As a provider of all types of phone systems, we have recently noticed a lot of suspicious marketing messages promoting online VoIP telephone systems over and above on-site hybrid VoIP systems and because of this, we thought it would be useful to set the record straight with some clear advice.
In the same way that an off premise hosted Microsoft exchange/server solution doesn’t work for everyone, you should always consider all of your options, including on and off-site systems for your business telephone needs whenever you’re looking to upgrade or invest in a new telephone system.
Let’s take look at the top 6 most popular myths…
Myth 1. You can keep your existing telephone number and have it provided anywhere you are migrating it onto your VoIP phones. This is something you can do with either an on-site hybrid VoIP system using SIP or with a hosted VoIP platform.
Myth 2. You can manage your calls easily from anywhere you have internet access. A call handling portal is something you can use on either an on-site hybrid VoIP system using SIP or with a hosted VoIP platform, you just need this setting up and away you go.
Myth 3. You can link your mobile phone to your desk phone so they can ring together. This is a standard feature of any hosted system or an on-site system. If on-site you would need to be using ISDN2 or SIP as your lines connection for this in order for it to be an approved feature along with an adequate number of lines for the twinning to mobile calls.
Myth 4. Only pay for the number you need and flex up and down to suit your needs. Most hosted platforms have a minimum contract term of 12 months and most up to 36 months, once you have taken a user subscription you have it for the term at the monthly rental agreed. With most on-site systems you only buy the number of phones you need when you upgrade or replace your system and as you tend to buy whichever solution is best for you, there is always a risk of having too many phones if you downsize.
Myth 5. It’s just Opex you need to consider with a hosted VoIP system. It really doesn’t matter which way you go here, you can rent a phone system whether it’s on-site or off-site and the costs for the phones, cabling, network switches or on-site system can all be taken on a Capex or Opex basis.
Myth 6. Call charges are less on VoIP. This used to be the case when the technology was first introduced however over time the cost of calls on SIP or more traditional lines such as ISDN2 or analogue are pretty much the same as with host VoIP nowadays.
What we’re trying to say: Don’t always believe the hype around new technology, whilst we appreciate the market changes all the time and yes newer faster technologies are being introduced every year, sometimes it’s worth looking into the functionality of the system you are currently using before you decide to upgrade or invest in a new one. This way you could save yourself a lot of money because most of the time, these new added features that companies rave on about are already an effective feature on many existing systems.
