The Tech Challenge for Small Businesses: Competing in the Modern Market
Small businesses face an uphill battle when trying to compete in the modern market. Technology can make a huge difference between success and failure, and larger businesses have larger war chests to pay for the latest in technological upgrades. Smaller businesses have to be more careful, investing only in technology that will give them clear benefits and help them compete against the larger players.
Expanding Options with Cost-Efficient Solutions: The Shift to Integrated Voice and Data Systems
When it comes to small business phone systems, the best way for a business to expand their options while keeping costs down is to move away from landlines and towards integrated voice and data systems.
Meraki Communications - The Benefits of VoIP: Harnessing Integrated Phone Systems
These integrated phone systems, sometimes also called Voice-Over-IP or VoIP, give you the best of both worlds, expanding your voice options while making use of your existing Internet services to minimize extra costs.
There are numerous benefits to this approach:
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Keep costs down by cutting out most of your phone service charges and paying only for your Internet instead.
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Treating your telephone service as data allows for advanced services, such as encoding voicemail as MP3s and forwarding it to email boxes.
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Your system can be expanded simply by adding more phones and doing a bit of software configuration. You'll never have to have your phone systems rewired as you expand.
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You'll have fewer cables to string around and manage.
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It's more reliable thanks to the lack of complexity, and without the hassles of integrating data into existing analog lines.
The Best Phone Systems For Small Businesses
For companies looking to move towards an integrated VoIP system, we usually recommend either the Polycom series phones, the Mitel, or Meraki series phone systems.
Polycom
The Polycom series distinguishes itself by having a wide range of hardware available to suit any business needs or budget. From a basic two-line entry level model, to full-color, six-line executive phones, they have the handsets you need.
Further, all of the Polycom line phones are interoperable, so you can have a range of equipment throughout your business, giving more expensive handsets to those who need them. Expansion is usually just a matter of plugging more phones into the system and assigning extensions to them.
The Polycom line is perfect for companies looking to start out in the world of
integrated voice and data.
Mitel
The Mitel phone series offers something for every size business including simple voice phones to robust conference phones that can bridge in multiple users. Among the great features these phones boast:
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Integrated router with ports, so your phone can also expand your networked computers.
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Voice Quality Monitoring reports help you ensure your phones are working properly with the highest level of sound quality.
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Simple management software allows for expansions or reconfiguration with just a few clicks.
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Support for numerous expansion modules for enhancing your voice and data communications.
Embracing Integrated Systems: The Future of Business Telephony
Whichever you choose, if you're interested in upgrading your phone systems, integrated systems are the way to go. Between the cost savings, ease of use, and nearly limitless expansion potential, these are the phone systems small businesses need to be able to keep competing in the 21st century.
