As of 2011, the number of VoIP subscribers was estimated to be 178 million, and that number was only expected to grow. While more and more businesses in Westchester (among other cities) are switching to VoIP, many people may not be familiar with some of the internet-based phone system’s top features. Clearly the big benefit is savings. But did you know that the best hosted PBX Westchester services can also augment your office security and provide detailed data reports?

Whether you’re new to VoIP, or are a long-time user who wants a refresh on its benefits, you should take note of some of its whole-package features.

Do business on the go

For travelers or people who have to split their time between home and office, you don’t have to be tied to your office line. As long as there’s an internet connection, calls can reach you no matter where you go. Additionally, most VoIP services offer Find Me / Follow Me routing, which means you can establish a list of lines that will receive an incoming call before going to voicemail. If your location changes throughout the day, this is ideal.

Enhance security

While security is critical to your VoIP provider, it’s not just limited to internet activity. You can actually connect your system with a special door phone. When visitors arrive, you can speak to them on an analog phone, and then decide whether or not to buzz them in. You can use the feature as your primary mode of entry security, or as a supplemental back up.

Get nuanced data

Time is money, and the best way to determine the allocation of time is to analyze how it’s most effectively spent. Not only can you generate inbound / outbound call reports, cloud-based services can show how much bandwidth you’re using. Reports will allow you to see data usage over time, so you can fine-tune your business strategy. Likewise, with call reports, you can figure out exactly how much money you’re spending while on the phone.

Live training for your employees

Coaching your employees after they’ve hung up with a call can be effective, but not as effective as doing it in real time. Barge and Whisper are features that let you listen and talk to your employees while they try to close a deal or advise a client on the phone. Barge lets you listen in and communicate through alerts, and Whisper lets you contact them without the person on the other end knowing it.

Voicemail to email

Assistants are imperative, but VoIP lets you free up some of their time to spend on other important tasks. Rather than listening to and taking notes from your voicemails, you can activate the voicemail to email function, which actually transcribes the messages for you. Additionally, it gives you an opportunity to organize them online instead of having to save them within your phone.