Choosing the right anything is a difficult task at the best of times. I actually consider it to be a personal triumph and cause for celebration when i successfully decide upon what to eat. But i am in the minority, and there are certain decisions in life that actually matter and have far reaching consequences, such as choosing a Voip service provider.
Well, as with anything in life, there are certain ways to cut through a lot of the industry-sales-speak and double-talk and get through to the crux of the matter, so long as you know the right questions to ask and you do a little homework beforehand.
A good line of questioning to begin with is establishing what the real-start up costs are and how much they differ from the advertised cost. The difference between the two is often quite drastic as the actual costs incorporate elements such as porting and activation fees as well as equipment costs - IP phones are not cheap and their cost can quickly mount up if many are required.
It is also worth noting that the cost of IP phones can mount up quickly if you need to supply a new handset at each desk. Next question is to ask about their technical support. In particular you should enquire as to how their support is set up, in so much as, if things go wrong will you be able to talk to someone about it or will you have to wait for someone to get back to you.
For example, will you only require support during working hours (8-6)? Or will you require 24 hour support? Do you have people who work for you remotely and travel abroad? And if so will they also be able to access support from a separate country?
Next line of enquiry should concern their server. You want to know how often it has crashed and what their redundancies are, although it is very likely that most companies will not want to disclose such information - or will at least try and sugarcoat it - so carrying out some background research online will probably be called for.
Another worthwhile investment of time is checking a company's social media streams in order to gauge how well and quickly they responded to past troubles once they arisen. As far as redundancies are concerned, these are the 'failsafe' servers that are in place in case there is a fault with one of their main servers. Adequate redundancies are essential to ensure optimum and un-interrupted performance at all times.
So you should now have a complete grounding in, and understanding of, the critical points of enquiry when looking for an Voip service provider. But remember, as good and trustworthy as a company may come across online, it's easy to make a website look good. Just dont be taken in by clean lines and make sure you do your homework before signing up to anything.
Well, as with anything in life, there are certain ways to cut through a lot of the industry-sales-speak and double-talk and get through to the crux of the matter, so long as you know the right questions to ask and you do a little homework beforehand.
A good line of questioning to begin with is establishing what the real-start up costs are and how much they differ from the advertised cost. The difference between the two is often quite drastic as the actual costs incorporate elements such as porting and activation fees as well as equipment costs - IP phones are not cheap and their cost can quickly mount up if many are required.
It is also worth noting that the cost of IP phones can mount up quickly if you need to supply a new handset at each desk. Next question is to ask about their technical support. In particular you should enquire as to how their support is set up, in so much as, if things go wrong will you be able to talk to someone about it or will you have to wait for someone to get back to you.
For example, will you only require support during working hours (8-6)? Or will you require 24 hour support? Do you have people who work for you remotely and travel abroad? And if so will they also be able to access support from a separate country?
Next line of enquiry should concern their server. You want to know how often it has crashed and what their redundancies are, although it is very likely that most companies will not want to disclose such information - or will at least try and sugarcoat it - so carrying out some background research online will probably be called for.
Another worthwhile investment of time is checking a company's social media streams in order to gauge how well and quickly they responded to past troubles once they arisen. As far as redundancies are concerned, these are the 'failsafe' servers that are in place in case there is a fault with one of their main servers. Adequate redundancies are essential to ensure optimum and un-interrupted performance at all times.
So you should now have a complete grounding in, and understanding of, the critical points of enquiry when looking for an Voip service provider. But remember, as good and trustworthy as a company may come across online, it's easy to make a website look good. Just dont be taken in by clean lines and make sure you do your homework before signing up to anything.
About the Author:
Saul Saresi writes regularly about Voip technology and systems for his site VoIPDito business voip More information about Voip can be found by visiting here voip for business
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