If you’ve decided to move your business from standard landlines or PBX to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service, you’re about to enter a whole new world of options, features and integrated services. However, there’s more to switching to VoIP than just getting rid of your old phone system. You’ll want to take the following steps to get ready before jumping into a new system.
Make Sure Your Network Can Support VoIP
Up to now, your Internet service has probably only accommodated loading webpages, transferring documents and possibly streaming a few videos. Now it’s going to handle all your phone traffic—at the same time as it continues to handle all your existing data. And the more calls your team has simultaneously, the more bandwidth you need.
Therefore, you may need to upgrade your current system to handle the additional speeds and bandwidth. Otherwise, your phone quality may suffer, resulting in bad connections, lag time, poor audio and other symptoms.
Talk to your service provider to make sure your system is robust enough to handle VoIP and that you have the right network components to handle the phone traffic smoothly.
Upgrade Your Gear If Necessary
Your old conventional phones may, or may not, work with VoIP. But even if they do, you may have limited access to certain calling features. For best results, make sure your phones are compatible with the VoIP system you’ll be implementing.
Train Your Team
One of the worst things you can do is switch to a new phone system without teaching your employees how to use it: Few things can hurt your business more quickly than having a customer get cut off because your teammate didn’t know how to transfer a call. Train your employees know how to use the new system (including all the new features) before making the switch.
Double Check Your Configuration
Is the on-hold music working? Does the automated menu work as it should? When a customer dials an extension, does the call go to the right team member? Your customers don’t have time for glitches, and, by extension, neither do you. You need to check all these connections, then double-check them.
Do a Test Run
Finally, before dismantling your old system and recycling the old headsets, do a full test of your new VoIP system—for a day or two, at the very least—to make sure everything is working as it should. Your IT people should monitor for glitches, bugs and anything else that seems amiss before removing your old phone architecture.
When you’re ready to migrate to a VoIP, we’re here to make sure your business has the right provider, equipment and network to help you make the transition smoothly. Call us at 1-877-NetServ to learn more.