So you’re interested in switching over to VoIP. Maybe your legacy phone system just isn’t cutting it any more, or perhaps you’re starting a new business in New York, and looking for enterprise phone features at a fraction of the cost and infrastructure. No matter your needs, VoIP is a great option for any company that wants a robust phone system without the traditional charges from the telephone company.
For the unfamiliar, VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) is a phone system that relies on the internet to make calls. We understand that you probably have a lot of other questions as well, so let’s see if we can address some of those here.
What features are common with VoIP?
Most VoIP systems have range of similar features. Many of them resemble – and improve upon – features that you might already be used to from your legacy system. For example, common characteristics may include an automated answering service, call routing, voicemail, and perhaps the most popular feature – find me / follow me forwarding. With find me / follow me, your VoIP system can ring a variety of phones, depending on your preferences. If you’re not going to be in the office, you can set it to call your cell or home phone. The phones can ring all at once or in an order determined by you.
What’s a PBX?
PBX (Private Branch Exchange) serves to connect different lines within a business, as well as with outgoing calls. They enable multiple calls to occur at once, and generally keep your system running smoothly. Put simply, your phone system can’t survive without one. A PBX comes in different forms. Traditional models were bulky and required much hands-on management by internal IT departments, but increasingly they’re occupying less space, or are hosted off site altogether.
What’s the difference between on-premise and cloud-hosting?
New York City is tech savvy. In fact, more and more businesses are exploring alternative options for hosting their VoIP systems. Instead of housing phone hardware in the office, the cloud has made more affordable options a possibility. In this case, the cloud simply refers to off-site hosting of your company’s phone servers. Your provider will oversee and manage them so that you don’t have to.
For the business phone systems NYC companies use most often, contact Steadfast Telecom for more info. We can help clarify if cloud-hosting is right for you, or if traditional on-site hardware is the way to go.
What is scalability?
When reading about VoIP systems, you may notice the word ‘scalability’ come up a lot. This term simply refers to the ability to add or remove services or personnel through your VoIP provider. Unlike traditional phone systems that require expensive manual operation every time you want to make a change, upgrade or downgrade your service, VoIP systems can easily be configured through a web portal. Scalability allows businesses to be flexible when business ebbs and flows.