Why Your Business Needs Telephone System Maintenance

Telephone systems are a critical resource for every business. If a Telephone System is not functioning correctly this can result in loss of service and will affect efficiency, productivity and operations of the company which ultimately leads to loss of business. In addition, the add-hoc call out charges and repair expenditure can be significant when you call in a third party company. As a typical business cannot maintain the system of its own, a telephone system maintenance agreement is an ideal solution and it will ensure that the business keeps on going in all situations. Besides the peace of mind, the maintenance contracts will save your business from all extra-unexpected costs and disruptions.

Recently, there has been a large increase in the number of companies that take the telephone system maintenance contracts and help safeguard their businesses. Telephone System Maintenance ensures that your business gets a response that is only one quick call away in case of any problem. You need to pay only a relatively small fee to set up a contract and there are generally multiple options available to you.

When you go for a contract with a Business Telephone Company you will get the option of 24×7 cover if your business works around the clock. You will also be allocated a dedicated account manager to assist you any time even for non-service related issues. These may involve moves, ad-ons, changes, etc. After you make a call with the service desk, the call will be allocated to their engineer who will log your fault and ensure a swift response which may involve an onsite visit should the need arise.

The telephone maintenance companies offer a wide range of telephone system maintenance contracts to meet the needs of clients. There are different types of the contracts that the customers go for. You make only a single annual payment for the contract that may cover all the risks of an unplanned labor and replacement parts cost for maintenance. Installing any new telephone system involves a significant investment. You can save yourself from any huge loss due to a serious fault by going for a telephone system maintenance contract.

Most telephone service-providers also offer their maintenance services with the equipment. Generally, it includes a risk free comprehensive manufacturer’s warranty and a comprehensive phone system maintenance packages. Free maintenance, support, and warranty is generally applicable for one year. The warranty will cover phone systems, defective parts, handsets and internal cards. The manufacturer’s warranties usually do not cover to repair or replace any part or equipment broken or damaged on site and the labor cost to inspect, repair or replace it. If you want to cover the labour, you will have to enter a telephone maintenance agreement.

Telephone Maintenance Companies have dedicated experts and certified maintenance engineers covering the majority of systems available from a whole list of manufacturers. These companies offer 24-7 premium maintenance coverage and also offer a wide range of accessories at discounted prices. They may also assist you with phone system upgrades, additional handsets, phone line installation, business mobiles, broadband services and more.

A Telephone Maintenance Contract is based on certain terms and conditions and certain things may be free or additional on chargeable basis based on the agreement. When you purchase your phone system from a Business Telephone Company, you should expect it to be completely covered against fault or breakdown. A typical premium protection plan for your Telephone System can ensure you immediate access for a quick and expert support 24×7 basis. It covers all parts, labour and technical support via email and phone. A good maintenance service provider will also provide you with the option of remote resolution for the majority of faults which will have you back up and running within no time at all. If a problem cannot be resolved remotely, you should expect an engineer to attend to the problem on site within the agreed time which is usually specified in your written agreement.

Brian Cormell is a Telecommunications Expert a

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Should You Choose a PBX Telephone System or Hosted IP Telephony?

Today’s business world depends greatly on effective communication. The increasing demand for sophisticated business telephone systems has stimulated the development of new technologies, such as the PBX phone system, which ultimately leads to hosted IP telephony. When considering potential business phone systems, PBX and VoIP are the prime choices. Deciding between the two implies considering the essential dissimilarities between the two and the specific benefits each can bring to the business.

Whether the business is considering a hosted, virtual approach or an in-house telephone system, both the VoIP and the PBX brings substantial benefits to an organisation. However, choosing the best involves a thorough understanding of both systems.

The hosted VoIP is an Internet-based business phone system and it provides coverage over the business technological equipment, by managing all the activities the telephone system needs to operate. The system operates through the business network, by using a reduced amount of bandwidth to conduct all activities. In return, the company benefits from large financial practicalities as a result of expanding, along with reduced costs and business focus. The IP equipment consists of routers, MPLS switches and Ethernet switches; once the telephone is plugged in, all signalling, calls and services are managed by the IP server, which is located on the provider’s premises. Based on the use of the hosted voice telephony, there are monthly charges and bonus packages which save even more expenses.

The PBX business phone system is defined as a secure telephone network within an organisation and its main capacity is linking internal business telephones into one system, while also enabling the connection with Public Switched Telephone Network. The system involves a large number of outside lines which enable calls between different businesses. Some of the disadvantages of the PBX phone systems are the extra expenses involved and lack of advanced services such as call queuing, call recording and IVR Menu Systems. The PBX phone system is a very basic and high-priced business telephony service, which does not provide the sophisticated features of a hosted business VoIP. However, there have been improvements to the PBX technology, such as a hosted version which is an improved form of the office-based business telephone system.

The most used form of PBX business phone system is the IP-PBX. This equipment for this system is resided on the user’s premises, rather than at the provider’s location like the hosted VoIP. The functionality is based on the regular PBX phone system; the difference is that the IP-PBX is a software-based system and uses LAN to transmit the signal from the IP to the PBX server. PSTN systems and SIP Trunk enable the connection with exterior businesses. IP-PBX providers usually manage all calls and enable all a wide range of features, such as call switching, routing and queuing or unified communication at lower costs than the traditional PBX.

To help decide which business telephone system would best benefit the company, criterions such as long-term performance, costs and disadvantages need to be considered. An IP-PBX phone system requires hardware and a server housing the necessary elements which enable the connection to the providers and IP telephones. The hosted VoIP however requires only the telephone equipment, as the server is located on the supplier’s premises; this is why sometimes, a router is considered to maximise the practicality. As a result, the installation and maintenance costs for the hosted VoIP system are lower because of the lack of equipment. Also, low expenses are involved in monthly costs and facilities used, as new features and enhanced software versions are provided by the supplier. Another advantage is the possibility of adding further lines.

On the other hand, as the IP-PBX system requires a lot of hardware equipment, there are maintenance and installation costs involved. A main benefit is the low costs involved for using the services and there is also the possibility of applying SIP Trunking with the VoIP provider for lower calling costs. The costs involved for server and the software applications only can add up to £2-£3k, which means that as the IP-PBX is concerned, the hardware costs will be considerably over-priced. The price and long-term expenses should not outdo the essential features. The purpose of a business telephone system should concern the company requirements and improve its profitability. An important consideration is that the maintenance and servicing for the hosted VoIP will be ensured by the supplier, whereas the IP-PBX requires independent services and will add to extra expenses in the long-run.

The services a business telephone system provides need to be essential and tailored for each company. If the business cannot benefit or increase its productivity from the system, an alternative should be considered. The benefits of the hosted VoIP include a broad range of possibilities such as new and improved features which can be provided by the supplier, as well as the implementation; virtual numbers can be easily selected and revoked; the IP phone can be used from any place via an active broadband connection; remote users can benefit from best quality services, as providers use NAT software to enabled simple and safe feature implementation. The most important ability of the system is that in case on an Internet cut, all business operations will still be functional as all the incoming information is recorded, despite the system being network-based.

The disadvantages of the VoIP business telephone systems were considered more severe in the past, when the technology was not as explored as today. The clarity of the conversation depends on the Internet connectivity; however the Internet providers offer more and more performance enhancing packages. If the Internet is disconnected so will the phone services, but this is also one of the benefits of the VoIP system, as it redirects all incoming calls to voicemail. The customisation with various features may be slow or not possible with some providers. Although there are some business telephone systems suppliers who offer special packages to fit a company’s needs.

With regards to the IP-PBX telephone system, some of the advantages include overall flexibility, which allows the users to adjust the features to their preferences. Open source features are available for free, as they are developed by the open source community and reduced costs over a long period of time after the system has been purchased. The disadvantages of IP-PBX systems include the need for extra-management, as the system is more complex than VoIP which is managed by the supplier. Also expanding the system can increase density, extra maintenance and repair costs as the system requires hardware and software on the premise of the business and finally, if there is an overload of incoming calls, the PBX system can decline gradually.

The information required to assist the decision of moving to a new improved business technology cannot be fit into one article. The business telephone systems are highly complex and finding the service to perfectly suit the business is hard, especially because the most important element of a business is effective communication and the telephone systems enable it. If the services of hosted IP or IP-PBX are too much of a radical change for the business, a recommendatio

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