Small Office Phone Systems
Communication has, over the last 5-10 years, turned upside down. Landlines are slowly giving way to mobile phones and VoIP. The US has over 370 million mobile subscribers and has added 5 million in Q3 of 2014. By 2020, the number of mobile subscribers worldwide is expected to cross 9.5 billion! By the end of 2013, there were 40 million VoIP subscribers in North America and this is growing by over 3% every quarter.
VoIP Phones for SMBs – The Only Choice
Clearly the future for an SMB’s office phone system is some form of VoIP phone service. PSTN has started losing the race and TELCOs are slowly withdrawing their landline offerings. It does not make any sense to go in for a landline now. With rising costs and lowering support for products and services, you will be troubled to get the kind of office phone systems reliability and efficiency you are looking for in PSTN.
VoIP based office telephones, on the other hand, is a growing market. More and more vendors are coming in with new offerings, improved technology, and new discounts to grab your business.
Small Business Phone Systems – Choices
No matter the type of business you are in, reliable and efficient communication is a necessity for running your business operations smoothly. You essentially want a product that works without a hitch and does not need too much technical support for installation and problem-solving.
There are multiple choices available in the kind of VoIP you can install. This depends a lot on your CAPEX capabilities as well as the quantum of communication you foresee in your business.
On-Premise IP Phone System
If you have the capability to invest roughly $10-15K, an on-premise office phone system such as IPedge is an ideal choice. IPedge is a pure IP office phone system that works completely off your LAN and Internet connection. IPedge delivers a number of unique advantages that are hard to beat
- Freedom from long distance charges and per minute call rates as all your communication runs over your Intranet and ISP provided IP networks.
- A host of new features you can deliver to yourself and your clients such as unified communication, messaging, and video conferencing.
- Complete freedom to personalize the way you communicate at your desk while roaming in your office, at home, or, on the road.
- Great flexibility. You can start with up to 40 users and expand up to 1000s as you grow your business.
Hosted Phone System
If you are unsure about your call volume, and are looking at smaller spend figures, there is another alternative available. A hosted phone system, or Hosted PBX, is where a service provider or telecom company offers all the features of a powerful office phone system by hosting the IP-PBX on the cloud for you. Toshiba, for example, has hosted its IPedge server on a highly secure data center with multiple backup and nearly 100% redundancy. All you need to do is to subscribe to the services of the hosted phone system and you are off and running.
Toshiba’s hosted IP-PBX is called VIPedge, and offers you all the features of it’s highly acclaimed IPedge for less than a dollar a day per user. You get a superb VoIP service, unified communications, and everything else that an on-premise IP-PBX can offer you.
Mix the Two
A third choice is to mix the two options described above. Start with an on-premise office phone system such as IPedge, and expand by subscribing to hosted phone systems such as VIPedge as you grow and need more connections and more features. You can merge the operations of both the systems and you will not face any issues on costs or connectivity.
The Next Step
With multiple choices available, you will find it easy to get the right sized office telephone system that can meet your current needs and grow with you. Get in touch with us today and we will be happy to discuss your requirements and deliver the right communication solutions you need.
About Dove Communications
Dove Communication is a leader in installing and supporting VoIP and IP based communication systems. From voice to video to full integration to your computerized system for data integration, we can provide all the knowledge and technology needed for you to switch over to VoIP communication. Our association with Toshiba gives us a strong edge in technology. Toshiba’s VIPedge, their IP telephony in the cloud, has been winning awards year after year.
If your phone usage is high, we can also offer your IPedge, another award-winning product from Toshiba. If you have call center requirement, we have the wonderful Strata CIX. All these products are backed by powerful software as well as our installation and support capabilities.
