If you are ready to go voip, there are five key steps for choosing the right provider and getting started. First things first-- Figure out which provider has the best service and rates for your company. How do you do this? It's easy. Estimate how many phones youll need and how much your employees will be talking on them. Some providers charge a flat fee for each seat no matter how many calls are placed or received. Other voip providers charge a lower flat fee for a certain number of minutes, then charge extra for every minute over the flat rate. This may work for firms with extremely low call volume, though generally we recommend the unlimited plans. After all, you have better things to do with your time than comb over every charge on your phone bill. Similarly, for a toll-free number, some providers charge a low monthly fee, then charge an additional per-minute rate for all calls. Other companies charge a flat fee for unlimited calls to the toll-free number. Bottom line: If you have more than 1,000 minutes of toll-free usage a month, or more than 30 minutes a day, an unlimited number is more economical. Also, as we said before, unlimited plans are just easier.
Now it is time to evaluate equipment. With voip, the primary piece of equipment is the actual phone. Figure out what kind of phone you want before choosing a provider. (Some providers require customers to use their phones, while some work with a wide variety of phones.) Here are important points to consider: How much do you use speaker phone? If you use it a lot, pay for a phone with high-quality speaker sound. Phones with a full duplex speaker have good quality. We like the Polycom phones. You probably want a secondary Ethernet port in your phones. Most offices have just one Internet connection per desk. If that is the case at your office, youll want phones with a dual Ethernet port, so that you can plug your phone into your computer. The cordless/wireless options. Cordless phones are available and often appeal to people who work from home. (Thats because people are used to talking on cordless around the house.) Cordless phones cost roughly $180 more than regular phones. There also are wireless (or wi-fi) phones available, but we dont recommend them, as they are not reliable enough for business use. You probably dont want power-over-Ethernet. These phones get their power from the Internet, so you dont have to plug a separate cord into an electrical outlet. This is meant to reduce clutter and to keep the phones going during a power outage. We dont think it is worth the additional cost.
Your next step? It's time to investigate a providers customer service capabilities. What should you ask? First, inquire about typical customer service wait times; shorter is better. Ask if the customer service is outsourced to a third party in another country or if it is in-house. You want in-house customer service workers who understand the product and speak fluent English. Check out how much information is online. You can easily access information, and find your own solutions, especially if hold times are long.
Now decide which features you want"and investigate which providers offer those features and at what price. Here are some that we think are beneficial to most small businesses, and some that are not worth the added cost. The features we like: Auto Attendant Extension-to-extension dialing so you can forward a call to a colleague. Voicemail to e-mail which allows you to receive voicemails as email attachments. Call forwarding. Simultaneous ring. You can have your cell phone and desk phone ring at the same time, so you dont miss any calls. Outlook integration Fax solution. A feature that allows fax to e-mail and e-mail to fax, so that you dont have to keep a separate fax provider.
A few features that are probably not worth paying for: Instant Messaging. (You probably already have IM, and if not, you can get it for free.) Video Conferencing. (Again, you can get it through Skype for free) Unlimited calls to Europe or parts of Asia. (Most small businesses dont make enough global calls to justify the expense.)
Step Five: Figure out how much bandwidth you need"and test it. As a general rule, you need 100Kbps of bandwidth per user. That way, everyone can be talking on the phone and be online simultaneously. 1 Mbps equals 1,000 Kbps, which is enough for 10 users. Going down to 30Kbps per person may work (depending on what your company does), but we dont recommend anything below that. Also, make sure you have a T1 line. A residential cable or DSL line is not high-powered enough for a business using voip. Also, we recommend testing the bandwidth, instead of relying on your ISPs word.
Now it is time to evaluate equipment. With voip, the primary piece of equipment is the actual phone. Figure out what kind of phone you want before choosing a provider. (Some providers require customers to use their phones, while some work with a wide variety of phones.) Here are important points to consider: How much do you use speaker phone? If you use it a lot, pay for a phone with high-quality speaker sound. Phones with a full duplex speaker have good quality. We like the Polycom phones. You probably want a secondary Ethernet port in your phones. Most offices have just one Internet connection per desk. If that is the case at your office, youll want phones with a dual Ethernet port, so that you can plug your phone into your computer. The cordless/wireless options. Cordless phones are available and often appeal to people who work from home. (Thats because people are used to talking on cordless around the house.) Cordless phones cost roughly $180 more than regular phones. There also are wireless (or wi-fi) phones available, but we dont recommend them, as they are not reliable enough for business use. You probably dont want power-over-Ethernet. These phones get their power from the Internet, so you dont have to plug a separate cord into an electrical outlet. This is meant to reduce clutter and to keep the phones going during a power outage. We dont think it is worth the additional cost.
Your next step? It's time to investigate a providers customer service capabilities. What should you ask? First, inquire about typical customer service wait times; shorter is better. Ask if the customer service is outsourced to a third party in another country or if it is in-house. You want in-house customer service workers who understand the product and speak fluent English. Check out how much information is online. You can easily access information, and find your own solutions, especially if hold times are long.
Now decide which features you want"and investigate which providers offer those features and at what price. Here are some that we think are beneficial to most small businesses, and some that are not worth the added cost. The features we like: Auto Attendant Extension-to-extension dialing so you can forward a call to a colleague. Voicemail to e-mail which allows you to receive voicemails as email attachments. Call forwarding. Simultaneous ring. You can have your cell phone and desk phone ring at the same time, so you dont miss any calls. Outlook integration Fax solution. A feature that allows fax to e-mail and e-mail to fax, so that you dont have to keep a separate fax provider.
A few features that are probably not worth paying for: Instant Messaging. (You probably already have IM, and if not, you can get it for free.) Video Conferencing. (Again, you can get it through Skype for free) Unlimited calls to Europe or parts of Asia. (Most small businesses dont make enough global calls to justify the expense.)
Step Five: Figure out how much bandwidth you need"and test it. As a general rule, you need 100Kbps of bandwidth per user. That way, everyone can be talking on the phone and be online simultaneously. 1 Mbps equals 1,000 Kbps, which is enough for 10 users. Going down to 30Kbps per person may work (depending on what your company does), but we dont recommend anything below that. Also, make sure you have a T1 line. A residential cable or DSL line is not high-powered enough for a business using voip. Also, we recommend testing the bandwidth, instead of relying on your ISPs word.
About the Author:
Frank Newman is a VoIP expert, providing comprehensive analysis of IP phones, VoIP providers, and more on his industry leading site. If you are shopping for a VoIP solution, be sure to get more beneficial VoIP info before you be your decision.
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