Is a Cloud Phone system right for you and your business? Do you even know what a Cloud Phone System is? If you are in Toronto or the GTA or across Canada, does it make a difference if you get a Cloud Phone System of not? Are Cloud Phones and a Cloud Phone System the same thing?
If you know the answers to these questions, then you may think they are basic questions, and that the information is rudimentary. But to someone who has been on a Nortel platform, Panasonic, Bell lines, or even early Avaya gear, they just may not know how far the technology has come, and how immensely productive the new system can make your employees. That’s where the “work anywhere” and “follow-me” phrases have come from. And by that I don’t mean, we will find you when you don’t want to be found. I mean, during business hours and when you want to be available, you certainly can move from location to location seamlessly and work in any location on any device you prefer, and your data and communication structures and availability will follow you. It’s an easy turn on and talk, or an easy turn off and don’t. It’s an updated platform where the user has the control.
We have found that many customers have been saving enough money in moving from PRI’s to SIP trunks to fund a significant portion of their system upgrade or system migration to the cloud. One of our recent customer migrations was a move from traditional Bell lines and a Nortel Compact ICS, to SIP trunks and our home branded Smart Talk Cloud Phone system. 10 lines and provisioning, and they went from paying over $1,000 per month with old technology to $275 per month. That’s $43,000 over 5 years, which is a huge amount to a small business. Would you throw away $43k? No. Well they wouldn’t either, and didn’t, not any more. They elected to be SMART and made a financially mature and prudent decision. Our Smart IP sales professional was instrumental in educating them on the benefits of the new cloud system and how best to migrate to it, For some customers who are larger with say, 100 or 150 users, the savings can be even greater. But, you need to firmly establish through consultation, where the payoff in cost savings is. Not every business will benefit from a Cloud Phone System. Sometimes, the better choice can be a premise based system, like the Avaya IP Office or the NEC Univerge 9300. The consultation part comes in when you work with our professional sales reps, who have been doing this for years. They will be honest with you, and you can always get other opinions. Education is key when changing your communication system. We are based in Brampton and have multitudes of customers in the GTAH area. We have also installed systems across Canada and service systems and customers across Canada. Those are BIG Small Businesses for sure. However the questions we get asked can be quite similar.
So back to Smart Talk. What is it and how do you benefit? Smart Talk is a Hosted PBX Phone System, also known as a Cloud Phone System.
CLOUD
It is called Cloud because the phone switching technology doesn’t reside on your premise, it resides in our data centre, in Toronto. The same datacentre that Bell uses. It is the most secure most heavily fortified and backed up communications datacentre in the country. You can google it: 151 Front Street Toronto. That means our customers on our Smart Talk Cloud Phone System use the same top tier backbone and data centre that the biggest telco’s in the country use. Rock solid with immense uptime and security.
Phones
You use the system with phones of course, of any type: Softphones, Headsets, traditional sets, Yealink phones, SNOM phones. Those last two are manufacturer types. Which type you use is up to you. We do recommend SNOM Cloud phones or Yealink Cloud phones. They are very efficient and work very well on a Cloud Phone System.
On Smart Talk, you get all the enterprise grade features you would expect from a traditional larger premise based system, but at a greatly reduced price. One of our fastest growing requests is for traditional business who want to move out of 25 year old systems into a Cloud Phone System, but still retain the features that their staff are familiar with and have relied on for decades. And these are businesses in Toronto, the GTA and beyond. There is no geographical limitation, as long as you have a solid high speed internet connection. You have to be comfortable knowing that your data (call records and technology gear) is operated and stored offsite in the data centre. It is secure. More secure than it ever was on your premise, because the server farms in the data centre are fiercely protected, managed, backed up virtually 24/7/365, and your prem system can’t say that. Your business can burn to the ground, and within minutes, you can be back in business from anywhere. That’s something your prem system cannot say. The best prem system is simply not as secure as a well configured Cloud Phone System. A prem system is secure, yes, but if it’s a security contest, Cloud wins.
Internet: The backbone of your system
This is important, and not taking this first proper step can result in a failed implementation and poor call quality. A Cloud Phone System transmits your calls over the Internet, so you MUST have a sufficiently robust internet service. Don’t guess, or think, “Ohhh, it will be ok”. No no no. Have your internet service scrutinized. It’s one valuable discussion with our technical resources, and if needed or recommended, a network assessment prior to setting your new system deal in stone. It will be a little time, and maybe a little money well spent to ensure your internet can handle the giant leap forward your communications will be experiencing. That’s one small discussion for us, and one giant leap for you. (Sorry, I just couldn’t resist.)
Cloud Phone Systems come in a variety of flavours and prices, so make sure your chosen company will be here in a few years. Many are in desperation mode and offering cut rate pricing, below their cost, which may sound attractive to you, but only means soon enough they will sell their company or not be able to continue just get out from their obligations, as per their business plan. Don’t be fooled. Choose a solid service company with a proven track record who has been in business for many years and will be in business tomorrow.
Choose Smart!
Check more about the Smart Talk Cloud Hosted PBX