It has become a fact that cloud is seen everywhere in the business world. every app and software package that your business may use is turning into a cloud service. All the accounting software has been brought by the cloud. The CRM or HR apps also are delivered over the cloud. even the phone systems that you use in your office cannot escape the cloud. However, whether the cloud VoIP is the right solution for your business or not that is what we are going to talk about in this article.
Onsite SIP trunking or cloud-hosted VoIP services
Most people discuss cloud Technology as an all or nothing phenomenon. Its either you must use the host cloud services, or you do everything by yourself from scratch. However, the truth is that it is a spectrum. You can have a hybrid model which combines the best of both worlds or you can trust expert to take care of things for you.
SIP Trunking and the hosted VoIP services are the two of most common types of the phone system in the VoIP industry. In the hosted VoIP services system everything happens in the cloud and it is a much more popular choice. However, it does have its own advantages and drawbacks which you must consider before you make a commitment.
You can get cloud services if:
- You maintain the control: VoIP Phone services do provide a lot of customisation. you can just turn on the features for individuals or for the entire group or department simultaneously. However, there is a limit to what you can do with the provided options and settings. This means that you do not control when the upgrades happen or whenever the users can try new features. In simple words, you do not have control over the system.
For a lot of businesses, particularly bigger ones, lack of control is intolerable. You never know when the situations change, and the phone system has to adapt. You might not like to trust a third party when your own office experts can also handle the phone system just, if not better.
- Compliance is a problem: a few industries also worry about compliance, as VoIP phone Technology send your VoIP over the internet. All your voice and data might travel over an unsecured Network and Hardware. for businesses in the health of the Finance sector, this might be a big problem. Just a few service providers have servers that comply with the regulations. In situations, if anything goes wrong who will get the blame? You or your service provider? A minor mistake can cost you millions of pounds in fees penalties and loss of customers.
It might seem unimportant, but the cloud VoIP services must have a fast internet speed for it to work well. What will happen if your office is located in a place where there is poor service, or you do not have a consistent power supply? Even in this day and age, there are some rural areas that suffer from the lack of internet access. If you do not have a reliable and fast internet connection, then the cloud service should not be your first choice. Since with everything else in IT, the suitable choice for you might not be the best choice for someone else. Hence you should consider your business requirements cautiously before you sign up for cloud services.
You should get cloud VoIP services if:
- Cost is a concern: one of the major reasons that cloud VoIP is popular is its cost. When you sign up for a hosted VoIP with a provider you do not have to spend thousands of Pounds on any new hardware. There will be no yearly maintenance cost contract or software licensing cost. The only cost that you will be paying is for buying the SIP phone which can work with the technology.
Full as little as £30 a month you can buy a business-class phone service which is delivered to your office. mostly small and medium-sized businesses face financial constraints. Therefore, they can’t just go out and purchase the best phone service for their employees. Hence if cost is indeed a concern then the cloud VoIP services are an easy and affordable choice to make.
- You do not have in-house expertise: most of the small businesses also like experts who know all the ends and outs of managing the VoIP phone system. As a small business can you actually afford to employ workers only to maintain the phone system? It is not all about keeping the phone system up and running. also, you have to protect the system. VoIP system is just as vulnerable as any other computer to malicious threats. Any hacker can attack smaller business since they are more vulnerable to security problems. If you do not secure your phones, then you could lose all the confidential data and can suffer from a security breach. Imagine the loss if your phone just stopped working in the middle of the day.
- You must upgrade today: What if your existing analog system is on the verge of failure? Since more businesses are upgrading to VoIP it is getting hard to find individuals to maintain the traditional phone systems. Even if you get someone you might not find the needed replacement parts for your hardware. Setting up your own site-based system could actually take months assuming you have the required resources.
However, if you have to immediately upgrade then the cloud is the best option for you. A good VoIP service provider can help you in getting started in just a few hours.
