Businesses rely on effective communication for seamless operations. A few centuries ago, the only means of communication was through letters and messengers. But, with the invention of telephony in the late 18th century, the norms slowly changed. And ever since, landlines have been the go-to option for businesses. They are easy to get and maintain. But, when it comes to scaling up your business, it might pose some significant challenges.
Well, traditional telephony has proven its worth over the decades. It is reliable, offers accessible communication at economical rates, and is also easy to set up initially.
However, the times are changing. Business owners seek better efficiency and responsiveness in communication technologies.
The Issue With Traditional Phone Systems
Though the traditional on-site phone systems have been around for a long time, they are not immune to shortcomings. For instance, the hardware costs, setup fees, and service charges are pretty high. On top of that, adding more phone lines would also mean increased stress for scaling business ventures.
The users need to be on-site to answer phone calls. This makes it nearly impossible to work remotely.
Of course, there is a need to upgrade the communications systems. Especially in times like this, when most of the companies are preferably choosing a remote workforce.
So, what are the alternatives? Well, there are many. But to keep the context, we’ll be focussing on VoIP calling only.
What Is VoIP?
VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. As the name suggests, the technology uses an internet connection for voice calls. Of course, you’d wish to go through a complete VoIP Review before getting it for your business. But, it is also essential to understand how the service would enhance your business communications.
First of all, the problems concerning cost and remote accessibility can be easily tackled with VoIP. Secondly, internet calling also offers easy scaling when you wish to extend your communication lines.
On this note, it should be easy for you to learn the alternatives that VoIP has to offer.
The Alternatives To Traditional Phone Systems
Here are the three alternatives to traditional phone systems that you can use for your small business needs.
Non-Hosted VoIP
As mentioned already, VoIP technology uses an existing internet connection for making phone calls. It means there is no need for the traditional old-fashioned phone lines.
The technology is supported on any internet-enabled device, such as a computer or a mobile phone. With a non-hosted VoIP system, the user is responsible for setting up the connection and maintaining it.
It is worth mentioning that any drop in internet connectivity would mean no communications over the IP network. And, since the user is responsible for setting up and maintaining the system, it could often be challenging to handle all these tasks. Especially when the company is growing and other necessary jobs require attention too.
Cloud-Based VoIP Systems
The second alternative to traditional phone systems is a cloud-based VoIP system. Along with all the benefits of using a non-hosted VoIP, the latter only eliminates the user’s responsibility.
Indeed, the service provider would be responsible for the initial setup and maintenance needs. However, choosing the best voip providers for your business is the most critical part when choosing cloud-based VoIP systems. After all, nobody would like a sluggish service provider when it comes to their business needs.
Also, cloud-based VoIP systems take out all the stress of setting up and maintaining communications. Hence, leaving you ample time to focus on growing your business.
Virtual Systems
Last but not least is a virtual system or assistant. Essentially, it means that all your calls would be forwarded to a remote team or staff member.
A virtual assistant would take care of the phone calls and voicemails on your behalf. Besides, they can also administer other tasks like emails and faxes for your business.
Quite obviously, a virtual system frees you up from all the communication tasks. And lets you focus on other pressing tasks for your business. A typical example of virtual systems is IVR (Interactive Voice Response.) It can be programmed to respond to specific queries by identifying the key terms and responses from the user.
Choosing a suitable alternative for your business’s communication needs is essential for economic reasons. At the same time, it also helps improve your business operations. No matter what alternate system you choose, you’d certainly be more relaxed with the convenience it has to offer. As far as the traditional phone systems are concerned, they are already witnessing a limiting downfall. Now, what we must anticipate is how eagerly the business owners adopt these advanced and better alternatives.
This is a Sponsored Post – the author has requested this post be shared on Women in Ecommerce – WECAI.org and WE were compensated for sharing.
