Phone systems are the heart and soul of any business. Everything from client servicing to employee collaboration will occur through a company's phone system -- and a company needs the right technology to provide the best support. But before a company can invest in a telephone system, they need to make a decision: do they want on-premise or cloud infrastructure?
The Difference Between On-Premise and Cloud Telecommunications
On-premise solutions are the technology that businesses are most familiar with. Utilizing the local phone service, telephones are connected directly to equipment within the company's offices. This is often a costly PBX system or switch. On-premise solutions need to be hard-wired and are supported through the local telecommunications company. The utility costs are usually fairly expensive. Maintaining an on-premise system requires either on-premise personnel or hired contractors.
Comparatively, a cloud solution connects IP phones directly to the Internet. Cloud-based business phone systems are entirely managed and maintained remotely; they don't require any on-premise equipment beyond the handsets themselves. This type of service is generally far more affordable; because they go through the Internet, they don't require a costly telecommunications bill. IP phones can also be integrated into existing PBX phone systems through the use of something called SIP trunking.
The Principle Advantages of Digital Phones
- Better features and connectivity. Digital phone technology is advanced enough to allow nearly everything to be easily programmed into it. This is a far cry from older phone systems, which have limited functionality. Digital phones can have everything from virtual assistants to "find me follow me" call forwarding, all designed to ensure that employees can be connected with as often as possible. Digital phones also have superior call quality, because they can transmit more data.
- More affordable and flexible plans. Telecommunications lines tend to be far more expensive than Internet services. When it comes to Internet services, they can either be separated out from the company's data or bundled. Redundant lines can also be included to ensure that the phone system goes down. This affords a business the flexibility to invest as much into their system as they want.
- Simplified phone system maintenance. Rather than having to maintain and upgrade on-premise equipment, a company can simply have their system maintained by their cloud service provider. This allows the company's internal IT staff to focus on the operations of their business rather than their technology.
Most modern businesses can benefit significantly from a switch to managed voice-over-IP services. Cloud telecommunications systems offer better features at lower costs, and come with continuous support and maintenance. The only time when a switch may not be advisable is if a company has already invested a significant amount of money into their physical telephone system. For more information about the best types of phone system for your business, contact the professionals at Central Telephone today.