For organizations considering hosted voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) telephony, selecting the right vendor is crucial to a successful outcome. Federal Communications Commission regulation of VoIP is still unfolding, which means there are many cloud-based VoIP providers for organizations to choose from. The quality, customer service and rates of these prospective providers can vary significantly.
To avoid VoIP vendor regret related to terrible call quality, dropped calls, hidden costs or other disasters, let's review six of the biggest mistakes companies make when selecting a VoIP provider.
1. Choosing a provider without Business Continuity Planning
Business continuity planning should be central to any modern organization's disaster-recovery strategy. Hosted VoIP offers you the remarkable benefit of having your entire phone system listed off-premises except for the handsets, as MyItPros points out.
However, if your VoIP provider has failed to consider redundancy, their disaster could spell extended phone outages for your organization. No business can afford to spend a week or even a day without phone service. Ensure any potential hosted VoIP provider has a clear "Plan B" in case their data center is affected by disaster or other outages.
2. Failing to Purchase Add-On Features
For many companies, part of the appeal of VoIP is the potential for add-on features. Teleconferencing, chat, software integration, visual voice mail, and mobile connectivity can facilitate remarkable productivity gains for organizations. If you're eager to implement these add-on features, it's important to be clear that your provider is including these services in your quote. Some VoIP providers don't consider relatively basic functions, like forwarding calls to mobile devices, in basic service agreements.
3. Not Anticipating Hidden Costs
When budgeting for a VoIP implementation, many organizations fail to consider all associated costs in planning. While VoIP can yield remarkable monthly savings over your previous phone bill, any major technology implementation is going to be costly. To accurately calculate your initial cost output, be sure your vendor is including each of the following elements in your pricing discussions:
• Software licensing
• Security measures
• Handsets
• Software integration
According to TCMNet, obtaining estimates of integration and implementation work is also important. Ensuring your provider uses "standard-based APIs" will eliminate your risk of an expensive bill for the initial setup.
4. Failing to Consider Prioritizing Traffic
VoIP telephone systems operate on your Internet connection. If your vendor fails to accurately predict your traffic needs or prioritize your voice traffic, your employees' Internet usage could cause your phone system to be unavailable.
5. Not Contracting With Enough Industry Experience
No organization wants to be a brand-new VoIP vendor's trial run in providing business telephony services. Capturing business requirements and successful implementation are much more likely when you hire a provider with years of experience. To avoid hiring inexperienced vendors, always inquire about your provider's history and check references.
6. Failing to Understand What You're Purchasing
Not understanding a VoIP contact with a prospective provider is likely the single biggest driver of dissatisfaction with a business phone system. The right vendor will be happy to explain what you're purchasing, including the following:
• Quality and availability service level agreement
• Add-on features
• Implementation and maintenance services
• System upgrades
• Estimated total implementation and ownership costs
Purchasing a new phone system doesn't need to be a headache. By avoiding these six major vendor selection mistakes that drive dissatisfaction among business VoIP buyers, organizations can successfully ensure positive outcomes.
Sources
http://www.forbes.com/sites/centurylink/2015/07/01/9-reasons-every-business-needs-a-managed-mobility-strategy/
https://www.fcc.gov/general/voice-over-internet-protocol-voip
http://www.myitpros.com/telephony-cloud-hosted-voip-right/
http://www.tmcnet.com/sip/0706/sip-feature-article-exposing-the-hidden-0706.htm