Best VoIP Service Davis

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Switching from the traditional telephone service to a VoIP service can save businesses a lot of money and give SMBs access to what were once enterprise-grade features. For many SMBs, the most pragmatic way to implement a VoIP service is to work with a VoIP service vendor. With that in mind, here is a quick guide to choosing the best VoIP service in Davis.

Make a realistic assessment of your needs, wants and budget 

One of the key points to remember about VoIP is that you usually need to make an upfront investment before you start saving money. This is because you will typically need to upgrade your IT network to cope with the extra traffic (or make appropriate arrangements for hosting). The more functionality you want to implement, the more bandwidth you will need and the more money you will need to allocate to your IT infrastructure.

This means that the convenience of doing everything you will need to do for the foreseeable future all in one go will potentially have to be set against the need for higher upfront investment before you start to get the benefit of the cost-savings. The good news is that VoIP is extremely flexible and scalable. It is therefore fairly easy to start small and build up from there if you decide that’s what you want to do.

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As a result, for many SMBs, the best approach is to have an initial implementation that fulfills your immediate needs and perhaps some “low-hanging fruit” from your wants list. Let that initial transition be absorbed, enjoy the cost-savings, and then decide if you could benefit from adding more advanced functionality.

Take a good look at your current bills for all phones and fax machines 

Most SMBs will have a combination of landlines and cell phones. Some will still have some fax machines. Although VoIP is often viewed essentially as a replacement for landline phone usage, it’s definitely worth seeing if it can replace at least some of your cell phone usage. Cell phones are generally significantly more expensive than normal phones so any usage you can transfer to VoIP could potentially have major savings.If you’re still using traditional fax machines, it’s definitely worth seeing if you can switch to Fax over IP (efax). Rather like VoIP, this service was initially held back by justifiable concerns over reliability and security. As with VoIP, however, the service has matured to the point where it is a viable option for almost all businesses, even those in heavily-regulated industries.

In fact, you could argue that Fax over IP is more secure than traditional fax machines because incoming faxes are rarely printed, and when they are they’re printed on demand. This eliminates issues with faxes being lost and/or inappropriately accessed.

With Fax over IP, you can actually win three times. Firstly you save on the calling costs. Secondly, you save on the printing costs. This is a major benefit for the environment too as even recycled paper takes a lot of water and chemicals to produce. Thirdly, you can ditch the fax machines. Even if you have to recycle (or donate) them rather than sell them on, you can reclaim your office space.

Think about what equipment users will need 

If you’re just implementing audio-calling, then you’ll need either softphone clients (plus headsets) or VoIP handsets (or a combination of both). If you’re implementing video-calling, you’ll also need cameras (and lots of bandwidth) and if you’re implementing Fax over IP, then you’ll need an efax client.

It’s advisable to undertake thorough testing of softphones and efax clients before you commit to a contract with a vendor. Never assume that they’re going to be as easy to use as the mainstream consumer clients. Also, you’ll need to see how much screen real-estate they use to see if they will be easy to read on your screens when you have other apps open at the same time.

If you’re planning on using VoIP handsets, then ideally you’ll also want to give them a hands-on test. Furthermore, you’ll need to decide if you’re happy to buy them yourself or if you’d prefer to have them bundled as part of a VoIP service contract.

Shortlist vendors based on service quality, security, and support 

There are some areas of businesses where compromise is false economy and when it comes to VoIP they are service quality, security, and support. Only ever consider working with vendors who are prepared to commit to the highest of standards in all of these and to back that commitment with contractual guarantees.

If you’d like to speak to one of the best VoIP service partners in Davis, please click here now to contact Salient IT.