You’ll be getting used to the Aerorock theme of cloud computing challenging traditional business operations and costs. Today we’re going to look into telephone systems.
Landlines are still perceived as essential for business and so you probably have several lines into the office leased from your telephone provider.
Have you got a fax?
When did you last receive or send a fax? I challenge you to remove your fax line today and make an immediate saving in overheads. If you really need to send a fax, you can still plug the machine into another landline.
Switchboards are changing
Telephone switching software in PABX boxes gives you individual direct dial phone lines for key people in your office. This is great for incoming calls – but is it needed for outgoing calls?
Alternatives to copper phone lines
Internet broadband has introduced a lot of new services at very low or “almost free” prices to consumers and businesses. Voice-Over-IP (VOIP) is one of these services – often called by its best-known service provider, Skype.
Routing your phone calls through broadband rather than direct-connected telephones can be cheaper particularly for overseas calls. You can still call landlines and mobile phones, it’s just sent over the internet rather than down a dedicated voice telephone line.
And you can do more
VOIP has several other offerings which you may like to use like conference calling, Video calling and call forwarding / answerphone services. Like old-fashioned phones, you can now divert calls to your mobile when you are out of the office, add or remove phone lines or set answering messages for callers if you are busy. So the basic feature set for VOIP is similar to a PABX but with lower operating costs.
Take a look at your last bill from the phone company – how much did you spend last year on phones?
Recent Comments