly, an ideal Office telephone system should be able to meet all your requirements as a business regardless of how complex or how simple it is. For an instance if you need an automated phone booking system then your office telephone system should be able to offer it otherwise it is not the appropriate solution for you. Take your time and sit down to list all possible requirements of your business. This will help you identify the best possible system for you.

Secondly, an ideal office telephone system should give the best value for money. However this doesn’t suggest that the cheapest solution in the market is the best. Remember what you are looking for is value for money. Let take a simple example what value for money is. You have with you two mobile phones one costing $50 whilst the other is more expensive at $70. The difference between the two is that the first unit only offers calling and SMS features whilst the second unit has a camera, Wi-Fi capabilities and 1 year warranty. For just a difference of $20 you will be getting more for your money. The same goes for an office telephone system and any other products that you will purchase - weigh what you will get buck per buck.

Thirdly, it is a must for telecommunication service providers to have an outstanding customer support. Because one way or the other it is inevitable that a problem may arise what’s important is how quickly it is resolved. Remember you are trying to run a business you cannot afford to have a faulty phone after spending thousands of dollars on your marketing campaigns. An ideal provider should discuss with you failover mechanisms, maintenance schedule and or repair ETA with your service provider at an early stage so you can prepare accordingly.

Lastly, an ideal phone should allow possible expansion in the future without overhauling it. This means that it should be flexible enough to accommodate additional extensions, lines and features.

The cloud PBX office telephone solution is now being widely used around the world in replacement of traditional telecommunication needs. In fact the technology is so popular some industry experts are predicting that can soon phase out on premise PBX systems. However not all of us are familiar with the solution and most business owners are wondering what benefits it brings for millions of businesses around the world make the switch and favor the newer system compared to the well established analog phones.

Below are just some of the reasons why business owners love the cloud PBX office telephone system and some of the major benefits you can expect if you too make the switch.

1.       Up to 70% savings – The major benefit of the cloud PBX office telephone system is savings that can shoot up to 70% as oppose to using your analog phones. These huge savings are generated by providing cheaper call cost rates and lower line rental fees. This means that the more phone calls you make and the more lines you have the better your savings margin will be.

2.       Maintenance free – Tired of hiring telecommunications engineer just to check on your phones? With the cloud PBX office telephone system you will never need to hire an engineer ever again. All you need to do is pick up your phone and call your provider if a problem surfaces on your end. This is possible because there will be no hardware available on your end apart from the physical handsets and everything is located in your service provider’s end. No maintenance means less expenses and less trouble on your end.

3.       Better flexibility and fully customized– an analog system sometimes no longer tends to your requirements. With the system, you can literally design your own communication stream from the ground up. This means that you can customize how you would like extensions to behave, what features should be on what extension and so on. Basically all the nuts and bolts can be fully customized to suit your every requirement and because of its flexibility you can always reconfigure your original setting easily to adapt t your ever changing needs.

4.       No commitments less worries – 70% of VoIP providers in the market today doesn’t have lock in contract; this means that you are not bounded to use their services if you are not happy with what you’re getting.

5.       No distance boundaries – Since your PBX is not situated in your office but rather in a server you can access your PBX from virtually anywhere around the world as long as you are connected to the internet. This means you can take your phone anywhere probably work at home and perform your duties as if you are in the office.

There are tons of other benefits and clever use of the system, be sure to discuss all possible options with your service provider before moving ahead. You’ll be amazed how a simple solution can help you propel your business towards growth and development.

One way or the other everyone has dreamed to run their businesses from home. Just imagine having to do all your work whilst sitting on your favorite recliner and watching your kids play in the backyard. Eat your favorite home cooked meals and say goodbye to the awful cafeteria buffet meals. It is just a dream that everyone is not entitled to – that was before. With today’s technological innovation a work from home set up is very possible and will not compromise your business.

The main blunder to a work from home set up is communication. Business owners have to be available 24/7 for any sales, support or administration issues your business might face. Although a smart phone offers the mobility you need it is not a business grade solution and it is very unprofessional to talk to customer from a mobile because of all the interference that it is vulnerable to. What you then need is a business grade phone system that will let you perform all your duties as if you are in the office. So does this mean that you need a PBX at home? Partly yes and partly no, you need not purchase a dedicated PBX for your home because it will be a completely separate phone system from your office.

So what’s the solution? A new and innovative office telephone system called the cloud PBX is now taking the business sector by a storm because all the benefits that brings and one of it is the ability to fulfill your work from home needs.  So what’s the fuzz all about? Basically a cloud PBX office telephone system is another proprietary of VoIP solutions. In traditional telephone systems you need a bunch of copper wires to connect hardware and thus distance between handsets is limited. The best that you can probably do is to place your handsets in different floors of your office building. With a cloud PBX there is no hardware or copper wires needed. This means that you can locate your phones anywhere in the world and work as if all of it is in the same office.

So how does it work? Instead of having an on premise based components, the cloud PBX uses trunks and servers to interconnect internal phones and uses a protocol called SIP to establish connection to regular telephones and mobiles. To make it simple you can think of it as if your PBX is located in a server or network and is accessed by your phones through the internet. This gives you the flexibility that you need to work from home without lagging on your communication needs.

Furthermore the cloud PBX systems can save your business by as much as 50% on your telecommunication bills through cheaper call cost rates and cheaper line rentals. This will allow you to hit two birds with one stone. Fulfill your work from home dream and cut back on your overhead cost. How good can it get than that?

Tired of your big and bulky PBX that doesn’t do the job anymore? A PBX is also like a mobile phone. Before calling and texting features might be enough but today you need to be able browse the internet or take photos using your mobile. The same way a PBX may do the job for you but as years pass it may not give you the capacity and the ability to grow anymore as your requirements change to adapt to the ever changing market.

Modernizing your office telephone system is indeed a major business decision that you should not rush making. You should weigh all the possible options and rethink over and over again before deciding. Remember an office telephone is not merely a tool to make and receive phone calls. It is your primary business communication system that can make or break your business. To help you decide below are some nifty points to consider.

Your needs – The main focus of you overhaul should be your needs. Take your time, sit down and jot down all your requirements in a paper. Use your checklist in shopping for a phone system provider. All your needs should be met otherwise the retrofit will be futile. Bear in mind the reasons why you are overhauling it and stick to it. Never let a sales representative sell you out but rather make it to the point that you are buying because you need it and not because of some guy’s flavorful words.

The cost – obviously cost will be a factor, it is best that you set a budget how much business money you are willing to spend for a phone system and stick to it. There are many office telephone system to choose form in the market today be sure to identify the one that gives the best value for money. You can opt to choose for a traditional system of a VoIP system either way only you can tell what solution fits your needs and business perfectly.

Expansion – To prevent another retrofit in the future it is advisable to choose an office telephone system that allows growth and expansion. For an instance you should be able to add more lines and or extensions as you need without having to upgrade your PBX. A flexible phone will not only allow expansion but will also pave way for better opportunities in terms of streamlining your internal and external processes.

Basically the core of a phone system overhaul is your needs, the cost and the flexibility. You need to be able to meet all three to benefit from it and of course gain return of investment in the quickest time possible.

Today’s business telephone communication is a constant battle between a traditional telephony platform and a cloud PBX. Businesses are torn between the two options, go for the established traditional platform or go for the newer and cost effective cloud PBX office telephone. To help you decide below are some important comparison points between the two solutions.

Cost – Savings wise it is obvious that VoIP office telephone systems have the edge by a mile. On average business can save 50% on their phone bills as oppose to using traditional telecommunication solutions. Savings are often generated by cheaper line rentals, cheaper call cost rates and no monthly fees on basic features such as caller and the like. Apart from that set up is also a lot cheaper because you don’t need to purchase any hardware apart from the actual handsets.

Maintenance and Up time – Maintenance VoIP office telephone system clearly leaves behind traditional phones. Since you are using less hardware maintenance cost and work will also be reduced. Everything transpires in a remote server level so cost will not be an issue on your end. As for the up time of reliability traditional telecommunication solution cannot be questioned. You can always pick up the phone and expect that your phones will be running smoothly. However, VoIP is not far behind either if you are able to select a good provider. It is advisable to move ahead with a provider that have backup server and back up network so if the primary one fails there is a fail over in place.

Features – Both solutions are rigged with tons of features, you have a menu system in place, an IVR and so on. However, the advantage has to be with VoIP. Since it sues servers and in the internet it is more flexible and features like multiple locations is possible. This means that can locate any handset in any part of the world as long as an internet is in place and it will work as if you are in the office.

Quality – Analog phones or traditional PBX have long been used because of the quality that it offers and no one can doubt about it. However VoIP can actually offer the same level of call quality or perhaps even better provided that you can acquire a good internet connection. A stable internet is the key and if you are able to secure one then you can expect business grade quality every time you pick up the phone otherwise the solution may not be for you.