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Five Strategies for a Low-Cost VoIP Solution

With low long-distance bills, a single, efficient data network, and productivity gains, there’s little question that a VoIP system pays for itself over time. Fortunately, VoIP vendors have developed a number of options for lowering the initial cost of VoIP as well.

A Low-Cost Approach to Installing VoIP

The top five strategies for reducing VoIP installation costs include:

1. Signing on with a Hosted VoIP Service

Hosted VoIP services represent the best strategy for reducing entry costs to IP communications technology. VoIP services sell access to costly telecommunications equipment on a monthly subscription basis. The pay-as-you-go model allows users to add and remove functionality as needed. The hosted service may also assume responsibility for installing the system and training users, reducing the initial costs of a VoIP implementation.

2. Leveraging Legacy Equipment

Few companies are willing to give up their investment in existing telecom equipment. If your company’s legacy system still has some life in it, talk to a VoIP service provider about a custom solution that integrates existing phone and network hardware. Because most IP communications components are SIP-compliant, vendors can create a seamless solution the incorporates both new and legacy equipment.

3. Adopting a Phased Implementation

A simple way to lower initial costs is to roll out the VoIP system or system upgrade gradually. First, a phased rollout saves money by breaking the implementation into installments. Second, the initial installments serve as test runs, allowing you to iron out the kinks before involving the entire organization. By starting with a satellite office or a single, back-office department, you can minimize the risk of a major technical disruption and defer some of the installation costs.

4. Choosing a Scalable Solution

Minimize implementation costs by avoiding an outsized communications solution. In the past, businesses had to anticipate their needs over the lifetime of the equipment and build a system to accommodate future growth. IP communications removed the need for such upfront system accounting. The technology is naturally scalable because moves, adds, and changes are a matter of configuring a digital system rather than rewiring the office. Hosted services offer even more scalability, with programs that allow subscribers to ramp capacity up or down as needed.

5. Reducing Maintenance Staff

Finally, businesses can reduce entry costs by reducing their system maintenance staff from the outset. Migrating from PSTN to IP communications means eliminating the phone network and consolidating communications on the data network. This convergence also eliminates the need for a dedicated telecommunications support staff. To save even more in IT support costs, let a hosted VoIP service take over responsibility for system maintenance.

VoIP savings are in your future. Plan your implementation right, and you could save a bundle in the present, too. The flexibility of today’s VoIP technology offers new ways to reduce costs at the outset, lowering the barrier to IP communications.

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