It goes without saying that landline phones are on the sharp decline - considering the myriad of options available for businesses today, it’s easy to see why. Employees can miss calls if they’re not at their desks and they’re only productive if they’re inside the office. With today’s mobile society, stationery communication just isn’t sufficient to keep up their personal and business lives.
While the reasons to hang up on traditional phone systems are compelling enough already, wait till you hear how unified communications (UC) addresses the weaknesses of landlines, and then some.
Landlines are expensive
Look at the cost of landlines closely, and you’ll notice that the expense seems extraneous when there are other ways to keep in touch with business associates and clients. In fact, traditional phone systems can set your business back around $500 a month plus an extra $600-$2500 for setup fees and handsets. And although legacy phone vendors continue to enhance their product’s better call quality, installing phone lines, purchasing handsets, and routine maintenance come at a steep price for many businesses, especially ones on a tight budget.
Install UC systems, however, and the first thing you’ll notice is a dramatic drop in telephony costs. IT services providers offer UC installation services that often go for a fraction of the price of landline installations, and monthly subscription costs can start at a lower price point than traditional phone lines. Depending on the plan you’ve made with your UC provider, you can make unlimited national and international calls for a fixed price or pay local rates for international calls. But the real value of UC isn’t just from its telephony services alone; there is an assortment of communication applications that go beyond traditional phone systems’ voice calling capabilities.
UC is flexible
With UC, the office desk is just one of the many locations where work gets accomplished. A whole list of features like instant messaging, VoIP, video conferencing, and file sharing can virtually transform any internet-accessible location to a makeshift office, cutting down travel time and increasing employee productivity.
Using a traditional phone system, it’s often hard to tell when someone is available or busy.. You could spend several minutes calling a co-worker, only to be answered by a busy signal again and again. The ‘presence’ feature in UC eliminates these time-wasting incidents and allows you to figure out the best possible method of communicating with a co-worker. Suppose you find out that a colleague is in a conference call; you can discreetly send them an instant message to avoid disrupting the meeting in progress.
Group instant messages allow you to informally collaborate with team members, while video conferencing and VoIP enable you to conduct meetings and gain immediate feedback with employees working remotely. VoIP features like hold music and messages, and automated assistants, can also remove bottlenecks and provide streamlined customer service.
If you’re still weighing your options for a telephony system, here’s your answer: UC is the clear winner. Businesses must be flexible and agile to be competitive in today’s market, and what better way is there than cutting the cord and using the full range of functions afforded to you by UC systems.
Although choosing UC over landline is a no-brainer, installing, managing and maintaining it is a different story. So if your business is in need of a UC system, reach out to IntelligISTM at www.intelligis.com to help your business implement the right solution today.
