Introduction
If you are in business, you need a reliable phone system. A VoIP phone system is the best choice for any business that wants to have the flexibility and power of VoIP but also requires traditional features such as Call Transfer and Ringback Tones. There are many factors that go into choosing which type of phone system will work best for your business or organization, so it's important to consider all of them before making a decision about which one is right for your needs.
Virtual PBX
Virtual PBX is a centralized phone system that's hosted in the cloud. This means you don't have to worry about managing your own equipment or setting up new lines, since it’s all done remotely. It also means you can have as many virtual phones as you want—whether they're located at home or at work—and they'll be automatically transferred between locations when needed.
In addition to having all the features of traditional PBX systems (voicemail transcription, call recording), virtual PBXs are more reliable than their physical counterparts because there's no need for any additional hardware or software on the end user's side; instead, everything happens behind the scenes via an internet connection like Skype for Business or Google Hangouts On Air (formerly known as Google Hangouts).
SIP
SIP is a standard for voice over internet protocol. It stands for Session Initiation Protocol and it's also known as VoIP, or Voice over IP. This means that if you have an internet connection, you can make and receive calls through your phone system.
SIP uses UDP (User Datagram Protocol) to send messages around the world so users don't have to pay extra fees for data plans or call forwarding numbers when they're traveling outside their home country.
Hosted PBX
Hosted PBX is a cloud-based phone system that offers all of the functionality of traditional PBXs, but without the need for hardware or software. It's an affordable option for small businesses who want to add multiple lines without investing in additional equipment.
If you want to add users quickly, hosted PBX is also a good choice because it allows them to be added at any time without having to purchase additional hardware or software licenses.
Consistent Call Quality
Call quality is important for any business. If your calls aren’t received as well as they should be, customers will turn to another company. Your employees will also be less likely to stay at work if their calls aren’t being answered properly. Also, if you rely on VoIP phone systems for business communication and service, which many small businesses do now (especially in areas where cell coverage is limited or nonexistent), it can be difficult—if not impossible—to deliver consistent call quality over the Internet or through an analog connection such as T1 lines.
There are several reasons why consistent call quality is so important:
It helps consumers feel confident about using your services or products because they know what kind of experience they can expect from you each time they make a call
It shows that customers have faith in your organization's ability to deliver consistently high-quality customer service
Multi-site Support
Multi-site support is important for businesses that operate in multiple locations. With multi-site support, you can manage your business from anywhere and at any time. You'll be able to access your phone system from any device—including a laptop or desktop computer as well as an Android phone or iPhone—and from any location: home or office; on the road; even in an airplane!
Auto Attendant
Auto Attendant is a feature that allows you to automatically answer calls and route them to the right person. It can also be used for routing calls directly into your voicemail system, or even routing faxes directly into your fax machine. This is useful if you have multiple extensions on your phone system and want all of them answered with only one button press.
Find Me / Follow Me
Find Me/Follow Me allows you to forward your calls to any number of locations. This is a great feature for small businesses or individuals who have multiple offices, home offices or mobile devices.
Find Me/Follow Me is available on both traditional PBX systems and cloud solutions, so it can be used for business continuity or disaster recovery purposes.
Office Hours
Office hours are a critical part of the VoIP phone system. Office hours are times when users can pick up their phones and start making calls, or ask questions about using the system.
Office hours are typically set up as follows:
When you set office hours, be sure to include both daytime and evening hours so everyone can use your VoIP phone system without interruption. You may also want to consider setting up different offices per location in order to better serve customers near each other but located at different locations (i.e., one office per state).
It's important that you provide information about how long each user will have access to his/her account before being locked out again by instituting a time limit on all accounts so no one gets left out!
Call Queuing
Call queuing is a feature that allows your business to handle multiple calls at once. This can be useful for businesses with a high volume of calls, because it allows them to prioritize the most important calls over others and free up their agents' time by putting less-important ones on hold while they handle the first one.
Call queuing also helps you keep your employees busy while they're working in order to reduce downtime caused by long periods of silence between customers (which means no money lost).
Reporting & Analytics
One of the most important things you can do to ensure your VoIP phone system is reliable is to collect and analyze data from it. This includes the number of calls made, how long they lasted and what type of call they were (calls for business or personal).
Once you’ve gathered this information, it’s important that you make sure that it's organized in a way that makes sense for you. You should then be able to visualize the information so that everyone who needs access has easy access at all times – whether this means highlighting certain aspects on different pages or devices/tools within your company environment.
As well as collecting data about users' interactions with their phones, there are other ways in which businesses can benefit from analytics:
Understanding customer behaviour patterns - For example if customers are using one provider more than another provider then companies could change their marketing strategy accordingly without changing any infrastructure at all!
CRM Integration
One of the most important aspects of any business is its ability to manage its leads and contacts. The CRM integration in a VOIP phone system allows you to easily integrate your sales, marketing and customer service teams into one centralized database. It also allows for seamless communication between each department so that all employees can work together seamlessly.
With this feature, you'll be able to:
Manage leads from your website or other online marketing channels (like Facebook ads)
Access data from different sources such as Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics CRM systems
Record calls with clients directly into their own history
your business should have a reliable phone system
If your business is going to be successful, it needs a reliable phone system. A good quality VoIP phone system will ensure that you are able to communicate with customers and colleagues easily, even if there is no internet connection. The best way to find out if the company you're thinking about using has one of these systems is by asking them directly about their services and costs.
If you don't have any experience with IP PBXs (the type that allows multiple users on different extensions), then reading through our guide on how they work will help explain everything in more detail: http://www.tech-rehabs.com/guide_ip_pbx_systems/.
Conclusion
All in all, VoIP phone systems are a great way to get your business up and running. With so many options available, it can be overwhelming to choose what type will work best for your needs. We hope this article has helped you narrow down your choices by providing an overview of some of the most popular options for businesses that want to use VOIP technology today!
