Switching to VoIP should be a simple and pain free process

For those business owners that are still hesitant, there are best practices to ensure that the switch to VoIP goes simply and easily.

Check your Internet speed.  Ensure that you have enough Internet speed and bandwidth to handle both your regular Internet traffic and your phone lines.  VoIP systems will not work well on slow Internet connections.  Your Internet Service provider or a competent VoIP provider can check this.

Evaluate at least three VoIP providers.  The most important factor that can make the switch seamless, or a complete disaster, is the VoIP provider themselves.  Do not take this lightly.  Any quality VoIP provider should have plenty of business continuity and disaster failover plans in place, multiple positive testimonies, and references, and offer 24×7X365 technical support.

Purchase quality phone equipment.  Do not purchase cheap phone equipment.  Make sure that everything you purchase is high quality, with high ratings, positive reviews and has a good warranty.  Your VoIP provider should be able to recommend phones that would work best for your business.

Purchase quality network hardware such as routers and switches.  A good router will reduce dropped calls, and increase the quality of your calls.

Have a failover plan.  When using VoIP, there is a risk that the internet will go down causing the phone connections to be lost as well.  Building redundancies and using failover ISP’s, routers, and switches will ensure that this doesn’t happen to your business.  In most cases, your VoIP provider will already have these in place and planned for you.

By choosing a reputable and knowledgeable VoIP provider, making the switch to VoIP can be a simple and painless process.