Choosing The Right IP Phone
With the ubiquitous use of smartphones, one would think that phones are dead. Not really. IP Phone is used quite extensively by businesses. It is estimated that over 90% of office communication is through IP Phone.
With 100’s of IP Phones available on the market, how do you choose the one that is right for you? The confusing options from multiple vendors with attractive feature sets, voice quality and price points only increase the complexity of making a decision. Let us take a look at some of the broad factors that need to be considered in the decision to choose an IP Phone.
Do We Need IP Phones At All
There is no denying that the use of mobile phones in enterprise is soaring. At the same time, Nemertes Research has found that businesses still prefer tethered phones. The obvious first reason is call quality. Mobile phone signals are not always strong inside office buildings and office campuses. We have a tendency to raise our own voice when we cannot hear the other party in a call properly. This may lead to a negative impression for a customer.
Expense is also a strong point. The costs of supporting mobile devices are going up. If you want to use an executive’s mobile phone as an extension, you will have to bear his data connection costs. At the same time, VoIP and SIP enables executives to log into their work number from anywhere as well as make and receive calls. There is a major benefit to having roaming extensions.
Within the office, IP Phones deliver consistency, reliability and high voice quality that are hard to beat.
Match IP Phone Features to Service
IP Phones are available today from under $40 to $500 and above. It is important to look at the VoIP service’s features and price points before choosing an IP Phone. It does not make much sense to have to subscribe to more VoIP features that are not used just because your IP Phone can use those features. You may also need to integrate the IP Phones with your own internal applications as well as CRM platforms. Though it may make sense to spend a little more for future-proofing, it is not cost effective to go overboard.
Your decision to go with an on-premise VoIP or a cloud based/ hosted system will also have a bearing on the purchase decision of IP Phones.
Stick To Your Budget
All businesses work on a budget. When buying IP Phones, stick to the budget that has been decided. Some IP Phone features may be attractive, but that does not mean you should break your budget. When making a budget, look at all options and features, and decide what you need. Once that is done, stick to those features and budget.
About Universal ComOne
Universal ComOne offers award winning business telephone systems that are right for any business. We can design a solution to fit your needs. Please visit our VoIP Phone Systems page to get more details on our business phone capabilities.
Call 337-205-9364 for all your business phone system, data cabling and communication needs.
