What Should a Business Consider Before Getting a VOIP System? – VoIP systems provide telephone services via the internet. A best business phone VoIP service setup is perfect for companies that use remote working for staff to interact and establish a virtual connection on any mobile device. However, before you begin looking at VoIP systems that meet your business needs, you need to consider exactly what you require.

How many employees will be making calls?

Many business VoIP providers will have a range of packages for you to choose from. The most comprehensive packages usually include unlimited lines. In the context of VoIP, the number of lines refers to the number of users that can make and receive calls simultaneously. However, each individual user can have multiple simultaneous incoming and outgoing calls.

Before you start looking at what VoIP plans are available, you need to understand your business’s needs and how much bandwidth you have to meet them. If your business relies on most or all of your staff calling clients or suppliers throughout the day, you want a plan that offers unlimited simultaneous calls. However, you first need to ensure your internet connection has enough capacity to handle all that data.

On the other hand, if you only expect a few of your staff to need to make calls at any one time, there’s no sense in paying more for unlimited lines if you don’t expect to need more than a few at a time.

How can bandwidth impact a VoIP system?

Bandwidth is without a doubt one of the most important factors to consider when selecting a VoIP system. The bandwidth of your internet connection determines how much data it can carry over a given period of time. However, many people confuse bandwidth with speed and therefore don’t take it into account correctly. It’s also important to take into account that your VoIP system will share the available bandwidth with every other internet-connected device on the same network.

The amount of bandwidth available on your network will determine the quality of your calls. If you don’t have enough bandwidth to carry the VoIP data you’re sending through your network, the system will need to compress it to allow it all through. The result will be a significant drop in audio quality.

Remember that your network bandwidth consists of two values; upload and download. Upload bandwidth measures the volume of data you can send from your devices to the internet every second. Download bandwidth measures the maximum flow of data in the opposite direction. Your upload speed will determine how many simultaneous calls you can make from a VoIP system. Your upload bandwidth will usually be smaller than your download bandwidth, so you need to make sure you have enough upload bandwidth, regardless of the download bandwidth.

How much bandwidth you need will depend on how many calls your network will need to process at any given time. If you only have one phone line that you are looking to replace with a VoIP phone system, you may only need 1 Mbps. However, you should always try to leave some headroom instead of maxing out your connection’s bandwidth.

What additional features will be needed?

There are a plethora of additional features that VoIP systems can offer, many of which replicate the features found on commercial office phone systems. The best features to look out for will depend on your business’s individual needs.

Wherever possible, you should choose a VoIP system that includes call management. Businesses of any size can benefit from the ability to automatically manage their VoIP calls.

Other features, like a leased line for your VoIP system, are only suited to particular use cases. Speak to your prospective VoIP provider to find out what features they offer and how they can benefit your business.

What level of security will be necessary?

Businesses today can’t afford to take any chances when it comes to cybersecurity. Criminals will just as happily target small, independent businesses as they will large corporations. All they care about is the potential reward. If your cybersecurity setup is weak, your business will be a sitting duck.

The last thing you want is for your new VoIP system to act as a weak point in your cyber security. In addition to taking the usual precautions with your network security, make sure the VoIP system you choose uses encryption to keep your data safe and your calls confidential.

Clearly defining your requirements beforehand enables you to hone in on the VoIP systems that are best suited to your business. Make sure you investigate your options thoroughly; don’t just jump on the first provider you come across.