Over the past decade, VoIP technology has become standard for SMEs looking to enjoy a convenient, low-cost way to provide their teams with the communication tools required for a modern and efficient workplace. Don't worry if it feels over your head, there are a few tips and tricks to use when choosing to partner with a VoIP provider. Let's run through what to look for in a VoIP provider, and how to avoid the pitfalls made by many SMEs when choosing a service. Use these hints to become a VoIP superstar and ensure your organisation ends up with the communications service it deserves!

VoIP doesn’t have to cost a fortune

The beauty of VoIP is that services and features can be cherry-picked to the requirements of your organisation. This allows you to find the sweet spot between the features you need and the budget you’ve got to work with.

By comparing prices online, you should be able to find a suitable package for your organisation. At Yoozoom, we consider ourselves an authority on all things VoIP, and we’ll be happy to discuss how the technology works, how unified communications can be utilised to improve efficiency, and what sort of package will be best suited to your business, depending on its size, turnover, level of daily communication and industry.

While it’s true that some VoIP packages are expensive, more often than not, these come with more bells and whistles than a campanologist who moonlights as a referee on the weekend - which brings us to our next point:

Focus on the features you need

One way to really keep VoIP affordable is to think about the features you’re going to need. Start-ups and growth-stage businesses will need to carefully anticipate their current requirements while considering what they might need in the future. Sure, entry-level features and a small number of phone lines might seem like a good idea now, but what if business begins to take off and you’re tied into a contract for eighteen months? What you need in this instance, is a provider that offers flexibility and…

...Scalability

The ability to scale a contract up and down during peak and off-peak business periods is a must. For example, if your organisation tends to get really busy during a specific time of year and requires temporary call handlers during a holiday season rush, you’re going to want a VoIP provider that can react to this in real-time and allow you to upgrade your service with a simple call or email. Thankfully, Yoozoom provides scalable VoIP solutions for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

Collaboration at the work-from-home station

Whether you love it or hate it, the flexibility of working from home looks like it’s here to stay, which means you need a VoIP with the flexibility to match. VoIP is more than simply fielding calls; in fact, full-featured VoIP services can enable your teams to interact and work remotely with one another online. These capabilities can be accessed through a single unified communications client, or via separate apps which offer third-party integration.

At Yoozoom, we’re specialists in delivering cloud telephony services, IT managed services and cloud migration. If you’re looking to ensure your work-from-homers aren’t pulling a Homer and would like to facilitate more streamlined communication among remote teams, allow us to do our thing and drag your business kicking and screaming into the modern age.

Security

Security is paramount for any cloud-based service that you make part of your business, let alone the hub of your business communications. When choosing a VoIP provider, be certain to do your due diligence on any potential suppliers to find out where the responsibility lies for things like data storage, and ensure that any service provided offers end-to-end encryption. You may even want to explore advanced security options too, such as multi-factor authentication.

Cyber crime evolves as quickly as the technology that facilitates new ways of working. One of the biggest challenges faced in recent years is ensuring that unified communications are secure in an era where more of us are working remotely than ever.

Naturally, Yoozoom is built for enterprise-level communications, and we put a premium on our security stack. Regardless of the size of your organisation, you can rest assured that your data is secure with us.

Strong working relationships

While we mentioned earlier that VoIP isn’t exciting, that doesn’t mean your communications with your provider can’t be. As a Yorkshire-based company, we believe in offering the local touch, and that means getting to know our clients. Understanding what you do helps us to better serve you by having more of an insight into your business than some faceless multinational purveyor of VoIP.

We’re here to bring a human side to digital communications, and we’re happy to check in as regularly as you like to ensure you’re happy with our services. If you’re not, tell us and we’ll be certain to put things right - or if you have any suggestions, we’ll be happy to implement them where we can.

Want to know more? Call us for a cuppa and a chat!

We understand that the VoIP needs of each organisation are different and that each organisation has a preferred way to communicate with both internal and external contacts. Whether this means having a unified system or separate software solutions is down to you - but we want to know!

Our bespoke VoIP service is here to make your communications a doddle, which allows you to focus on important tasks like pulling in those customers and enjoying a healthy return on investment. If you’d like to know more about what we do and how we can transform your business, please don’t hesitate to get the kettle on and give us a call today or, to learn more about phone systems, click here.