You and your team have agreed on the decision to switch to VoIP– congratulations! That’s one obstacle behind you, and it should be smooth sailing from here. But like all transitions in business, whether technical like this, operational or physical like a new CEO or a new location, you need to take time on the prep so you hit the ground running.
Before we confuse you with even more metaphors, here’s what you should do to pave the ground for VoIP.
#1. Set a budget and the goals (including the timeline of completion) for the transition. This helps you shop for providers and service offerings.
#2. What suite of services would you need exactly?
- Do you need to connect remote locations to your main office?
- How much intra-company calling do you already do between locations?
- How much do your employees travel between locations? How many are your remote workers or road warriors?
- What options to do you have for transfers (e.g., transferring vendors, customers between locations)?
- Are you international, with partners and customers outside the country?
- What special applications do you need/want to have now through VoIP?
- What are your must-haves and dealbreakers; i.e., what you must absolutely have and what lack or other criterion would make you say no to an option or suite
#3. After determining the above, perform a network assessment. If your business hasn’t had any type of VoIP or even PBX before, you need to check if your infrastructure can support the new tech.
- Does your WAN (wide area network) support voice traffic?
- How many lines and what type does your PSTN (public switched telephone network) have at each location?
- Do you have CAT5 or better wiring?
- Do you have Power over Ethernet (PoE)?
- Do you have Layer 3 switches?
- VoIP phones need power (not like digital sets that get power from the cabinet). What are your local power, power injectors or PoE switches like? What installations do you need to do for the best environment for your VoIP?
As you discover these, adjust your budget if needed.
#4. Assign a team specifically for VoIP installation and implementation. Let them focus on the transition and the training in the meantime.
#5. With all 4 of the above, create a strategy and update your timeline with specific sections. Make room for system updates, troubleshooting, testing (lots of testing!), and taking it slow in rolling out the adoption. It doesn’t have to be done all in one go. For example, implementing VoIP or completing an update over Christmas is impossible if you’re in retail.
Documentation of all the above is also essential so that you have a document to consult for future troubleshooting and expanding your implementation.
About Simply Technology
Simply Technology has been providing technology solutions for businesses in the Metro-Detroit market since 2010. We understand that technology can sometimes be very complex that’s why we believe in technology at its simplest form. We show this by offering our Voice and IT Services with all the features and industry leading customer service your business deserves.
We believe in thinking differently, we believe in people and what we can collectively achieve. We go to work every day to help our customers succeed!
248-885-5515
27801 Harper Ave. Suite 100
St. Clair Shores, MI 48080
sales@simplytechnology.com