A lot has been written about the superiority of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems over the traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), also known by the more amusing name of Plain Old Telephone System (POTS). But even within the world of VoiP itself there are two big choices: a premises-based solution or a cloud-based solution.
Although often times this kind of choice depends on the business in question, there’s quite a lot of good to be said about the cloud-based option. Let’s take a brief look at both types, and then focus on why the cloud is the best place for your phone system.
Phones in the cloud: cheaper, more flexible, easily scalable, what’s not to like?
Premises Versus Cloud
A premises-based PBX (Private Branch Exchange) is located on-site. The business has made the investment in the equipment and personnel needed, and gets no phone features from the Internet Service Provider. The hardware appliance is placed in the company’s server closet, and away it goes.
With a cloud-based (or hosted) system, the only hardware on the premises is the phones. Everything else is handled by the ISP. Naturally, the cost for the VoIP is assessed by said ISP, which is a monthly fee based on the number of users, something which companies that employ a premises system need not worry about, though they do still obviously pay for Internet access.
The Cloud-Based System’s Many Perks
First and foremost, the cloud-based system is extremely scalable. If you own a small business with the potential for growth but you want to go with a premises-based system, then you had better be ready to shell out some major money for a larger in-house server in order to accommodate anticipated (but by no means guaranteed) future growth. With the cloud, you just get what you need, and when you need to expand your business, you simply get more VoIP-capable phones and increase the number of users in your monthly subscription. If your business has any possibility of growth, you need to go with the cloud.
Conversely if by some unfortunate circumstances you need to scale downward, the system is easily adaptable to the smaller size; no worries about money wasted on an in-house appliance that was designed to handle way more traffic than you need.
With a cloud-based system you don’t need to hire dedicated personnel to run the network. All of the staff needs are handled by the provider. This constitutes a great savings in terms of salary, not to mention any benefits/perks that your company pays for.
Related to the scalability advantage, cloud-based systems are easy to customize; you only pay for the features you want or need.
So all in all, the cloud-based phone system is ideal for small to medium businesses that want to save money, keep payroll trim, and have the ability to grow or shrink as needs demand.
If you need more convincing read “Your Business Needs the Scalability Offered by A Cloud Phone System” to get further insights. You’ll find it a rather persuasive read.
How Do You Implement The Cloud System?
First of all, shop around for a good VoIP provider. Your ISP may not necessarily include a VoIP package, and even if it does, compare prices and services from other providers. Before you buy, ask yourself what you want the system to do for you. Do you have multiple locations? Or perhaps your employees make a large number of long distance calls. For that matter, are your employees scattered everywhere, many of them working remotely? Select a plan that best fits your business and staff.
When considering a plan and provider, make sure you know what’s included in the package. Do they handle maintenance? What about training your employees? Do they offer troubleshooting or IT assistance? If you need some help on what to ask, read “How To Interrogate Your VoIP Phone Service Provider”.
Once you have a VoIP plan set up, you need to make sure that your phones are compatible with it. This could mean an up-front investment in the new equipment necessary to properly use cloud-based VoIP. Fortunately, those short-term expenses should turn into savings in the long run.
Although it’s not perfect, cloud-based VoIP is the best choice for small businesses, especially start-ups. Its convenience and flexibility makes it the best choice for handling the unpredictable situations that can arise with smaller companies.