Choosing a VOIP
service is not always down to finding the lowest price. Cheap is not
the same as inexpensive. You'll need to think about what features you
need to support your organisation both now and in the future.
Telephone services
vendors are Grand Masters when it comes down to sneaking in
additional costs/fees to the customer's bill. The headline price
figure displayed prominently on a web site is rarely what you end up
paying.
You'll need to
consider what access you have to technical support for computers and
networks. Once a VOIP service is working they generally work well.
However there is often an initial need to tinker with network
settings to get everything working properly. You might need to make
some improvements to your data network to ensure good data security
and a good quality voice on your phones. You should also have access
to a technician during the operation of your service for when
problems arise. Such problems are infrequent, but baffling for the
lay-person. The level of data network support provided by the VOIP
service vendor can vary considerably. Their support often stops at
the point where the telecom data service enters your building.
If you are using
VOIP phones they are generally just plug in and go provided they've
been properly configured. Just as with your desk top PC the software
hidden in the phones will need an occasional update for fixes,
improvements and security patches. You may need technical support to
ensure this update process takes place. Some VOIP vendors will do
this remotely, others may give you no assistance on this matter.
You should also
carefully check the contract period and how it is handled at renewal.
You might pay monthly but still be enrolling in a three year contract
with expensive exit charges should you need to change your mind. Make
sure you have an exit should the vendor be unable to get your system
working. Watch out for extra costs such as telephone number rental.
In assessing a
contract make sure you know:
-
Implementation Costs
-
Expected cost
-
Contractually committed cost
-
"Out of plan" cost projections
When comparing phone
call tariffs work out how many minutes you'll need per use per month
then check what the costs will be if you exceed the plan. Some call
plans tie the "minutes" to users with no transfer between
user plans. Watch out for how call times are measured. Is it to the
nearest minute, or are call times rounded up to the next whole
minute. Call Set up fees can vary considerably between vendors; the
financial impact depends on the call usage pattern of your business.
You may find some vendors particularly BT round up the individual
call costs to the next pence amount. If your business makes a lot of
short outgoing calls the impact of call set up fees and cost rounding
can be significant.
Despite all the
considerations mentioned above you will almost inevitably save a lot
of money on telecoms costs by moving to VOIP. You also gain
considerably in business flexibility. However don't ditch your existing phone system until you've used the VOIP for a while and be sure to retain at least one incoming number on a traditional land line.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We automatically delete any SPAM comments. All comments are subject to moderation before publishing. Any SPAM is individually reported to Google as such, this reduces the offending site's Google Ranking.