Despite the worldwide popularity of the cloud PBX system there are a handful of entrepreneurs and business owners who are a bit cynical about how the entire solutions works and often have unaddressed questions bothering their minds. To assist you in making the proper decision for your business communication system below are the common questions that business owners have regarding a cloud PBX office telephone system.

Is the solution dependent on the internet? – Yes, all VoIP systems including the cloud PBX office telephone are dependent on the quality of internet you have in place. However, with the continuous development of the Internet and networking technologies it is quite unlikely that you will difficulty in securing a good connection.

Do I need to acquire a separate internet connection? –This will depend on the number of handsets and the number of pones connected to your internet. Speak to your service provider about the internet requirements of their system and seek assistance regarding your requirements to be able to maximize VoIP.

Can I use any IP phone brand? – Yes, basically IP phones run using the identical firmware. However, your cloud PBX office telephone provider may need to reconfigure the IP phone to suit their networks and platforms. Depending on the provider they may or may not charge a service fee for it.

Do I need to acquire a new number? You may or you may not. Through a process called number porting you will have the luxury to move your existing number from your existing provider to your new provider or just acquire a brand new one. This mainly depends on how well you have advertized your existing number. Ideally only the numbers that people call you onto should be moved to cut down on set up charges.

If I were to move offices do I need to any modification? No, since the system is situated in the cloud, you can practically move or situate your phone system anywhere provided that there is an internet connection in place. You will find this powerful features handy if you are always on the go and or if you need to work in different places. All you need to do is just plug in the IP phone or log in to your account (for soft phones) and it will work as if you are in the office.

Why should I switch phone systems? – The main benefit of VoIP is cost reduction, through cheaper call rates and lower line rental fees businesses can save an average of 50% per month. Feature wise all PBX features can be integrated with the system plus other smart features unique to VoIP.

Apart from being a cost effective business phone solution, a cloud PBX office telephone system also has a set of extra features that businesses will find handy in carrying out their processes and follow ups. Faxing and SMS has been one of the most sought after communication medium after calls. A cloud PBX office telephone system offers both platform under a single account so all your communication system is under one central place for convenience and further savings.

Faxing – Sending and receiving documents is a must for all businesses, thus faxing has been a number one requirement across sectors. However there are a few downsides with this solution and that is you need to pay your office a visit before you can view important documents. With a cloud PBX office telephone system faxing is revolutionized to be integrated with your email. The sender will still send it as per normal means through your fax number but the difference is you can view it anymore around the world as long as you can open your email. The documents are sent in a PDF format so you can easily view it on your web browser and download it for printing.

As for sending documents, there are actually two ways of doing so. You can do it via traditional means by hooking your fax machine and send it directly from there or scan your document and send it via the web portal that your cloud PBX office telephone provider will give you.

SMS – There are about 6 billion mobile phones in the world today and statistics reveal that by 2014 it will reach more than 7.3 billion, more than the world’s population and guess what most of this mobile are active and always on the user’s pocket or purse. Businesses can capitalize on this fact by sending information where it is readily accessible. SMS is one of today most effective communication because of its easy accessibility. So why not use it for your business?

Through computer software you can instantly load all your contacts and leads to it and send SMS in bulk, in groups or individually depending on your preferences. With the help of SMS you can follow up with your clients, inform of them of your new promotions, new products or anything that you wish to convey to them. Sending SMS is cheap, convenient and time saving way to communicate with your customers thus businesses worldwide are now starting to capitalize on this avenue.

Just making a Google search for phone system will show that a number of providers in Australia are in the market today. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage in the part of business owners. Advantage because you are not restricted with your options, a disadvantage because it can cause confusion in making the right decision and not all providers out there are reliable.

Making the right choices concerning your business phone system is crucial. You have to consider all the possible aspects and moreover be able to determine whether the phone system provider you are negotiating with will live up to their words. To aid you in this important decision you are about to make below is a general list how to identify a reliable and trustworthy phone system provider.

Do they offer a reasonable price? – A provider does not need to be the cheapest in the market; what’s more important is will you be getting value for your money? Are their prices slightly higher because of something and not just because they are trying to milk every dollar out of you? Do their call rates par with the rest of the market? If not, why? Are their handsets more expensive? Why? These are just some of the questions you need to cover with them with regards to pricing.

Bear in mind that it is not safe to opt for the most expensive system out there thinking that it will be the best or settle for the cheapest thinking that it is the most cost effective. What’s important it is the value that you are getting buck per buck!

What is their customer service like? – Do you wait 30 minutes on the phone just to speak to a representative? If so, then conclude that that provider is no good because in times of issues you will have difficulty getting a hold them. Remember you are trying to run a business and in today’s fast paced environment communication is vital for any business. Choose a provider that will get on the phone with you whenever you need them to and offer you quality support services every single time.

Are you able to grow with them? – A phone system is a business tool that should facilitate growth and development. Thus, your provider must give you enough flexibility to grow without having to upgrade or spend a fortune in overhauling the PBX you currently got. Keep this in mind and discuss with them if the solution they’re offering you will allow easy expansion or even moving of office.

Gauge the quality of their system – A business phone needs a business grade line, you should not hear any interference, distortion and break up during a call and even get disconnected. You can test the quality of their lines and system by requesting a free trial for at least a couple of days from there you should be able to tell if the quality passes your standards.

When shopping for office telephone system business owners tend to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of components to be considered and the number of service providers in the market today. Regardless of how daunting it may seem someone has to do it and sadly it is often in the business owner’s hands because it involves pivotal decisions that can affect the business.

However, not all office telephone system is as complex as you think. A cloud PBX office telephone system does not require any hardware apart from the actual handsets and all you need are basic business infrastructure and you are good to go. Firstly, let’s start by explaining the cloud PBX. Basically it is a business grade communication system that uses trunk lines and the internet instead of the usual hardware and copper wires. Think of it as a virtual phone and you access all the necessary equipments using the internet and all you need on site is the actual handset.

A cloud PBX office telephone system is known for bringing savings by as much as 70% compared to traditional phone systems and offer significantly better features because of its flexibility and programmable characteristics that will suit all business types and requirements. So the question remains, what do you really need to successfully deploy the system? Below is a simple list of the basic requirements of a cloud PBX.

Internet connection – Since the solution uses VoIP technology a reliable internet connection is a must have. Bear in mind that you need to consider the speed, jitter level, packet loss and stability of the internet to enjoy business grade calls every time you pick your phone. Usually a business plan is recommended to avoid contention of the overly subscribed home grade connections and depending on your usage a dedicated may be required for your phones.

Modem or router – Often times the internet is blamed for a low quality call in VoIP but in reality almost 50% of these incidents is caused by the modem or router. Choose a brand and model that is designed to support VoIP and tweak the settings of the modem or router to prioritize VoIP traffic.

IP handsets – It is advisable that you use the make and model that your service provider recommends to avoid incompatibility issues and to maximize the full capacity of the system. Considering the overall usage of the phone is also important, for instance a reception style desk unit for your receptionist, a cordless handset for on go staffs and so on.

A good service provider – Before signing up with a provider it is advisable to take a little time to conduct research about their company. Visit forums, ask various business owners and get feedback from VoIP community about them and gauge their reliability, customer service mechanism and actual system accordingly.

Many business owners are a bit skeptical when they hear the word pre paid plans when it comes to business communication solution such as a cloud PBX office telephone system. Most business owners tend to favor a post paid plan thinking that pre paid plans are no good and will be a cause of delay and or a halt of their business processes carried over the phone. But the truth is pre paid plans is also ideal for business VoIP communication because of the many benefits that it brings.

In cloud PBX office telephone systems Pre paid plans work by loading or crediting a specified amount onto your account that will be consumed by your fixed monthly charges, if any, and calling charges. Your service providers can program the system to either send an email, a text message or a voice prompt call to inform you about your current balance every week or if your credits has reached below a certain level. This will ensure that you will have enough credits for all your business calls and avoid the stall of your operations.

Security wise, Pre paid plans is beneficial to a cloud PBX office telephone system. VoIP lines are secured using data encryption; however, you can never tell if someone will be able to grab a hold of your log in credentials. Mitigating the risk of having a big fat bill at the end of the month is one of the reasons why a handful of providers opt for Pre paid plans rather than post paid. For an instance you have $10 on your account then only that amount will be at risk compared to virtually limitless of the latter pricing model.

Additionally, a Pre paid will also give you full control of your calling charges because you can set a monthly budget for all your calls as oppose to having a free flowing bill at the end of the month. For an instance you can set a budget of $50 per phone on a monthly basis and left over credits can be carried to the next month.

Lastly, it will also give you the flexibility that you need. Since there are no bills to settle at the end of the month, there are no contracts as well. This will allow you to easily switch providers if you are not happy with your current one without having to fulfill any legal obligations and so on. This fact will prompt service providers to continually improve their services to keep you happy and not move to another provider.

Finding ways to reduce overhead cost without compromising the business is the aim of almost all business owners especially with today’s economic problems. Monthly bills are a business killer and often times office telephone bills are on the top end of the pile. However, you cannot just trash it away because communication is essential for any business to succeed. To help reduce your burden here are some friendly tips on how to reduce your phone bills.

Choosing a phone plan – Office telephone systems often have two plans to choose from the untimed and timed plans. Do some creative calculations using your old bill and take an average on how long your calls last. For an instance, the plans to choose from are timed 3 cents per minute and untimed 10 cents per call, if your calls last about 1 to 2 minutes then you are better off with the timed plan, on the other hand if your calls last more than 4 minutes then the untimed rate is best for you.

Minimizing line rentals – Most businesses have more line than they need, you can reduce your cost by disconnecting unnecessary lines out of your service. However, just make sure that the lines and or numbers that you will remove is really not used for anything like, fax, EFTPOS, security, Internet and so on. Your office telephone service provider or your IT department should be able to tell you this.

Using a SIP line – SIP is a communication protocol from VoIP, if you do not want to use VoIP 100% then you can use it to make outgoing calls. This will significantly reduce your phone call charges by as much as 70%. A SIP line can easily be integrated to almost any IP PBX and can be programmed to automatically switch on if you place an outgoing call or by punching in an override code before dialing the number you wish to call.

Switching providers – If you current provider does not give you the room for options to reduce cost then you might want to consider replacing them. There are numerous telecommunications provider in the market today that offers very competitive rates. Shop around and find the best possible deal for your business, however, you must be very careful as cheap and quality does not always coincide with each other. It is advisable that you request for a trial period to test the overall quality of the system and lines before signing up with a new provider.

Consider using other solutions – We have different modes of communication today thanks to the continuous evolution of technology. We have email, SMS, VoIP and instant messaging. Conduct a survey and or research on how you can capitalize on these solutions to remedy your expensive phone bills.

IP phones are an integral part of a cloud PBX office telephone systems, it is not a mere handset that you talk into but rather a collection of hardware and software that converts, deciphers and translate into the voice that we hear and understand. Business owners should be very careful in selecting the proper make and model of IP phones to avoid costly mistakes and to be able to maximize the cloud PBX system. Listed below is a quick rundown of things to watch out for in selecting the proper handsets for your business.

Firmware – Is the collection of software that runs the handset, it should be compatible with your service provider’s cloud PBX office telephone provider to avoid incurring extra cost for configuration and programming during the set up. Ask your provider about the version and developer of firmware that they support to avoid such hiccups and extra cost.

Support mechanism – Not all cloud PBX office telephone providers are able to offer 100% support services to all brands and models of IP phones. There are several brands that have their own paid customer service regardless of whether you use their PBX or not. Be sure to discuss this with your provider first and gauge the level of support they can offer you on the brand that you are eyeing on.

Features compatibility – All IP handsets works using a firmware there are still some compatibility issues that may arise during the actual deployment concerning features like greeting messages and other forms of IVR. It is advisable that you opt for the make and model that undergone the testing phase of your provider to ensure that all is properly working.

SIP lines – There are business owners that wish to use multiple SIP lines for back up and cost purposes. If you are considering such set up then it is advisable to acquire a handset with multiple SIP line capabilities that either switch manually or automatically.

Programmable buttons – Different businesses have different requirements thus various models are out in the market today. Choose a model that have enough buttons for your needs or better a lot a few extra just in case you need more in the future.

Overall use – Different staffs have different roles, thus it is just a must to select handsets based on the function that is required per staff. For an instance your receptionist will need a reception style desk phones with big and chunky buttons for easy navigation, a wireless phone for on the go staffs and so on. Be sure to take all possible options into account to acquire the best possible units for your business.