Tips for Finding the Best VoIP Solution for Your Small Business

Tips for Finding the Best VoIP Solution for Your Small Business

Are you considering moving to the cloud? What about for your phone calls? The cloud certainly saves money. Nearly 82% of companies who have switched say so. In terms of IT costs, about 14% of companies report lower IT costs after making the switch. It has been predicted that, by 2018, the total amount spent on cloud computing will exceed $79 billion. So, if you are looking for a cloud hosted VoIP solution, you are not alone.

Tips for the Best Cloud Hosted VoIP Solution:

Give your network a check up. You can control your network. Make sure it is capable of handing the added strain that comes with a VOIP system. This can make a big difference in the quality of your phone calls. Check your switches and make sure you have only one DHCP server/router. This would be a good time to check all of the computers on your network to make sure they are running efficiently.

It is NOT all about the bandwidth. Everyone always asks about the bandwidth. As important as that is, it is not the only thing that matters. When you are looking at a cloud hosted VOIP solution, you need to ask about the download/upload rate and the general state of your internet connection. It does not take much disruption to impact the quality of your phone calls. Any packet loss or jitter will cause your calls to suffer.

Do not go with the cheapest option. The lowest bid may not be the best option. On the flip side, the most expensive may not offer the best service. You are best served with going with a cloud hosted VOIP solution that falls in the middle to upper range. You will get better service and more peace of mind when you spend a little more money.

Ping your VoIP provider. Your connection to the VoIP provider will probably not cross any other networks but to be safe, ping it. You should try to do this more than once. Try at different time of the day and on different days of the week. See how long it takes. When you do this multiple times, you will get a better sense of the service.

Remember, you have options. Unlike traditional based phone systems, when you are looking for a cloud hosted VoIP solution you do not have to go with one carrier. Make sure you get the services that you really want. When you are talking to different VoIP business systems, you can ask for different services. You do not need to settle when it comes to premise based VoIP systems.

When you are looking for a new phone system, you have a lot of options. You can go with the traditional phone system or you can look at ones that use cloud technology. At the end of the day, you just need to find the right option for you.