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switch from a landline to VoIP

5 Signs Your Business Should Switch From a Landline to VoIP

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There are a few probable reasons why you might still be using a landline for your business. You may think your current phone system is working just fine or maybe you’re worried about the expense of switching from a landline to VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). And of course, maybe it’s just that VoIP just seems so new and complicated. But here’s the thing; VoIP has been around for more than 20 years and is more dependable and easier to use than ever before.

If you haven’t yet switched to VoIP because it seems too complicated or expensive, it’s time to take a deeper look at how VoIP and a cloud-based phone system can transform your company.

Here are 5 signs that it’s time to make the switch from a landline to VoIP.

1. Your Business is Growing

Traditional landline phone systems can be difficult to scale to the needs of a growing business. Traditional PBX has limitations with a fixed number of lines and ports, which means adding more lines and purchasing new equipment. However, with VoIP, you have a cloud-based phone system to which can easily add more employees without having to purchase expensive equipment.

2. Frustrated Customers

If your customers are frustrated by constantly getting a busy signal when they call, having their calls dropped or waiting on hold, only to be picked up by the wrong person, it’s time to switch from a landline to VoIP. A VoIP phone system, with features such as auto-attendant or interactive voicemail, allows your customers to contact your business and their intended party quickly and easily.

3. You Have a Mobile Workforce

When you have employees working remotely from home or located around the world, a traditional landline system makes it impossible to use your business number for contact with clients. A VoIP system makes it easy for these employees to access your business phone system from any location and to be reached by clients as needed.

4. Your Phone System Isn’t Cost Effective

Between equipment costs, long distance calling and mobile bills, a business phone system with a traditional landline can be very costly. Making the switch from a landline to VoIP reduces these costs significantly. There’s no need to frequently update your phone system equipment, and long-distance charges will become a thing of the past. It also allows options for creating bring your own device (BYOD) policies that can integrate your employees’ devices to cut down on mobile costs.

5. Supporting Your Phone System is Too Time-Consuming

When you have a landline PBX system, it needs to be maintained by in-house staff or your IT department. Having to maintain an aging phone system takes your staff away from other important duties. Switching to VoIP eliminates the time spent keeping your phone system up and running.

FracTEL is setting the standard for easy set-up, call quality, and reliability that reduces IT support needs. We offer seamless onboarding, robust collaboration features and scalable communications solutions that help you focus on growing your business. Learn how a switch from a landline to VoIP can benefit your business by contacting FracTEL for more information.

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An Automated Receptionist Could be Your Best Employee

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The workplace is becoming increasingly fragmented, with employees frequently telecommuting from areas all across the country. In addition to this, the desire for a direct line of communication between your clients and your business is greater than ever. To keep up with the increasingly complicated web of communication, smart business owners are leveraging automated receptionist services, and it’s dramatically increasing the efficiency of their phone systems.

What is an Automated Receptionist?

An automated receptionist, also known as an auto-attendant, is an intelligent, automated phone answering solution. Auto-receptionists will answer your calls and guide them to the appropriate extension. In truth, they do so much more than that. With features that allow you to receive voicemails as emails and priority call forwarding, you never miss an important call.

In the past, automated call answering may have come across as cold or difficult to use, but auto-receptionist services have come far in the past decade. They are capable of utilizing modern technology to provide customers with a more natural experience. In fact, consumers are accepting, and even embracing, virtual aides like Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri.

Why Automated Receptionists Make Great Employees

With an increasingly mobile workforce, it becomes difficult for in-office receptionists to keep track of where staff members are located and transfer calls to them in a timely manner. Fielding business calls is no longer as simple as it once was and maintaining consistent, quality communication with customers is more important to your brand than ever.

Automated receptionists offer distinct advantages over a live receptionist. One key benefit of an auto-attendant is consistency. As a business, it is important that you are always available to clients and potential customers even when you are out of the office. Auto-attendants provide clients with 24/7 access and modern cloud-based telecommunications services can promise 100% uptime.

In addition, they are cost-effective. The cost of installing and maintaining auto-attendant software is significantly lower than hiring a full-time receptionist.

With all of these features, you might be thinking that a system like this is difficult to install and maintain, right? This couldn’t be further from the truth. Most modern automated receptionist systems are plug-and-play and can be up and ready to go within minutes. An auto-attendant could be doing its job in a fraction of the time that it would take to train a new employee.

An automated receptionist is a smart way to handle customer calls and it can provide significant savings over a traditional receptionist. FracTEL’s Cloud PBX gives you access to Fortune 500 business phone features, including an auto-attendant, for a low monthly price. No complicated contracts, just the features you need for a flat rate per user.

Want to learn more about automated receptionists and cloud-based communications technology? Please, contact us today 1-855-372-2835.

Confused about business phone systems? Learn how to choose a business phone system in 5 easy steps with our free eBook. Download your copy today!

choosing a business phone system

teleconferencing

5 Ways Teleconferencing is Impacting Today’s Businesses

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One of the advantages of switching to a cloud-based phone system for your business is the ability to connect instantly with two or more people and conduct a teleconference over one phone call. If you don’t presently have a cloud-based phone system or haven’t yet taken advantage of this great feature take a look at the advantages.

Here are 5 ways teleconferencing is making an impact on today’s businesses.

  1. Improves Speed of Project Completion

Screen-to-screen communication allows teams to communicate more efficiently and saves time by eliminating the need for in-person meetings. Having the ability to conference with team members can increase the speed of project completion and reduce costs.

  1. Makes Remote Working Possible

Remote workers reduce the need for additional office space, and teleconferencing makes it possible for everyone to participate in meetings or discuss work by simply pushing a few buttons. Teleconferencing can reduce logistical and cost barriers that inhibit team growth.

  1. Common Link for Branch Offices

Having multiple branches, whether spread out throughout the country or around the world, can put a drain on the travel budget when meetings are needed. Teleconferencing greatly reduces the need for travel and allows for instant communications when needed. This can be very important when news needs to be shared quickly with multiple stakeholders.

  1. Helps B2B Communications

Time is money. When working with other businesses, it can be inconvenient to schedule time for a meeting where everyone can be present without taking time away from the office. Teleconferencing eliminates the need for traveling to a vendor or supplier’s office by allowing you to meet from anywhere, at any time.

  1. Cuts Down on Business Travel

Business travel is expensive and, at times, inconvenient for all parties involved. Coordinating schedules, making travel arrangements and coordinating meetings is a time-intensive process. Flight delays and emergencies can prevent meetings from taking place and then you’re back to square one. Teleconferencing eliminates travel expenses, such as planes fares, transportation from the airport, hotel costs and meal expenses. The better option is holding a teleconference from your desk with your cloud-based phone system.

Let FracTEL show you how conferencing with a Cloud-Based Phone System can improve the way you do business in today’s global economy.

Confused about business phone systems? Learn how to choose a business phone system in 5 easy steps with our free eBook. Download your copy today!

choosing a business phone system

 

VoIP Better Than Analog

Is VoIP Really Better Than Analog?

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Is VoIP really better than analog? We get this question often and it’s understandable to be skeptical. After all, you’ve been using your analog phone system for years and you have become accustomed to the way it works and its features.

You may even be wondering, what is VoIP? VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. It’s basically phone service over the internet.

What usually leads people to explore Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is that they realize their current phone system hasn’t evolved to fit the way business works today. We are an increasingly mobile workforce – often on the go, doing business on our phones, wherever we are. Our cell phones, mobile devices, and computers have become the primary means of business communication. It only makes sense that our business phone systems should be integrated into the way we really work.

Many businesses have made the switch to VoIP because of the lower price and the increased functionality. If you have been hesitant to change or have doubts about whether digital phone technology is more reliable or better than analog, there are a few things to consider.

Limitations of Analog Phone Systems

An analog phone system does not offer as much flexibility as VoIP does. An analog system limits you to only a few features and makes it difficult to handle many calls at once. This can be a problem if you have a business that receives hundreds or thousands of calls coming in each day. Call waiting, hold and mute features that are common with analog phones aren’t enough to run your phone system efficiently.

An analog system needs to be connected to static wiring. You need to take this into consideration if you ever decide to move your business to a new location. You will need to have your new location rewired to fit your analog phone needs. This raises the issue of the costs to install, configure, maintain and upgrade an analog phone system.

What VoIP can do That Analog Can’t

Instead of copper wire and POTS (plain old telephone service) phones, a VoIP phone system utilizes the Internet through digital technology that sends and receives voice signals that have been transformed into data packets. The features of analog systems comprise of call-forwarding, mute, call transferring, redial and speed-dial and that’s about it. Analog systems cannot match the features that digital offers.

Because VoIP is digital, its features are almost limitless, and you can choose the features that work best for your business. Features like auto-attendant, call re-routing, voicemail to email or follow-me that help businesses stay connected while staff are mobile. VoIP is extremely portable and can be accessed from wherever there is Internet access. Employees can work remotely without jeopardizing call quality or level of service to customers.

A VoIP phone system is less costly to set up and install, making it cost-effective for businesses of all sizes. As your business grows, a VoIP phone system can be easily expanded right along with it. It’s easy to set up and configure without the need for additional wiring, allowing the system to expand with the growth of your business without added expense.

The FracTEL Advantage

FracTEL’s revolutionary Integrated Communications Desktop makes the desktop phone optional. It turns any PC, smartphone, tablet or laptop into a fully functioning business phone. You can migrate your phone to Cloud PBX with no upfront investment in new hardware.

Our best in class telecommunications platform is easy to deploy and includes unlimited extensions and the ability to keep your current phone numbers. If you need enterprise solutions, our Cloud PBX is ideal for call centers and remote workforces. Our dynamic network includes 30 features for one easy price. Choose what works best for your business and add features as your business needs change.

Is your current phone system meeting the changing needs of your business? VoIP has many advantages over phone systems that still use outdated analog technologies. See what switching to VoIP can do for you by contacting FracTEL.