No business can deny the importance of the telephonic system when it comes to providing seamless services to the customer. Even with the phone system, a company can get hold of their existing customers as well as follow up with prospect leads.
Modern technologies have changed the way of living; they even left its impact on the traditional telephonic system. Currently, voice communication is possible using the internet–this is popularly known as VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol).
The revolutionary changes in voice calls made VOIP accepted and admired worldwide. There are so many benefits when you switch to a virtual telephone system. High-quality calls that come in low-cost charges are some of the primary advantages you can get from VOIP providers.
However, choosing a VOIP provider can be challenging, as there are already so many providers that may promise everything to sell their service and finalize the contract. However, when it comes to providing support, they completely ignore your issues.
Poor quality calls or frequent call drops can make your business look unprofessional and you may lose your clients.
So, if you are looking to change business VoIP providers, there are some ways to do it in order to ensure that your business needs are met.
Pick the Best Provider
If you are switching providers, you already know whether self-hosted or hosted is the right option. Once you have made the decision about whether you will use a provider or host your VoIP, it’s time to start screening your vendors. One of the factors you might consider is pricing, but you also need to be aware of service level agreements, redundancy, quality of service, client references, and uptime guarantees. If you are trying to go with efficiency and cost savings, you may want a provider that also has unified business communications. By bundling data center and fiber optic internet with VoIP, you can save.
Do a Consultation with Your New Provider
During your sales process, the right business VoIP provider for you will work with your IT team and document your requirements. Some of these factors that should be assessed include network security, the total number of lines, local area network topology, and traffic patterns.
Understand Hardware Requirements
The hardware requirements can actually be minimal. If you are choosing hosted voice then you need just phones and a VoIP gateway. A gateway is hardware that transmits voice packets from your LAN over the IP network. The requirements can vary so you need to know the volume of voice traffic your business has. The type of business line also determines any necessary phone features. Available features can include intercom, call transfer, call hold, call forwarding, call waiting, speed dialing, and three-way calling.
Have a Plan for Installation
When it’s properly planned, installing a hosted VoIP can be easier, especially if you have the help of an experienced vendor. You will install the voice gateway to the Internet connection and connect the phones. Porting business numbers will typically take up the most time. If you are instead being assigned new numbers, then the system could be up and running in a day with the right plan. If you plan to switch to unified business communications, then the installation can be a bit more complicated, but you are going to be prepared for the next wave in telecommunications trends.
Let Your Current Carrier Know
You need to contact your current carrier to let them know numbers are being ported away and to have a service end date. The new provider can also provide a recommended end date for your service in order for you to have continuous communication.
Have a Plan to Port Numbers
If you do plan on porting numbers, this should be planned early in the process. You are legally entitled to port your number unless you are going to be in a different geographic area. There are some steps that you need to follow to complete the porting process, those are:
- You need to pay the porting fees.
- The new provider will need all your previous phone numbers along with your old account number. Make sure you give him all the details correctly.
- Your new provider would need a minimum of one day to complete the porting process. So you need to provide him some time.
Conclusion
If as an enterprise, you don’t have the proper knowledge about virtual phone systems or VOIP calls, it can be overwhelming when you have to choose a wholesale voice career for your company. A professional VOIP provider will arrange meetings to make you sit with the expert team members to clear all your doubts. Plus, the team would even select the hardware and communication service plan that will suit your budget and purpose. You can have an encounter with many voice service providers, but ultimately you have to choose wisely.
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