What Zombies Consider Before Getting a Hosted Phone System
Okay, full disclosure here, this article has zero to do with Zombies. The title is total click bait a suggestion I got from one of those headline generator websites. I apologize. The thing is there have been tons of articles posted on the internet about this subject and the only reason I felt a need to chime in is because they are usually written by carriers hoping to prove their solution is the best.
Since I have an extensive background in Telecom and can offer over 30 different hosted providers, I thought it would be useful if I put together a list of my own. First and foremost it is important to understand the hosted phone services available to you vary greatly and it is important to find a solution that meets your business needs, not just fills quota for the sales person. I broke down the things to consider into four basic pieces:
The Internet
The internet is a huge component of your new hosted phone service because your phones will be connecting to a remote data center to function. First thing to ask is how fast does the internet need to be to support the system you are deploying? A quick rule of thumb when considering bandwidth is 100Kbps per concurrent call up and down. So, if you think your office will have 10 users on the phone at a time, then 1M of bandwidth up and down should be set aside for phone traffic alone.
Second thing to consider is, what happens when/if the internet fails? The beauty of hosted technology is that your phone system is in a data center with back-ups and fail over procedures you could never afford to implement on your own (or ever really want to). So, if the internet goes down your phone system is still working, callers will get your auto attendant, voicemails can be left, and any mobility or forwarding in place will still occur. But, if that is not enough for your office then perhaps considering a back-up internet service should be considered.
If back-up internet seems too expensive then get a full understand of your carrier’s service level agreement (SLA). The SLA is your guarantee in regards to uptime, latency, jitter, dropped packets, etc. This is very important since all your calls will be on the internet and in real time. It is well known that cable or DSL does not offer an SLA, but some dedicated carriers have begun to offer a non SLA service at a discounted price. Remember if a carrier drops the price by 20% overnight then there is most likely a catch.
Last, a lot of organizations are now using SD-WAN (software defined wide area network) to resolve internet issues when deploying hosted phones. SD-WAN allows a company to deploy two lower-speed internet trunks and effectively bond them together. The software will choose the best path for delivery of the voice packets, supply quality of service over the open internet, and packets can be moved from one provider to another in real time, with-out dropping calls, in the event of an outage.
The Contract and Terms.
First thing to consider is what are the terms of the contract. Some providers offer month to month contracts others offer one, two or even three year commitments. You probably don’t want to change phone systems every other month, but a month-to-month contract might offer benefits your company desires (such as a temporary office or flexibility if your company is growing or downsizing). That being said, most of the more advanced systems require some commitment from the end user.
Another thing that is important to consider is the upfront costs. There are a lot of systems out there that offer free phones or phone rental completely eliminating that upfront costs. I offer a great system that comes with free phones, but I ask my customers to take a look at the phones first, especially if they are moving from a premise systems and are used to the traditional PBX phone. Another part of upfront costs is the installation: Who is handling the install and how much will it costs? Will the new phones require upgrades to routers or other local area network (LAN) equipment? The answers to these question will vary greatly. Some carriers drop ship phones and give you a toll free number to call others offer onsite installation and training. As for the network, most carriers have a list of preferred equipment so ask about for it. There may be extra cost needed to make your LAN compatible. It is important to know these things beforehand.
Last, take the time to fully understand how the pricing works. For most hosted phone providers, they simply offer a price-per-seat model and vary the features based on the price you pay for that seat. But, there are other providers that bring the price down by offering price per voice path and a separate price per seat. For instance you might have 30 phones, but only need 15 call paths because not everyone on your staff is on the phone all the time. This can dramatically save you money bringing down the price per seat from $30.00 to less than $20.00.
The Bells and the Whistles
Every hosted phone service is going to offer the basics of hold, transfer, etc. But, one of the greatest things about hosted service is they come with features you used to have to pay extra for with an on premise installation. Many hosted phone systems have rebranded themselves as hosted unified communications (UC) Solutions because that is what the modern office is looking for. So, ask to see the UC software and see how it will benefit your business. Not all of them are the same so make sure it has the features you need like chat or visibility to other users on the system.
Call center services such as automatic call distribution, call recording, and calling metrics are available and often make more sense in a hosted deployment. It used to cost thousands of dollars more to add in a call center but when the service is hosted it is only a few more dollars a month. The best part is, if you are rolling out a call center for the first time to handle your growing business, hosted call center applications do not require an expensive initial investment in capital equipment.
How does the system address the mobile work force and the bring your own device office? Will you require integration to smart phones or tablets? This is a huge part of hosted phone service and can really assist in making your remote workers, road warriors, or even the roving office employee who never seems to be at his desk more connected to the office.
After Installation
How do you add more phones in the future? What about adding another office or a work-from-home employee? Make sure you understand this process. It should be easy to do and not require a ton of support on your end.
Don’t forget maintenance and support. Most of the systems out there are going to come with a web portal to make changes to the system. But, what happens if there is an issue with the system? Who can you call? It is important to know this before there is an issue and to find out exactly what kind of on-going support is offered.
I hope this is helpful to those of you considering a new hosted telephone system. I have worked with companies on their telephony in one capacity or another for over 15 years. I have watched hosted go from a product not ready for prime time to the preferred method of phone service for business. That being said many companies simply order services over the phone or internet and end up spending too much, unhappy with the deployment, or unhappy with final product. That is why I always recommend, that even if you don’t want to sit down with me, meet with someone to fully understand the phone service you are getting. It will save you money and aggravation in the long run.
