2 Small 2B VoIP (Part 3)2 Small 2B VoIP (Part 2)2 Small 2B VoIP (Part 3)Having been in the telecommunications industry for many years and having seen technology evolve to stages not previously imagined, I can say that many of the ideas concerning the limiting factors of VoIP have turned into falsehoods.  In this five part series I am going to dispel these ideas one at a time.

Part 1

First and foremost there is the issue of costs.  Like many industries telecommunications has been built on the idea of not letting clients compare “apples to apples” solutions.   Suppliers prefer to conflate costs and cloud pricing with terms like “As low as”, “Excluding taxes and fees”, “Maintenance required”, etc.  In this Part 1, I will discuss actual costs versus a $1 buyout lease that is all encompassing, covering Equipment, Installation, Training, SIP trunking, 911 registration, DID and porting costs, as well as unlimited extensions for growth with phone or email support.

  1. Look at your current phone bill – Spectrum, Morris Broadband, ATT or whichever service you have- and add up the line costs, including taxes and long distance minutes if applicable, ( yes some billing is still done this way ) and set that number aside this number will be referred to as “A” from now on.
  2. Look at your analog need.  (A physical walk through is recommended) Depending on your area, elevators may need an analog line as well as monitored alarm systems, but most alarms are able to run off internet or cell towers as well as an analog line, so check with your provider. This number will now be referred to as “B”. Now we subtract the amount needed for B from A and we have the amount you can remove by going to a VoIP Solution. VoIP Asheville offers a standard office installation covering up to 5 phones and upgraded network costing under $138 a month.  Now make an “apples to apples” comparison.  Smaller installations are available for $63 a month and larger sites just give us a call. (828) 280-0597.
  3. That’s it! We did not try to cloud these cost with “man hours saved”, “Down time”, “missed calls”, “hidden service cost” or ever intangible “Opportunity Costs” Now that we know how much money you can save by switching to VoIP.   Look to Part 2 for solutions VoIP can solve.
  4. Perhaps you made the switch to a VoIP phone system or a Hybrid VoIP system already, something similar to a Cisco UC500 series, 8×8 or Samsung system.  These systems can have a few extra costs that are included in a 3CX installed by VoIP Asheville can bring.  These might be SIP services, maintenance fees and or licensing requirements.  Ring free and Grasshopper like to bring people in with the promise of low costs but increase costs as you add people.  3cx allows for basically unlimited extensions, so new employee no extra charge.  No need to share extensions or have to wait for someone to get off the phone.  In many cases you can use the phone you have, buy through us or order online.

Look for Part 2 of this blog tomorrow when I will discuss the solutions to some of the problems that VoIP can solve.  You may know some of them off the top of your head, but there will be some problems that you may not even know you had.  If you have any questions or comments please feel free to reach out to me.

Larry The Phone Guy

www.VoIPAsheville.com

(828) 209-8647