Cloud-based phone systems are still often misunderstood by many businesses which is unfortunate because they not only save businesses money, but they also offer fantastic features that were either unavailable or unaffordable with traditional landline business systems.
As a provider of cloud-based telephony it’s our business to know everything about our products as we only want to provide our customers with the very best in high quality telephone systems and equipment. That’s why we thought we would put together this blog to dispel the myths surrounding cloud phone systems.
Myth 1: Calls over the internet aren’t as good as with a normal phone line
Truth: Call quality with cloud-based phone systems often matches or even exceeds call quality with landline services. In fact, a properly configured network accounts for any issues that may arise and any network elements between the phone and your provider should have Quality of Service configured. The only real requirement for your cloud phone system is to have a good enough bandwidth speed in in order to sustain high-quality voice calls.
Myth 2. Cloud Phone Systems are not for small businesses
Truth: This is actually a myth that we have come across a lot when talking to our customers. Because of the scalability of Cloud-based telephony, many believe that it is not suitable for a smaller business when in fact it is quite the opposite. It is due to the scalability and cost savings of cloud that makes it perfect for the smaller business. With an affordable monthly cost including hardware, software, local, national and mobile calls it makes it a much more affordable option. Also if you are planning to grow your business in the future, there is no need to install phone lines, everything can be done quickly through a web portal without expensive changes to your existing IT systems.
Myth 3: It won’t be able to do everything my phone system can
Truth: Cloud-based phone systems offer all of the features that a traditional PBX system offers but with the addition of features such as:
– Mobility: If you or any of your employees work out of the office a lot, then your smartphone can become the extension of your phone system. You can redirect all of your office calls to your mobile but still make it look as though you are in the office.
– Flexibility: The easy use of the web portal means you can configure your phone system without having to wait for an engineer. You can add or remove users, apply call forwarding, answer and transfer calls between all your staff regardless of their location and as long as you are somewhere there is an Internet connection, your good to go.
– Video conferencing: With a Cloud phone system not only does it handle regular phone calls, cloud phone systems typically offer softphones such as a webphone allowing you to utilise video conferencing through your computer or handset depending on the handset.
– Cost: With a cloud based telephone system you get state-of-the-art technology at a fraction of the cost because you are renting ports from a high spec fully functional telephone system, as opposed to making an investment in an on-site system to offer you the same features.
– Disaster Recovery: If the worst happens and you can no longer function from your office environment, with a cloud telephone system you can divert all your calls to ring straight to your mobile or any other landline.
Myth 4: You need to be a tech genius to set it up
Truth: Unlike when you have a landline installed and it causes complete chaos in the office, with Cloud-based phone systems it really couldn’t be any simpler. The only hardware you need are the handsets themselves and everything else is configured through the web portal that don’t even require any IT skills to use. If you know how to check your email you can set up a Cloud phone system.
Myth 5: It costs you more money in the long run
As I discussed above in Myth 3, the cost of setting up Cloud phone systems is a fraction of the cost of setting up a traditional phone system. Not only that but all local and long distance calls are included in the monthly charge for cloud phone systems with international calls significantly cheaper and there are no hidden charges at all; you simply pay to rent the port. Also there is no maintenance to worry about like you do with a traditional landline system as there is no complicated hardware or wires, everything can be done through the portal and you can go on with your business.
If you are considering your options and want some advice on Cloud telephone systems or which system might be most suited for your business, please contact us on 0800 50 533 50 to discuss further. Alternatively, download our Buyers Guide that can help you get the answers you need, to make the right decisions about your telephone
