Telecommunications is one of those industries where everything moves quickly. If you don’t keep up it’s easy to be left behind with outdated technology, wondering how your competitors are faring with the changes and updates. While change can be hard, sometimes it’s necessary— and even if it’s uncomfortable at first, once you’re used to it, you’ll wonder how you ever coped before.
If you’re unsure if your telecoms are out of date, our checklist will help you find out. To upgrade your unified telecoms or for more information, contact our experienced team at Blackbox UC today.
Your Unified Telecoms Needs Checklist
Unified telecoms is named this for a reason. It’s more than one product or service, and usually more than two, as well. The just-right combination of things like broadband, hosted telephony, and business mobiles all add up to smooth daily operations, and you don’t want to be stuck on a bumpy track. To figure out if your unified telecoms need upgrading, ask yourself if your current telecoms:
1. Provide the Latest Technology
While landlines used to rule the roost, today they’re quickly becoming obsolete. 25 years ago, dial-up Internet used to be innovative and ‘the future’, but we’re in the future now and, well, dial-up has come and gone. Not only are older products and services more difficult to find, they’re also increasingly hard to maintain and repair when they eventually stop working. There are much fewer technicians with the skills required for older products, so you’ll likely spend more time searching for one than it would take to install the latest offering.
2. Secure Your Data
Security needs to move quickly to keep up with both technology and those who try to use it to their advantage. Outdated software is ripe for hackers to bypass and get into your systems remotely, leaving you and your company exposed. Even if you have the latest version of a laptop, you could be at risk if you haven’t performed the latest system update. This can be far more costly in the long run in terms of money and time, but also in regards to consumer trust.
3. Offer the Most Value for Money
VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) systems remove the need for physical wires and on-site equipment, and in turn, the maintenance that comes with it. If you’re currently paying for individual phone lines, it’s definitely time to switch to a cloud-based phone system. VoIP services can make a new phone line with just a couple of clicks, removing an infinite number of hassles. With this comes the ability to grow and expand your business in minutes, rather than weeks.
4. Allow for Remote Working
Not only do clunky desk handsets take up all the room on your desk, but many of us simply aren’t in the office every day anymore. Over the last two years, many companies have realised workers don’t need to be watched over every minute of the day, and that remote working works.
While it certainly doesn’t work for every person in every industry, if you have the option for remote working and you’re not using it, employees are likely to become frustrated. The cost of finding, hiring, and training new employees can be simply avoided by upgrading your unified telecoms to include messaging systems, video calls, business mobile plans, and the like.
5. Promotes Productivity
Cloud telephony provides services that analogue systems simply can’t, allowing you to expedite your daily operations. What may have taken five minutes before now only takes 30 seconds, and if you have 50 employees needing to do this task once a day, that’s a lot of time saved. The ‘little’ things really do all add up together.
Additionally, the latest unified communications help employees to communicate with each other, and customers, in the most effective way possible. Opening up communications to video calls, messaging systems, and virtual meetings means that it’s just that much easier for everybody to do what they need to. If your current telecoms only allow for phone calls and email, you’ve fallen behind.
6. Keeps Your Business Running
Older systems and technology fail and break down easier and more often than the latest offerings. Make sure you’re not wasting valuable time by tracking down maintenance workers for obsolete technology! Using modern products and services ensures you have a wider net of problem-solvers to call upon, as more people are trained in fixing any issues that do crop up.
