Voice over Internet Protocol phone systems, or commonly known as VoIP phone systems, offers customers a unique and growing range of features at an incredibly affordable price. VoIP phone systems are replacing the expensive and in-flexible landlines that most businesses and households use, which is promising for the expanding age of telecommunications.
Making the decision to switch to a VoIP phone system is easy, but the trouble comes with the setup processes. Most services will require their own unique steps, but gaining a general understanding of how a VoIP setup works, will make this setup process seem easier. This article will give you the instructions and tips for getting the most out of your VoIP setup.
By evaluating the benefits of installing a VoIP system for your business will help service providers focus on what your business is looking for. The bottom line is that this type of phone system will cost far less than the average landline does, and the monthly services are much lower as well while providing countless more features. It is also worth mentioning that VoIP systems are one of a kind for most businesses, and many companies have made the switch in order to lower costs, increase profits, and assist in organization growth.
- Mobility: Most leading VoIP systems offer applications for customers, making it easy to log into an account and make changes when needed. All you will need is the number your account is set up with.
- Integrations: Many VoIP services offer call data to be connected with outside solutions. This means that cloud storage and documents can be shared over one common system, making it easy to collaborate, store, and send information to others over your VoIP network.
- Assessing how many users you will need to add to your VoIP system plan will be useful to know as well. Before subscribing to a new service, taking stock of the current size of your business, looking into the projected growth of your team, and taking counts of who will utilize this system is important. Not all employees will need a line, whereas other employees may need more than one. If conference rooms are being used, and meetings will be taking place, it will be easier to decide what type of VoIP service plan you should purchase.
- It is important to ensure you have a compatible network. With VoIP systems operating primarily over the internet, it is vital to have a stable and speedy internet connection for any use. If you plan on having employees hooked up to your business’s VoIP system, your network speed will need to take this into account as well, making sure that you will have a sufficient amount of bandwidth. In order to figure out if your internet can withhold all calls, downloads, and internet browsing, your business can test its internet by using a VoIP speed test. These types of tests can be found online and will be supported by using any internet browser, giving you results in seconds.
- Determining your desired features and hardware upgrades will lead the way in setting up your new system. For businesses of all sizes, there are many different types of services that can be offered depending on your budget and your pre-installed hardware. Many VoIP solutions will have automated attendants that can support forwarding calls, video conferencing, and voice responses, making it easy to offer solutions for all different types of businesses. While looking at what types of software your company is already using will make it easier to choose what type of hardware you need when making the switch.
- After making basic decisions based on the type of things your business is looking for, you can begin to choose a VoIP service provider. It is suggested to look online, speak with local providers, and ask around in order to find the best fit. From there, you can speak more to different servers about the costs and features you can receive.
- Depending on which type of supplier you choose, your VoIP system might require a new private branch exchange box or a PBX. These PBX boxes will save your business the long installation of new software and will connect everything you need right from your office. Once you get a PBX box, you will need to hook the device up to a power source through the use of an ethernet cable. Your system will be set up and from there, you can begin to hook any type of phone or computer to the hardware. Your VoIP service provider will help you with all you need.
- Based on which VoIP system hardware you get, plugging in your phones and allowing them to use the VoIP network will be the most important part of your whole installation process. Many VoIP systems allow you to make calls on a desktop computer or through your mobile phones, but if you do need to connect an actual phone to the network you can do so as well. As previously stated, you can simply connect your phone to your PBX box by using an ethernet cable. Your VoIP system will have plenty of ports, allowing you to directly link all you need. In addition, some of these boxes can even allow your phones to be connected with a wifi connection, skipping having to plug devices in.
- Configuring your service through your provider settings menu will allow for ease and simplicity when it comes to changing your settings. Regardless of what system you chose, you’ll have to configure your menu in order to set up all the added features you choose. The difficulty of this process will depend widely on your service provider. In order to get a better understanding of how to make this process as easy as possible, you can ask your internet provider for more information.
- This is an optional step you can complete but will be very beneficial for most businesses. By connecting VoIP mobile applications to your phone will make it easy to take your business away from the office. In many cases, searching for different VoIP applications in your cell phone’s given application stores will make it easy to download any app you deem important. This is an optional feature that you can skip if you rarely ever work outside your office, but for remote workers, this is a huge added bonus.
The Bottom Line of Setting Up Your VoIP System
As you now know, VoIP systems offer your business and your workforce a full set of modern features for increased communication. These systems end up being much more affordable than that of an average landline and offer much more than it does. With that in mind, taking the proper steps to make sure your business can handle this updated form of telecommunications will be beneficial in the long run, and will improve the set up of these systems.