Congratulations on your decision to go voip. The hardwork is done, now your next step is choosing the right provider and getting started. The question you should first ask yourself is, 'what provider has the best service and rates for my company'? The answer? Estimate how many phones youll need and the extent to which your employees will be talking on them. Certain providers charge a flat fee for each seat no matter how many calls are placed or received. Some voip providers charge a lower flat fee for a specific number of minutes, then charge extra for each minute over the flat rate. While this might work for firms with extremely low call volume, generally we recommend the unlimited plans. After all, you have more important things to do with your time than pour 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. Take away message: If you have over than 1,000 minutes of toll-free usage a month, or more than 30 minutes daily, an unlimited number is more economical. Also, unlimited plans are just easier, why complicate your life?
Your next step–evaluate your equipment. With voip, the most important piece of equipment is the actual phone. So decide what kind of phone you desire before choosing a provider. (Some providers limit customers to using their phones, while some work with a wide array of phones.) Some important points to consider: How often do you use speaker phone? If the answer is a lot, then pay for a phone with high-quality speaker sound. Phones with a full duplex speaker have solid quality, and example is Polycom phones. You probably want a secondary Ethernet port in your phones. Most offices have a single 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 frequently appeal to people who work from home because people are used to talking on cordless around the house. Cordless phones cost roughly $180 more than regular phones. While there are wireless (or wi-fi) phones available, we dont recommend them, because they are not reliable especially 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. While the benefit is that it reduces clutter and to keep the phones going during a power outage, we dont think the added cost is worth it.
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.
Step Four: Decide which features you want"and investigate which providers offer those features and at what price. While the list of possible features may be long and impressive, it is important to figure out what you will actually use. Below are some that we think are useful for most small businesses, as well as a few that are probably not worth the money. First, the features we like: Auto Attendant Extension-to-extension dialing. (You can forward a call to a colleague.) Voicemail to e-mail. (You can 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 (You can click on a person in your Outlook address book and your phone will dial that persons number.) 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. Video Conferencing. You can get this through Skype for free. Unlimited calls to Europe or parts of Asia; not needed for the volume of global calls you will make.
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.
