Choosing new cloud-based telephony
4 ways to pick the best solution for your business
4 ways to pick the best solution for your business
To help, The Cloud Community team have put together our top four tips for choosing the best solution.
Start by jotting down the essential features as opposed to nice-to-haves. Is call recording a priority for business purposes, or for compliance requirements? Also think about voicemail and forwarding functionality, whether you need dial-in options and toll free numbers (for customers to dial in for example?), shared phone numbers, integrations with CRM systems, etc. This can take a little time, but it’s a good investment in the long run.
Next it’s into the field to do some due diligence. Customer reviews are a great place to start – and don’t just rely on those on VOIP providers’ websites. Check out Gartner Peer Insights, G2, or other online review resources.
As well as comparing reviews against your shortlisted priorities from step one, you should also take into account each providers’ customer service and uptime track record. Service quality can be a huge deal breaker, and even the slightest periods of downtime can negatively impact your bottom line in a short space of time.
As your search narrows a little, the next step is to get in touch with some providers that tick your boxes. Try to establish how much they want your business, the packages on offer, and fundamentally whether they are an organisation you would be confident placing your business communications (and to some extent your reputation for good customer service) with.
At this stage, it is also essential to understand the pricing for each vendor. Look at the total cost of ownership (TCO) including any setup costs, ongoing maintenance, license costs and so on. Look for a clear, transparent pricing model that will build trust from the outset.
Sadly, not everyone that tries to get in touch with your business is genuine. If not properly secured, VOIP-based communications systems can be an easy way in for cyber criminals. Dig into how your shortlisted providers secure your communications environment, and the sensitive data contained within it.
In particular, pay attention to user agreement terms and responsibilities for data in the cloud. Some cloud providers place the onus on the end user (i.e. your business) to make provisions for data security, so ensure that you aware of this and factor in any additional security, storage or backup costs into your TCO calculations.
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