Are you frustrated with your business phone system? Do you find that its components simply don’t meet the current needs of your modern company? If so, it may be time to upgrade your VoIP business phone system or make some significant changes to your existing system. A big factor in long-term company success is being able to keep up with evolving technology and consumer demand. You don’t want to wait until you’ve fallen behind your competition to start playing catch up. Think about making one or more of the following upgrades:
New Cables
You get what you pay for, and cables are no exception. Be sure to purchase cables that can handle your data volume. Category 5, 5E, or 6 cables are optimal for handling your volume while providing adequate data speed. Standard CAT5 cables are the oldest of these three types of cables: they support speeds up to 100 MBPS. CAT5e, or CAT5 enhanced cables, support speeds of up to 1000 MBPS. CAT6 cables support speeds of 10 GBPS, but remember that your devices have to be fast enough to take advantage of this extra bandwidth.
Mobile Integration
Smartphones and tablet devices have become integral components in business communications. From small start-ups to large corporations, you cannot run a modern business without viable mobile integration. This integration allows employees to communicate with fellow employees, customers, and other companies on any device from any location, heightening convenience and productivity. Whether you’re engaging in screen sharing during an off-site meeting or you’re Skyping with a co-worker from the airport, you get the access that you need.
CRM
Do you use CRM software? Integrating it with your VoIP business phone system can significantly improve efficiency. Once you’ve synced the systems, your customer service and sales reps will have instant access to customer records such as personal information and order history, providing a streamlined approach to customer relations. Your days of searching a CRM database manually will be no more.
Video Conferencing
In recent years, video conferencing has become quite popular. Whether employees are collaborating with other teams working from varying company locations or they’re participating in conference calls, video conferencing offers quite a few benefits over traditional conference calls. Some of these benefits include helping team members bond, and cultivating deeper relationships with customers. Some software even allows for real time screen shots, enabling two or more people to view and discuss the same material.
Flexibility for Growth
Even if your current VoIP business phone system is cutting it for now, is it going to get the job done five or ten years down the line? Committing to a single hardware provider or support vendor can play an integral role in your return on investment (ROI) or total cost of ownership (TCO) for years to come. Consider phone system solutions that provide flexibility to grow beyond your current system, and that have access to the newest technology such as an extensive range of hybrid and cloud storage solutions and crystal clear video streaming.
If you’re ever in doubt about any aspect of your VoIP business phone system, including potential upgrades, it is important to consult an audit of these above elements of your system. If necessary, you can consult with outside help for information and advice on how to upgrade your VoIP system.
This article was originally published by TTI Houston
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