Is VoIP Right for You?

Is VoIP Right for You?

Hoping to have a serious discussion, speaking to businesses of all sizes and vertical markets, I will truthfully say I have met with some owners and after serious discussions and discovery a realistic transition was not possible.  Usually due to contractual obligations on current systems.  However timelines were set to re-evaluate.  The other obstacle is poor or inconsistent internet, this is usually a misnomer, as most analog services comes from the company that provides internet.  Sometimes router configurations or software program settings (One drive syncing during peak business hours comes to mind) cause inconsistent connections and a fear of VoIP communications.  Managing expectations is key to understanding VoIP, The beauty of these systems is the versatility of them and ability to have redundant failovers when issues occur. (Let’s be honest every system fails at some point, The Pentagon was hacked, Amazon Shopping  failed to process payments and so on.) So the key is to minimize these occurrences and provide quick and seamless solutions to them before they happen.
So here are a few of my educated conclusions:

Google Voice is free, no VoIP Asheville cannot compete with free, but it has limitations just like all free services and apps.  Perhaps this works for your business, great when you grow and start finding these limitations problematic let’s talk, I will be here.  Analog lines are expensive and getting more expensive, if you have 2 or more analog lines it might be cheaper to go to VoIP.

     Basic internet of 2MB or less can create problems for VoIP but in all honesty with some minor router changes Qos and traffic shaping these hurdles can be overcome if the desire or need is there.  You will not be able to host a 25 person video conference call but can you do that now?  Manage costs and expectations is the key.  Like everything in life you don’t trust the salesman do buy the product.
Internet always failing, first key is to figure out why.  There could be an internal issues that is easy to resolve, there might be an external issue that needs to be address by the provider either way VoIP allows for fail overs that mean you never miss a call and are always able to return calls.

     The last and hardest obstacle to VoIP is the objection that they had VoIP years ago and it was horrible, so they switched back.  Anyone old enough to remember Microsoft Vista can have this same complaint but they probably still have and use a computer.  VoIP needs to be installed and customized to your environment, “Magic Jack” was technically VoIP but I don’t think it worked for anyone other than the commercial. Have a demo setup onsite, in your environment with the equipment you are going to use.  Are there limits in a demo, sure but then can be addressed then and a realistic plan can be established to solve these limitations.

     So send me your comments, what did I miss.  Perhaps you have VoIP with nagging and ongoing issues, if so let me know maybe there is a solution.

Larry The Phone Guy

www.VoIPAsheville.com

(828) 209-8647

2 Small 2B VoIP (Part 1)

2 Small 2B VoIP (Part 1)

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