Factors to Consider Before Buying a Business Phone System

A business phone system is the means to connect multiline telephone systems that help to maintain your inbound and outbound calls. It is a central phone system that can link up to other individual phone lines throughout an office and the capability to transfer calls within the organization, all while separated by extensions.

The choices of Systems

There are basically three types of business phone systems- KSU, PBX, and VoIP. Let’s have a look at each of them for better comprehension.

Key System Units (KSU)

The key business telephone system is most suitable for small businesses with no more than 40 employees working in a multiline phone system that is productive for up to a few dozen handsets. A KSU is a convenient system that uses a central switching device and relies on the user to select an external line.
They offer convenient elements such as hold buttons, lights, intercoms, paging, speakerphones, privacy, music-on-hold, long-distance restriction, timers, and memory dialing. The latest combination includes key system and digital functionality and is also proven to be reliable with easy maintenance.

Private Branch Exchange (PBX)

The PBX is suitable for large businesses. It is a centralized telephone network that connects many people within an organization to each other, allowing the telephone company lines to send and receive phone calls. The Cloud PBX can be connected via a wide range of telephone lines including standard PSTN lines or digital PRI trunks over the Internet. You can purchase the entire system as a capital investment while paying the Phone Company or SIP Trunk provider for monthly service and the cost of your calling plan.
The modified version of this system is the hosted PBX. The main difference is that the programmable switching devices are no longer installed on-premises but it’s hosted by a telephone provider. A traditional PBX requires a large investment and ongoing maintenance and training, which can be avoided with the hosted PBX system without losing any of the advanced features it initially has to offer.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

VoIP is the latest creation that can be used by various larger or smaller organizations. This is an advanced system that allows a potential client and phone operator to communicate with each other even if the two people are living in different countries. It offers extended flexibility over other business phone systems.
VoIP can be used with an internet handle that can be connected to various devices like computers, tablets, mobile phones, and internet-enabled desk phones, which can also be a downplay if your internet or the internet devices are not standardized. VoIP costs mostly depend on your provider, plan, and the number of employees needing to use the system.
The VoIP system comes in four different categories, namely- hosted, on-premise, SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) trunking, and virtual. You need to choose one based on your business requirements.

What features you want in your phone system?

The present-day Business Phone System comes with a lot of added attributes that can help your business to run hassle-free. They include the following features;

Multiple lines: This feature allows the employees to switch between calls for better time management during high call volumes.

Conference calls: Meetings can be scheduled by phone with multiple callers participating in the web conference calls. It is helpful for those organizations with remote employees working for them.

Virtual attendant: You need to ensure whether you want your customer’s calls to be attended by a virtual assistant or a real one. Also known as cloud-based PBX, the former makes it easy before the customer is routed to the right employee.

Other Advanced phone features: Some advanced features like call queues, outlook integration, call routing, call recording, click-to-call, text-to-speech or reporting can cost additional charges. You can consult with your service provider about the features that will help your business before investing.
So it all depends on your office’s current infrastructure, technology needs, and comfort level with going all-digital, which will help you decide what is best for your business.