Choosing The Right Business Phone System

by Claire J. Content Manager

Over the past decade, there have been profound changes in the way business telephone systems work both fundamentally, and through the solutions they provide. We’ve waved a collective goodbye to the days when landlines were the only solution, and hello to a myriad of digital VoIP solutions, virtual solutions and cross-device services.

If you’re a business owner looking for some insight on how to choose the right business phone system, then we have some fantastic insight for you. Whether you’re looking for a full, physical desk phone system, or something more dynamic like a virtual smartphone-capable system, we have a few tips for you below.

There are four major types of business telephone systems currently available which are:

• Landlines

• Cloud-based Systems

• VoIP Systems

• Virtual Phone Systems

All of which come with their own perks and benefits, depending on your type of business.

Traditional Landlines - Ideal for Large Corporations

To the most well-known type of system, the landline is your traditional ‘legacy’ system that is generally owned by telephone carriers. As you might already know, these systems generally run on the copper wire installed in your building and because of this, can result in quite low-quality phone calls.

For businesses looking to install a suite of landline phones, you’ll need to have PBX or Private Branch Exchange hardware fitted in the office, to spit your main line into various lines, for a phone at each desk — a rather archaic solution nowadays.

In some newer buildings, traditional copper wire is no longer installed, making traditional landline business phones obsolete. Other buildings may have their copper wire services switched off due to the NBN rollout.

Pros — a tried and true solution for businesses.

Cons — gradually becoming unsupported by phone carriers, can be costly to operate, requires a maintenance team.

Cloud-based Phone Systems - Ideal for Businesses That Want a Fast Launch Solution

A relatively new solution is the cloud-based phone system which is entirely owned and managed by a cloud company.

These solutions mean there’s no need for a business to conduct maintenance, slowly add new lines or purchase new exchange equipment. You could have thousands of phone lines, and no equipment in-office to make them work, it’s that simple.

Streamlined billing also means per-user fees keep services low-cost and ensure a company is only paying for the service they use, rather than a bulk billing solution. A hosted PBX service, like that offered by Maxo, won’t require any on-site or dedicated staff to maintain and keep the system going as they’re a virtual or hosted PBX services — saving money and keeping things simple.

Pros — all solutions are entirely taken care of by the provider, everything is cloud-based and easy to change via a software program.

Cons — downtime is out of your hands, leaving the provider to fix hardware which may be slow.

VoIP Systems - Ideal for All Businesses Looking for a Feature-packed Service

Another relatively new phone system is the Voice Over Internet Protocol system, which re-routes the phone system through the NBN or internet cables already being used. There’s no need for dedicated phone infrastructure for these systems and they often produce a much higher quality phone call.

These VoIP systems come featured-packed with a myriad of solutions that were previously only available to mega-corporations. These features include everything from call queues, automated attendants and even computer integration. Add to this the ability to redirect phone calls from the office phone to a mobile device over the internet, and the VoIP solution is a winner for almost all businesses.

Pros — comes with all the bells and whistles as well as the ability to easily set up and utilise without a dedicated team.

Cons — being internet-based, a poor connection will hinder all solutions on VoIP systems.

Virtual Phone Systems - Ideal for Small Businesses With Remote Contractors

A virtual phone system can be described as a call-forwarding solution on steroids, in that the service redirects calls from a business line to a mobile line. These solutions allow businesses to keep up a professional image for their customers, even though they’re asking customers to call a mobile line.

These virtual systems come with similar features to VoIP solutions, bringing with them perks such as voicemail, call screening, toll-free solutions, call forwarding, online facing as well as automated receptionists. With these solutions, a business can operate as though they have a complete desk fit-out, when in fact their service is almost entirely mobile.

Pros — provides business mobile phones with a suite of desktop phone solutions.

Cons — all calls and services will be charged at the same rate as mobile calls, meaning the service could be costly depending on the carrier.