How to Pick the Right Telecoms Provider for Your Business
By Gemma Reeves
There are many factors at play in the success of a business. There’s the preparation of a sound business plan, and having enough training to know how to carry it out. Selecting a business location that is accessible and attractive to customers is important. Having enough finances to sustain the cash flow for your business is, of course, a must.
Then there is the work of getting the paperwork and the permits ready. However, there is one more thing that is vital for your business: your telecommunications system.
It is a means of communicating not only with your clients but most especially to everyone in your business team. Much like the transport systems in our cities, having a good telecommunication system is integral in the operation and the organisation of any business.
With all the advancements in technology, there are now so many telecom system options to choose from.
However, before you pick out any telecom service provider, here are a few pointers to note:
1. Know what system your business needs
The first step is in understanding what type of communication system your business might need. If you already have a system in place, it is best to evaluate if the current system is cost effective and is still meeting the needs and goals of your company.
If it does not, then it is time to consider replacing it with a new one or changing your service provider. It is also best to consider is the risk you have if and when a telecom failure would happen.
2. Plan according to your requirements
Once you know what you need, set it down to a plan and see how many connections you would need. Since the nature of your staff’s work is different, note which services or features that they would need, and what would be their foremost requirements.
If most of your staff only need a basic connection for their work, then giving them analog phones would cut down on the costs, instead of letting everyone have VoIP phones.
3. Choose your service provider
With your plan in hand, find a service provider who can provide you with what you need. It is advisable to find a single service provider for all the services, so there won’t be any confusion and miscommunication as they work on giving you the system that you would need. Also, the billings would be less of a hassle since it would only come from one company.
Find a service provider that can provide you information from different suppliers. They can give you suggestions on which supplier would be best for your system. Check if they have ISO quality standards and see if they are known for their service by the business and industry awards that they have.
4. Choose quality over quantity
While providers may give out offers that would make you save more in the beginning, if the quality of their service is not at par with what you need, then this could make you lose more profit and customers in the long run.
5. Save on costs
Most telecom providers provide options for updating instead of completely replacing an existing communication system. You can upgrade to a hosted telephone system which uses an off site system in a data center, or more commonly known as a Cloud.
Before switching to a cloud-based system, it is best to check the following with the service provider: the infrastructure and technology used, and if it has the capacity to scale with the needs of your business; and the sustainability and security of the network.
You can also decrease the number of connections as needed, or use IP trunks for long distance calls. Also, consider upgrading to a system that would be compatible with the current equipment you have in order to avoid the extra cost of upgrading your equipment.
However, take into mind that your current equipment can easily be obsolete and the upgrade to a newer one might cost more in the future.
Final Thoughts
With the abundance of telecom providers with each of these providers having tons of options for you to choose from, the decision always seems to get harder to make.
But if you do the research and the leg work needed to learn and seek out the one that would best suit you and your business, there is indeed a provider that would be perfect or rather best suited to your needs.
A great virtual pbx system will certainly boost your business efficiency.
- How to Pick the Right Telecoms Provider for Your Business - July 10, 2017