Is Your On-Prem Phone System Holding Your Business Back?

Technology is a beautiful thing for most businesses, and many people have discovered the benefits of a cloud-based phone system for their business. Traditional on-premises phone systems, can negatively impact a business, especially in today's fast-paced and technology-driven business environment.

Here are some ways traditional on-premises phone systems can negatively impact a business:

1. Limited functionality: Traditional phone systems provide limited functionality and lack features like geographic call routing, call transcription, softphone applications, and easy integrations with other business software. This can result in inefficient call handling and reduced productivity.

2. Costly: Traditional phone systems can be expensive to maintain and upgrade, with charges for installation, hardware purchases, and maintenance. Businesses must also pay extra for long-distance calls, which can add to substantial expenses over time.

3. Inflexibility: Traditional phone systems are typically inflexible and not adaptable to changing business needs - such as the need to support remote workers. Expanding or reducing phone lines can be costly and time-consuming, and changing call routing and voicemail requires outside technical expertise.

4. Limited scalability: Traditional phone systems may be unable to handle the increased call volume as the business grows. This can lead to busy signals, dropped calls, and extended customer hold times, resulting in frustration and lost business opportunities.

5. Geographical limitations: Traditional phone systems are limited to physical landlines, which can be an issue for businesses with multiple locations or remote workers. 

6. Poor reliability: Traditional phone systems rely on last mile providers to deliver connectivity. If that provider goes down, so will your phone system. This can harm the business's reputation and lead to customer dissatisfaction.

If modern business VoIP phone systems offer more advanced features and greater flexibility, why do some businesses hesitate to let go of their increasingly outdated landline-based systems?

Why do businesses hesitate to adopt cloud-based phone systems

For many companies, maintaining the status quo is the way to go. "We've always done it this way, and it's worked well so far" has been the rallying cry of many companies looking to reject new technological innovations. They call new tech "fads" and suggest they're not all they're cracked up to be.

But some VoIP resisters cite specific concerns regarding a cloud-based phone system. 

1. Call Quality: Some businesses may worry that calls will experience QoS (Quality of Service) issues like jitter and latency impacting call clarity. 

2. Reliability issues: Some businesses may be concerned that their phone service will be interrupted if there are issues with the internet connection or cloud provider. 

3. Security concerns: Some businesses may worry that their cloud data and communications are insecure

4. Learning curve: Switching to a new phone system can be a significant change for employees, and some businesses may worry about the time and effort it takes to convert and train employees on a new system.

5. Cost concerns: Some businesses may worry that a cloud-based phone system will be more expensive than their current traditional phone system. 

But most of the fears are unfounded and just plain wrong. Businesses that choose a reputable cloud-based phone system provider can quickly mitigate these concerns and enjoy the benefits of a flexible, scalable, and cost-effective phone system.

Should businesses look at VoIP options more closely?

Most of the fears surrounding VoIP come from a lack of trust in cloud-based phone system providers. Most reputable providers offer safe, secure, reliable cloud-based phone services and actually give their customers the better call quality, security, and reliability as a landline-based system. 

Providers offer high levels of security, with encryption, single sign-on (SSO), and multi-factor authentication (MFA) that protect against unauthorized access.

Multiple data centers instances and built-in redundancies ensure continuity of service, such as automatically switching to a backup internet connection or rerouting calls to a secondary phone number. Softphone applications offered by VoIP providers allow users to work anywhere using devices like laptops, tablets, and mobile devices.This mitigates fears of unreliability and ensure phone systems access. 

Integrations with popular business software platforms allow companies to streamline workflows and improve productivity. Intuitive user interfaces offer training and support to help businesses and their employees get up to speed quickly.

And those concerns about cost? Most cloud-based phone systems have lower upfront costs and fewer ongoing maintenance costs, making them more cost-effective in the long run.

Is your on-premises phone system holding your business back?

Your on-premises system may well be holding your business back in various ways. Here are some questions to ask yourself about your business as you consider whether a VoIP system may work for you.

1. Do you experience limited functionality? Does your current system have features like geographic call routing, call transcription, softphone applications? These vital features can result in inefficient call handling, reduced productivity, and missed business opportunities.

2. Is your traditional phone system expensive to maintain? On-premises systems can be costly to maintain and upgrade, incurring additional charges for installation, hardware purchases, and maintenance. Long-distance calls can also be expensive, adding significant expenses over time.

3. Does your on-premises system adapt to your changing business needs? The inflexibility attributed to on-premises designs often makes them non-adaptable to changing business needs. Expanding or reducing phone lines can be costly and time-consuming, and changing call routing and voicemail requires technical expertise. Also, softphone applications are not available with on-premises systems eliminating the option of supporting remote work.

4. Can your on-premises system handle increasing call volumes? Cloud-based systems are known for their flexibility. A lack of scalability from your traditional phone system can lead to busy signals, dropped calls, and extended customer hold times, resulting in frustration and lost business opportunities.

5. Is your on-premises system limiting your scalability? For businesses with multiple locations or remote workers, cloud-based systems are ideal. Connecting employees or customers outside the local calling areas can be challenging, leading to missed business opportunities.

6. Is your on-premises phone system creating a poor customer experience? Traditional phone systems rely on last mile providers to deliver connectivity. If a last mile provider goes down, so will your phone system. This can harm the business's reputation and lead to customer dissatisfaction.

If you are experiencing any of these issues, it may be time to consider upgrading to a modern business phone system, such as a cloud-based phone system. Cloud-based phone systems offer advanced features, greater flexibility, and cost savings, making them a better option for businesses in today's competitive environment.

Simplicity has various options for your business to upgrade away from your on-premises system to a cloud-based one. With the features and options to keep your systems up and running smoothly, Simplicity is a fantastic choice to host your business VoIP needs.