The newest buzzwords in the telephone and voice mail systems world is "Hosted VoIP" and "VoIP Telephone Systems". Is it something you should be considering for your company? When looking at this as an option, be sure to consider the following:
Quality of Service: QoS is the process of giving your voice priority on your internet/network over your data. If you don't have this dialed in, your call quality will be bad.
Lack of Customization: There will be some level of customization available in terms of the auto attendant, voicemail options, etc...but you've going to have a very basic system - compared to something like a Panasonic or Avaya which is customizable at every turn.
Potentially Inferior Customer Service: I say potentially, because at the end of the day, you're dealing with people at a company that you've never met...and there's only so much you can do over the phone some times. This may never be an issue for you. Just be aware that it may be...and sometimes it's helpful to get to meet a person from the company you're partnering with...and to have them available to stop by if you need it.
Growing Can Be Painful: Every phone call and every intercom call and everything goes over your internet...so you'd better be sure you have enough bandwidth!
Features, Features, Features: At this point in time, you just can't get all the features with a hosted VoIP system that you can with one that is located in your office. Someday...maybe. But not now. This is not a big deal for many small businesses, but I just want you to be aware of it.
There are some companies that a Hosted VoIP or a straight VoIP system will work well for, but we find the majority of people that have opted for this as their communications system are looking to get out of it within a year or two and getting back into a Converged, Hybrid or Pure IP/PBX telephone and voice mail system to meet their needs. Please contact Key Communications to custom build a communications system that will work for you today and grow with you tomorrow.