Looking at the best business VoIP providers

How to find the best business VoIP providers

Recently, businesses have been integrating of VoIP services into their networks at an ever increasing rate. This is not merely because of the cost savings in calls that VoIP achieves but the overall increase in productivity and efficiency that a converged data and voice network manages to bring about. Every business now is looking at how best to migrate to VoIP networks and which service provider would provide them with the best VoIP services.

Identify Your Business VoIP Requirements

Before carrying out a VoIP comparison, it is critical that an organization identifies its network needs, outlines a budget and selects a VoIP service provider that will best meet these requirements, within this budget. An analysis of the network being used by the company will have to be carried out – this would include looking at the number of calls being received and the total amount of network data traffic that is logged at peak hours. A converged network offering both voice and data often offers real value for business as there are reduced training, operating, and maintenance costs.

The organization will also have to clearly define the services that it requires from its VoIP network – would it want voice mails and faxes to be sent to the employees email box, would it require further integration with the customer support system, allowing the support staff to view relevant information in automatic pop-ups when a customer calls? Once all these questions have been answered, the business will have a fairly specific list of requirements, which will assist in VoIP comparison and determining the cost of implementation.

Compare multiple service providers

There are a multitude of VoIP service providers in the market today ranging from small companies that cater mainly to home consumers to million dollar enterprises that specialize in the implementation of business VoIP services. To select the best VoIP service provider, a few criteria will have to be considered to carry out a proper VoIP comparison.

1. Technological Know-How: A VoIP network offers integration of most communication tools that a modern office has to offer including new, sophisticated features of its own. Many providers now offer full integration of voice mail, faxes and emails, which allows voice messages and faxes to be sent to employee inboxes. It is possible to have auto-attendants for both incoming and outgoing calls. They should also be able to provide call forwarding to cell phones after office hours, caller ID and the ability to provide four-digit extensions to multiple locations, however distant they may be, without extra cost. There are many more such features, which when implemented and integrated with the office network, can increase employee productivity considerably.

2. Voice Quality: A business would have to ensure highest call quality though this can also depend on the kind of ISP service the business has. Further one has to ensure that the service provider has adequate power backups and generator facility to keep the VoIP service active during power outages.

3. Customer Support: During VoIP comparison, keep in mind that the best VoIP service providers would be those who would begin their job by analyzing the present network and then identify issues that would need addressing. Based on this, they would advise the business on the best VoIP features and plan for them. After implementation too, the support should be on an ongoing basis, including constant network monitoring and quick responses during emergencies.

4. Cost: While cost savings in calls is a crucial deciding factor, it is best to see which service provider offers the best prices for the kind of features the company is looking for.

Thus, by taking the time to define the requirements of a business clearly, and carrying out a careful VoIP comparison, a company can ensure they are selecting the best VoIP for themselves.

Submit a VoIP quote request today for your business and save up to 80% on your monthly phone bills.