Phone Systems VOIP Telephony Wireless Voice in USA and Canada
A cloud based phone system is something that every small business should consider investing in, but it would be pure folly to suggest that there aren’t any drawbacks at all to the system. This isn’t to say that there are no drawbacks to a regular phone system though, as this type of system also has a number of different negative points too! But what are the main pros and cons of a cloud based phone system and how could these effect the way in which your business works? To start with, let’s take a look at the advantages of using a cloud based phone system for your place of work. The biggest advantage has nothing to do with functionality or improving productivity though, as it is the fact that the system is just so cheap.
Cloud Phone System for Business
Regular phone systems need lots of money to install, need lots of equipment and also require regular maintenance to ensure that they are kept running properly. With a cloud based phone system, the only initial outlay is for some headsets – assuming that you already have computers with internet access in your office – as the whole service is delivered wirelessly through the wonders of the World Wide Web.
The other massive advantage when it comes to the cost of a cloud based phone system is that the ongoing costs are much lower. This is because the calling plans are much cheaper and also the cost per minute is a lot lower – in fact, they can be considerably lower depending on which phone provider you were previously using. When trying to run a small business, there is nothing worse than being hit by a massive phone bill, therefore severely denting the amount of profit that the business makes over the month.
There are some disadvantages to though when it comes to using a cloud based phone system, with the largest of these being the call quality. Regular phones use actual physical wires to transmit their calls and therefore there is much less chance of any external variables affecting the call quality. Cloud based phones use internet and therefore the company’s internet needs to be robust in order to ensure that it maintains the necessary speed to make the calls sound professional. It can be the case that if too many people are online at once then the call quality will drop considerably, although this can be combatted by ensuring that staff don’t use the internet for anything other than work purposes!
Call quality is actually probably the only disadvantage to this service, therefore it must be decided by you what is the most important – saving valuable pennies for your business or losing a bit of call quality when on the phone to clients. Most people are quite happy to sacrifice this call quality though in order to ensure that the financial wellbeing of their business is slightly more secure in the long term. The end decision though rests solely in your hands…
