Time to embrace VoIP!
Most of you know that I started my career in telecommunications selling phone systems. Because of this, it took me some time to embrace the Hosted/Cloud PBX. In the early days of the product it did not work well and the early providers did not know how to host it correctly. Basically, anyone with a garage could put a PBX in it, connect T1s and they were in business.
In the last 5 years that has all changed dramatically. Don’t get me wrong, you still have to do your research to make sure you choose the right provider, but that is why TelecomMedic is here to help you.
You need to make sure your provider has their equipment housed in a reputable data center, they have backup PBXs, and that they have been in business for more than a couple of years. There are quite a few other things that go into a cloud solution, but if they don’t hit those priorities you can throw them out immediately.
I recently sat down with a customer who was looking to buy a new PBX. They were struggling between buying an Avaya or a Cisco solution. The IT director kept saying how the Avaya had a bunch of features that the Cisco did not have and vice versa. I asked him if he had looked at a Cloud solution. He said the thought had not crossed his mind because he was worried about features, security, and reliability.
As these are the 3 most common issues people have let’s tackle them one by one (as I did with the customer):
Features: I asked the customer to give me the list of features that he liked about both the Avaya and Cisco solutions. Every feature he listed was available with my Cloud solution. As a matter of fact, I brought up a few that were available with which he was not familiar or had not determined to be important (until our conversation). I don’t want to go into all of them in this blog, because it would make it longer than necessary. However, rest assured, the right Hosted/Cloud PBX is full of features traditional PBXs just do not have.
Security: My customer was worried about using the Public Internet for his voice transmissions. This is a great time to explain that Hosted VoIP does not necessarily need to use the Public Internet. IP means Internet Protocol. It means the technology turns voice into 1s and 0s and puts it back together on the other end. I suggested that he get a point to point private line directly to the providers PBX. This way, he does not use the Internet at all, and a point to point circuit is just as good if not better than his current PRI. We also discussed an MPLS circuit using a secure tunnel through the Internet for his application, but eventually he went with the point to point as the price was about the same.
Reliability: This is usually the biggest question I get about cloud technology. To me this is where it makes the most sense. The PBX is housed in a data center that is temperature controlled and watched by people 24×7. It has a back up power solution that can keep it running for 2 days with no power. An on site PBX sits in whatever room you decide that may or may not be temperature controlled and if it goes down you have to call someone to come fix it. That person may show up the same day or maybe the next. He may or may not have the part in stock that you need to get back up and running. If he does not, he has to have it shipped. Cloud products are fully redundant including being peered with other equipment in their network. Finally, if everything went down, you have a disaster recover feature with a Cloud PBX that realizes when it cannot get through to your phone and sends the call to your pre programmed alternate number (another office, a cell phone, etc.)
At the end of all this discussion the customer said when can I get it installed. I didn’t get into price or other things during this conversation as it was not necessary, but it did save him money vs. buying a new PBX. The final kicker was the fact the Cloud is an operating expense while a PBX is a capital expense. If you are not familiar with that term, talk to your accounting department. I will be willing to bet it will put a smile on their face.
Bottom line, don’t be scared of a Cloud PBX, embrace it!