One area where small businesses are starting to get more involved in, is using cloud-hosted telephony solutions. If you’re not sure you’re ready for that yet, read our post on 4 signs it’s time to move your telephony to the cloud.
If you are thinking about migrating, here are 4 more things to consider before you take the plunge:
#1 Hardware
Cloud telephony saves you money on hardware – no need for a switch or PBX means no big capital outlay and no ongoing maintenance costs.
The one thing you will have to consider is your phones themselves; you may need to purchase new phones to work with all the features of your solution. Some providers will have special offers (like us, for example), and the cost of new phones is infinitely less expensive than the cost of an on-premise phone system.
#2 Bandwidth
Do you have decent bandwidth? As cloud solutions rely on your internet service, you will need a reasonable connection in order to use them effectively. If your service isn’t good enough, consider investing in upgrading to allow you to unlock the benefits of cloud telephony, as well as all the other cloud services that could save your business time and money.
#3 Support
You need to know who you’re dealing with, so you know who to contact in the rare event that something goes wrong. Many cloud companies use resellers, so make sure you know who you’re actually dealing with.
If you use Eurotech Services, for example, you’d always come to us for support (for any service, not just telephony), so you never need worry about having to deal with a faceless cloud provider. Plus, our helpdesk is extremely responsive, so you won’t have to wait for a response either.
#4 Scalability
One of the big benefits of hosted telephony over on-premise systems is the fact that you don’t have to try and guess how much capacity you’ll need now and in the future. Choose a cloud provider that offers easy scalability, so your solution will grow with your business.
You can add users as and when you need to, and only pay for a number of users you’re actually using – rather than having redundant capacity “just in case”. If you’re expanding into new locations, or have a team who sometimes work from home, having a cloud solution that caters to your needs saves you the time, cost, and effort of setting up different networks wherever you need them.
Scalability is about protecting your future growth, and cloud solutions are the ideal solution.