While the digital-first era has seemingly moved everything online, established businesses still need a contact phone number. Whether it’s for availability to customers, internal (or inter-office) communications, or interfacing with vendors, there’s no ditching phone-based communication. And yet, that doesn’t mean that traditional phone systems are the only option.
The fact is businesses don’t need their landlines anymore. Not only are they expensive, hard to upgrade, and limited in function, but they also lock employees to specific equipment and reduce workplace flexibility. Businesses everywhere seek communications upgrades that will disencumber their staff and improve functionality, whether by choice or necessity.
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Reasons to Ditch Your Landline for Business
Should you ditch the desk phone for your business’s communications? We’ll give you four reasons why 31% of organizations already have.
Reason #1 — You can transfer your old number
Even if you’ve been in business for decades and your phone number’s plastered on business cards, ads, and your customers’ minds, you won’t need to change anything.
According to FCC’s local number portability rules, service providers must allow you to port your existing phone number when switching telephone service providers in the same geographical area — that goes for landlines, wireless, or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
The takeaway is that your organization can quickly transfer your phone number to a newer, fully modernized phone system. Even if phone companies omit this fact, you can press any phone carrier to port over your old number. Why change what’s already working? Your customers won’t know you’ve cut the landline and switched to VoIP.
Reason #2 — Many people don’t work in a traditional office anymore
Before the dramatic increase in remote work, most people came to a central office. Landlines made sense because everyone’s work phone was literally at work. But now, workforces could be anywhere they can find a network connection — and traditional, hardwired phone lines simply aren’t an option.
Beyond the pressures to adopt mobile-friendly business solutions, companies have found that IP-based phone systems enhance their capabilities. Comparatively, it’s usually counterproductive to tie employees to a desk phone hardwired to a landline, and even traditional businesses see the need to keep up.
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Employees can take their business phone lines with enterprise-grade VoIP systems. They can connect with customers and coworkers wherever they go just as easily as they can fire up any desktop or mobile app. Even if employees spend half of their time in an office setting, setting them up with two separate systems is a waste of resources — especially when one can accommodate both locations better than traditional landlines.
Employees can easily separate work calls from personal calls since business communications are funneled through a single software-based platform that carries far more features than any phone system of the past.
Calls can also be more efficiently managed with integration options such as:
- Live receptionist
- Time tracking apps
- CRM and sales software
- Customer support tickets
- Office efficiency tools
As we’ll explain further, it’s also astonishingly easy to install business lines on mobile phones and other devices — or allow employees to access the system through a secure web portal.
Reason #3 — Technology has advanced beyond landline technology
Not only are mobile phones faster and more reliable than ever, but they’re also much more versatile and continually advancing. Even a short time ago, traditional landline proponents could make the case that landlines had better sound and were more reliable than mobile phones. Today, that gap has shrunk so narrowly that mobile solutions surpass hardwire connections on virtually every front.
Consider how easy it is for an entire area’s landline system to go down, compared to the internet, which runs on a much wider decentralized network. Further, if a landline goes down, businesses must resort to an alternate mobile service — the same technology they would have used if they had a hosted VoIP provider.
Connections are also getting faster every day. Think of the last time you browsed online or sent a picture during a cellphone conversation. It’s all become near-instantaneous. That’s because the best internet-based phone services use tier-1 providers, which means preferential network access for high uptime rates.
For added protection, enterprise-level VoIP providers back their networks up for complete outage fail-safes, which just isn’t feasible with landlines. VoIP providers can also work with multiple carriers, which provides total system redundancy and makes VoIP much more reliable than landlines.
There’s simply no comparison when likening the two systems from a business efficiency and workflow standpoint. VoIP offers way more options for call handling and customer service, as it’s a fundamentally software-based technology. This means it’s effortless to integrate business calls with various other communications mediums, such as:
- SMS
- Video
- Conferencing
- Fax over IP (FoIP)
- Live chat & chatbots
- Social media
All these functions are conveniently integrated into the same, easily deployed app without needing to learn and constantly switch between separate platforms (an issue that wastes up to 9% of a business’s time annually). Companies can integrate them through specialty app-management tools even when multiple apps are used. The experience is seamless — and it all goes wherever the employee does because it isn’t constrained to any specific device.
That said, purchasing IP-based desktop phones connected by ethernet for a standard office experience is still possible. Employees can then decide on a dime to take their work with them and receive immediate access to the same functions using their cell phone, laptop, tablet, or another device. The ultimate “bring your own device” (BYOD) flexibility is only possible with an enterprise-grade VoIP system.
Whichever device employees use for phone service can fulfill most or all necessary functions. From a technical standpoint, this is just the beginning; VoIP is limited only to the creativity of developers and modern computing capabilities. As with any software-based medium, the functionality of your new phone system is no longer restricted to the bounds of legacy communications infrastructure.
The possibilities for businesses are limitless. Already, top-tier VoIP providers have created extremely versatile and feature-rich phone systems that make it possible to:
- Scale your phone system almost instantaneously
- Automatically compile and analyze phone data
- Integrate your entire communications suite into your CRM and sales platforms
- Transcribe calls and voicemails with voice-to-text
- Access the system through installed apps or a web browser
- Send documents, images, and other files straight over the phone system
- Remain HIPAA-compliant with automated text responders and fully encrypted, confidential communications
- Streamline international calling strategies with local numbers outside your company’s country
Do all this and more from a single unified app — without switching between multiple systems for each function. When VoIP providers speak of “unified communications as a service” (UCaaS), they mean it.
Reason # 4 — Mobile solutions are low-cost and straightforward to use
Old-school desktop phones may have seemed simpler, but the reality differed. Those who relied on them every day know even basic call routing was a constant struggle. Navigating out of phone tree loops, keeping track of extension codes, and even just dialing out of the building was always somewhat quirky, to say the least.
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With all their features, mobile VoIP solutions may seem like a lot more to learn, but they’re incredibly streamlined and user-friendly. Due to their cohesive, single-app deployment, their primary use is as simple as any standard app. Users can quickly get set up with calls, texts, and multi-device accessibility with minimal instruction. A highly intuitive interface maintains a low learning curve as users explore their VoIP system’s greater functionality.
Even system administrators enjoy greater simplicity, with the ability to monitor and adjust system settings from a single pane of glass. Neither they nor their phone carrier will need to fix and maintain a physical, aging private branch exchange (PBX) at their facility. Hosted IP-based services can outsource even much of their non-physical system admin duties.
It’s the ultimate turnkey solution. If all this were achieved using traditional phone systems, the costs would be astronomical — but VoIP reduces expenses just as it improves functionality. It’s a true win-win solution, and it’s a great breath of fresh air, given the ongoing struggle to adapt to a constantly shifting telecom landscape.
VoIP is here to stay, both for technological and social reasons, as businesses need a simple, overarching strategy for shifting away from decommissioned landlines while supporting remote work.
Because of its modest costs, IP phone services are accessible to businesses at any scale. It dramatically levels the playing field, as genuine enterprise-grade service is easily obtainable by SMBs, or even individual entrepreneurs. For anyone, easily scalable business phone solutions can be used alongside personal calling and other computing activities, making it possible to fully integrate business communication into your daily rhythm.
All the More Reason To Switch
A fully modernized mobile phone solution keeps all necessary work functions readily available from anywhere for even the most high-stakes business communications needs. Business workflows improve while paving the way to fundamentally new CRM, sales, and internal collaboration strategies.
No matter your business’s industry, the playing field has never been more level. The latest and greatest phone systems have now entered the market with high accessibility, sparking renewed competitive vigor in the business landscape as a whole.
How long have you been dreaming of the tools needed to outcompete even the most significant competitor in your market? With IP-based phone service, you now can.
The answer is simple — switch now! And with the money you save, you could reinvest in critical business functions, provide new services, or simply lower costs. The sky’s the limit, and the most significant rewards are available to those making the most creative use of their newly minted suite of business communications tools.
Contact Phone.com to get started today and upgrade to a secure, fully modernized business communications system from one of the most experienced names in the industry.
