Updated on February 25, 2015 by John Clarke
The first question most business owners and decision makers have, when thinking about upgrading ANY business process or technology, is: how much does it cost?
When it comes to an upgrade to voice over IP telecommunications, the answer is simple. The cost to upgrade is minimal, and the savings a business will experience by switching to VoIP can be considerable. Although the dollar amount can vary greatly, depending on your needs, here are a few of the costs associated with an upgrade.
Ohio.net’s costs for services range based on features and size of the system, so that you are only paying for what you need. Prices begin at $15 per user on the system, up to $40 per user. Compare that to competitors – where you often have to purchase stock plans that may be more (or less!) than what your business needs.
When you break it down, though, there are many ways VoIP can help businesses save money and improve their communications.
Multiple Offices
One way that a VoIP phone system can save you money is by eliminating the costs associated with multiple office locations. Between the costs of local phone service for each location, different phone systems, and a frustrated IT person trying to bridge the inefficiency gap within the disparate systems, running telecommunications across multiple offices can be pricey.
VoIP takes multiple phone systems and turns them into one enterprise-wide system – hosted in the cloud – which means employees in multiple offices use the same solutions, and all changes, support, and updates happen centrally, saving money and time.
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Reporting
VoIP offers reporting at a detail level that traditional phone systems simply cannot do. A Hosted VoIP system can tell you who is using the phone system and whom they are calling. Phone companies usually give you a hefty paper report that is difficult to navigate. With a VoIP phone system, data is available in an easy-to-access, and immediate report.
Ease of reporting can save money because a business can identify inefficiencies and correct them. This is the case especially in companies with call centers.
Call Centers
There is no need to finance expensive systems with bells and whistles. VoIP allows call centers to use only the features they need without the company being forced to buy and maintain a high-priced system.
And, since some VoIP platforms have recording built in, there’s no need for additional call recording hardware. Others can have an add-on enabled to record calls on a server.
A VoIP phone system also creates robust call detail reporting for call centers, so call center managers and executives have access to more data than they have in the past. Traditional phone companies can give a list of calls that take place, the length of the call and the cost of each call, but that’s it. VoIP offers all that information, as well as which operators are handling which calls and other data that can inform companies as to trends in call flow.
In addition, call center managers can easily see which day of the week has the highest call volume, which weeks of the year are busiest, and more. That sort of data helps managers make smart staffing and shift decisions, which saves money and improves efficiency.
There are many other ways VoIP phone system can help companies save money. Contact us today to learn about Ohio.net’s affordable VoIP and other phone systems and internet services, and talk to us about how your new telecommunications system can save you time AND money.