Monday, February 18, 2013

Cloud PBX Office Telephone – Things you need to know before making the Switch



A cloud PBX office telephone system is probably one of the most cost effective and flexible solutions out there in the market today. Through smart deployment and programming VoIP service providers are able to save you around 50% all the way up to 70% on your phone bills. However like any other good solutions there are also quite a few things that you need to know for a successful deployment.

Internet connection – One of the most important aspects that you need to look into before even considering a cloud PBX office telephone system is our internet connection. Your bandwidth requirements will depend on how many handsets you wish to have and how many computers are hooked onto it. Generally a single phone on standby consumes about 50 megabytes per month not much but the problem often roots to the stability of the connection and not the speed.

Before acquiring a cloud PBX office telephone it is best that you run VoIP test on your internet and make sure that packet drops are minimal and latency is at a reasonable level. Make sure that you inform you ISP of your intention of using VoIP so they can remove any firewalls and allow all VoIP traffic.

Modem and router – Some businesses tend to neglect their modems and or routers. But make sure that you don’t do the same mistake. Modems and routers are very important because it will serve as the termination point of your bandwidth. Some old models are unable to handle VoIP traffic well so it is best to replace these old ones with a newer model that your service provider will recommend to avoid any inconvenience during your business operations.

Phones – A cloud PBX office telephone system lets you choose your handsets, you can go for an IP phone a computer based soft phone and even use your mobile or tablets. However before you get excited and jump in and settling for one there are also must know considerations. 

IP phones are one of the most popular solutions because it gives you that office telephone like feeling and it is to secure a good brand and model. Just remember thought that these IP handsets are not like your regular handsets, these run using a firmware so be sure that the proper version is uploaded to it as well as the audio codec. As for soft phones, the only considerations that you need to know is the audio codec that it supports, free ones are often loaded with just the basic codec and often times these are not designed for business use so opting for the paid ones may be a better choice. Lastly, mobiles and tablets are really good options if you want that high tech feeling but be sure to have the proper application. Being wireless it also has some glitches, if you are unable to get the full reception of your 3g services then it is not a wise option but if you intend to use it with a Wi-Fi then you are good to go as long as nobody is pushing your connection.

No comments:

Post a Comment