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Reducing the stress of a new business phone system

Lets be honest, change is difficult. Implementing new systems can cause your IT team a major headache.

When it comes to replacing the phone system in your business, it is easy to see the business advantages of replacing technology that is 10 years old, but it does not make the daunting process of change any easier. 

I have selected a few reasons why deploying a Hosted Phone System may be a simpler pill to swallow. 

Before we look at the advantages of a hosted phone system, lets look at some of the problems you may face when replacing your businesses existing phone system. 

• Physical PBX and handset installation
• Software installation, configuration and (where appropriate) deployment, PC integration, Reporting, Wall boards, Call Recording
• Transition between old and new systems – including managing downtime
• Administrator training
• End-user training and rate of adoption
• An initial drop in productivity as users get up to speed with the new system 

Any one of these factors could cost your business in terms of staff efficiencies, customer satisfaction and ultimately money. For many businesses this means that they put off replacing their phone system, despite the obvious benefits.

Why Hosted Rules
A Hosted Phone System can help minimise many of the afore mentioned deployment problems, as so much of the configuration and upgrades are done in background. For businesses keen to minimise disruption, improve on legacy communications  and deploy cost effective and future proofed system, then a hosted phone system could be the ideal solution. As Hosted Phone System replaces your on-premise PBX completely, there is a minimal hardware installation, meaning no bulky systems or costly maintenance. Legacy phone lines like ISDN, can have costly calls and offer inflexible deployments, rather than this, your Hosted Phone System will use IP handsets , which connect to, and make phone calls over the internet via a virtual PBX, hosted in the cloud. 

Benefits of hosting your telecoms infrastructure in this way: 
• Reduces your management burden – maintenance and management of a PBX is no longer necessary
• Frees up valuable space in your server room for other technology applications
• Reduces secondary costs like electricity usage Due to this, a hosted phone system can provide a rapid return on investment.

Simple software deployment
Depending on the applications your business uses, the switch to a hosted voice solution can be completely seamless. Much of the transition can be performed in the background, with minimal impact on the user. In my experience the longest part of the process is going around an switching the handsets on a users desk. 

Straight forward deployment
Your existing PBX uses ISDN lines for its voice connectivity, while a hosted voice solution sends and receives calls via a separate broadband* connection. Due to this, a hosted voice solution can be installed alongside your existing on-site system without any negative impact on your day-to-day business, as your existing lines can remain in use until your new service is up and running.

User training
It is all very well and good talking about features and benefits, but if your users CANT to access these, then they are worthless. To ensure user adoption to any new system, it is important to provide adequate training to allow your staff to adjust to the changes and ensure that the transition completes smoothly. Most of the basic functionality is self explanatory, as it will be very similar to the known processes, at worst, you may need to demonstrate new handsets and how to access the most common functions (transfer, hold, voice-mail)  It is also important to ensure that all staff are briefed on any changes as early as possible in the project lifecycle. By keeping staff up-to-date on the deployment progress, they will be better prepared when the time comes for them to get ‘hands-on’ with the new system. Prior to deployment, I would always provide access to an on-line training area - with how to documents, and training videos. 

Minimal Impact
IT workload / resources on management of the phone services should decrease, as the management becomes a simple self administered task. Moving to a hosted voice solution can solve many of the major hurdles that hinder a new system deployment:

HEAD FOR HOSTED

• Minimal hardware installation requirements
• Simple software deployment
• Parallel deployment allows you to identify and resolve issues in advance without impacting user productivity
• Straightforward user training that can be targeted to individual needs

Confused, Baffled, Excited? Get in touch for more info! 

*We only ever use voice quality broadband or full ethernet circuits, no jittery phone calls on my watch"

@LiamBonthron