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How to Find the Best VoIP for Your Business

By September 2, 2020October 30th, 2022No Comments6 min read
VoIP support business

VoIP or Voice over IP is a modern telephony technology. It can help you in saving a lot of money. Also, it is more flexible when compared to traditional telephony technology. Startups, SMBs, and even large organizations are switching to VoIP. VoIP has started a new era of affordability and agility.

There was some quality concern associated with VoIP technology in the starting. However, the quality of VoIP has improved with time. You can now enjoy enormous quality.

If you are thinking to switch to VoIP, then you should ensure that you are finding the best provider. Consumers still love their phones. If your business voice system has poor call quality, then it will damage your business reputation. In this article, we are going to share some tips that will help you in selecting the best VoIP provider.

  1. Understand your VoIP needs

Every business will have different VoIP needs. There are various different options available in the market. However, the most common VoIP options are:

  • PBX or Private Branch Exchange: PBX is a system that manages both phone services and phone calls. You might store it on your in-house server. However, most companies are using a Hosted PBX. You can save a lot of money by using a hosted PBX.
  • SIP or Session Initiation Protocol trunking: SIP trunking is a communication protocol. This communication protocol is used for controlling and signaling multimedia communication sessions. SIP is mostly used for video and voice calls over IP networks.
  • Integrated access: Integrated access will help you in using your Ethernet equipment and LAN cabling to transmit calls. There are many benefits of integrated access like greater flexibility, easier troubleshooting, and cost savings.

Most companies don’t know about their VoIP needs. However, you don’t need to worry about this issue. Your VoIP vendor will help you in evaluating your business options. They will tell you the pros and cons of every option. This will help you in selecting the best option.

  1. Hosted VoIP

There are many benefits of using Hosted VoIP. Your third-party vendor will manage the installation part. You don’t need to worry about maintaining your phone systems. Your IT team will have access to your VoIP systems. They can use the cloud-based portal for accessing it remotely.

Large organizations might go for the self-hosted VoIP option. However, they need to manually upgrade their phone equipment and system. This option can help you in saving a lot of costs. However, you need to invest a lot of time in installing your equipment.

  1. Make sure that your provider is offering redundancy

VoIP is a reliable technology. However, the reliability will depend on your internet. If your internet is not working, then your business phone communications will also come to a halt. Make sure that your provider has built-in redundancy. This will ensure that you can always communicate with your vendors and customers.

Your vendor must offer you a call for continuity. It is the most common form of  VoIP redundancy. They will connect your phone numbers with the VoIP line. Your provider will enable call forwarding if your internet is not working.

  1. Inquire about uptime

Uptime is another very important factor for companies. Make sure that your provider is offering high uptime. You should ask about the uptime record before hiring a VoIP provider. If their uptime record exceeds their guarantee, then you should work with time. This will ensure that they will deliver their services regularly. Your phone services will always work. Downtime is a big issue for companies. Thus, you should ensure that your provider can help you in minimizing downtime.

  1. Verify Bandwidth

Sometimes a company might underestimate the bandwidth they need to maintain high-quality calling. This might lead to poor end-user satisfaction. It is difficult to calculate the bandwidth you need. You need to know about the total number of phone users in your company. Also, you need to know how many concurrent calls they are making. You also need to know about how they are using the internet. Some of your employees might be using the internet for general web surfing only. However, you might also be using the internet for transferring files. You should look at your internet usage metrics first.

  1. Verify and obtain references

You should ask a potential vendor for testimonials, case studies, and references. Make sure that they are providing good services to their past clients. You can talk to clients that are operating in a similar industry. This will ensure that your VoIP vendor will deliver sufficient quality. If your VoIP vendor is not giving you any references, then they might be hiding something. It is better to look for other vendors.

  1. SLAs are important

If you are working with a third-party provider, then you should ensure that they are offering SLAs. SLAs will ensure that your provider will at least provide a basic level of service. Your VoIP vendor SLA should address bandwidth, QoS, and uptime guarantees. These are the three important things that your provider should guarantee. Your vendor should protect you by offering you an SLA. It should be a part of your business agreement.

  1. Define service and support availability

You might face VoIP issues after office time. Sometimes your VoIP might stop working during the weekends. You might need to train your employees about the new technology.

You should ask about the level of support that you can expect from your vendor. This is very important for companies that are going for the hosted option. You should make sure that your provider is providing quality services. Your vendor should provide reliable services to you. If your VoIP vendor can’t help you during downtime, then you should look for a new VoIP vendor. Your vendor should provide you with good support.

Conclusion

The phone system is very important for companies. You can use your business phone system for delivering quality services to your customers. High-quality phone systems are required for resolving your customer’s complaints. If you want to exceed your client’s expectations, then you should look for high-quality phone systems. These points will help you in finding a good VoIP provider. Make sure that your provider is providing good call quality, uptime, and customer service. If you need more information regarding VoIP, then you can contact Bleuwire.

Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™  services and solutions in how we can help your business.