The end of the road for traditional telephone systems is in sight. They’re being replaced by a smarter, faster solution called hosted voice which makes calls over the internet as opposed to through an analogue landline or cellular network. All you need is internet connectivity and you’re ready to go. The following is a buyer’s guide to Hosted Voice which aims to assist you in in the buying process and ensure that you select the Hosted Voice solution best suited to meet your organisation’s needs.
What are the top considerations when purchasing a hosted voice solution?
- Your workforce
Work is no longer a place. Your staff work in the office, from home, in the car and in a range of other locations. Collaboration is key to ensure that your team remains connected and productive and hosted voice provides the ideal solution.
- Reducing costs
Hosted voice is growing in popularity not least because of the cost reductions achieved from its deployment. The average cost of calls can be reduced by 90 per cent and there is no capital expenditure involved so no unwelcome surprises.
- Futureproofing
Hosted voice is the future of communications. Openreach will stop supporting its copper-based network in 2025. You need your business to be functioning at the optimum level and part of that is ensuring that you’re using the latest technology. Hosted voice solutions are evolving with new features on a continual basis and your business needs to be part of that to remain competitive.
- Everything is cloudy
Trust in the cloud is at an all-time high with the wide acceptance that it’s a safe and secure place. Forrester Research tells us that this year the global public cloud infrastructure market will grow 35 percent to $120 billion in 2021, as the cloud continues to “take centre stage” in the recovery from the pandemic. Consequently, more businesses are deploying working processes in the cloud, and migration to a cloud-based voice solution is the obvious next step.
What should you be looking for in your hosted voice provider?
While many providers will say that they are experts you should be looking for a provider that specialises in communications solutions. Ask for proof of their experience with examples of previous deployments and happy customers.
Check how regularly your solution will be updated with more advanced solutions. Also understand the provider’s commitment to ongoing investment in the system. We would also recommend that you have access to UK support teams should any issues arise.
What is the typical implementation time for a hosted voice solution?
Hosted voice can be deployed from any location providing there is an internet connection. The solution is plug and play which should be implemented with the support of an expert provider. The time it takes to install a solution depends on the number of users but when compared with the installation of a traditional telephone system it reduces in most cases by 50 per cent.
There is no specialist equipment required and, in most instances, there will be no time. We put together an outline of the process that we follow which can be found here.
What improvements should you expect to see once your hosted voice solution is up and running?
The improvements you can expect to see when deploying a hosted voice solutions are plentiful and include:
- Reduction in calling costs
- Better collaboration wherever your team is located
- Scalability to flex up and down to suit your requirements
- Once consistent monthly cost
- Advanced call handling to inbound calls to ensure that customers receive the optimum service
- A futureproof solution that integrates with your applications and tools and ensure that you’re keeping pace technology.
Are you interested in learning more about how a hosted voice solution can benefit your business? Get in touch today via hello@calteq.co.uk