Voice over IP (VoIP) phone systems, sometimes known as cloud phone solutions, are becoming increasingly popular for small and medium-sized businesses across Canada - particularly as the working world is becoming more flexible, with remote work and hybrid workplaces becoming the norm.
VoIP phone systems offer a plethora of benefits to businesses, such as reduced phone costs, improved team efficiencies, the ability to better support remote workers, improved call quality and a better experience for both customers and employees.
These are all advantages that organizations just simply cannot achieve when using traditional analogue phone solutions.
Choosing the right VoIP provider, however, is not always as straightforward as it seems. There are a multitude of VoIP providers in Canada, all offering different systems, at different price points and with different features.
If you’re in the market for a business VoIP provider here in Canada, then we’ve created this blog of some of the top considerations to help ensure that your decision is the right one based on your company’s specific needs.
Decide whether you want hosted VoIP or on-premise
VoIP phone solutions convert your voice into a digital signal, allowing your company’s employees to make calls directly from a computer, VoIP phone or other data-driven devices from wherever they are as long as they have an internet connection.
Unlike traditional analogue phone systems, VoIP is a phone service that is delivered over the internet.
There are two choices when it comes to VoIP:
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Hosted VoIP
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On-premise VoIP
Hosted VoIP Vs On-Premise: What's the Difference?
Hosted VoIP is managed by a VoIP provider. These hosted or cloud-based VoIP systems operate through the internet and require no infrastructure within your office. Users are assigned a phone number and can access the phone from anywhere in the world where they have an internet connection.
On-premise VoIP, on the other hand, includes software and server hardware which is purchased or elapsed by your organization and installed on your company’s premises. Your IT team is responsible for managing this, and not the VoIP provider.
In general, organizations moving to VoIP will see far more benefits through the implementation of a hosted VoIP solution.
Know what kind of VoIP service you want
There are a range of different business VoIP providers in Canada, all at varying price points and all of which come with different features. Many VoIP features come free with your subscription (such as call waiting, caller ID, voicemail and three-way calling), but some features (like enhanced voicemail that lets you check messages on your phone, web browser and email) will only come with higher subscription fees.
In addition, while VoIP services typically have low international rates, some providers will prove international calling plans for certain countries. If there’s an international country that you make calls to often, it can be worth looking around for a provider with a plan that includes free minutes to that country.
Evaluate the available VoIP providers
There’s a wide range of business VoIP providers in Canada, including Primus, ThinkTel, RingCentral, Ooma, Vonage, Bell, GoToConnect, 8x8, Five9s, Dialpad and Zoom voice.
It’s important to remember that there is no one size fits-all answer when it comes to VoIP providers. The provider that works best for your business, will come down to the specific requirements, budget and preferences of your organization.
Compiling a list of the available providers with their plans, features and price points can help your business to narrow the selection of providers down into those that better suit your needs.
Make sure you fully understand the cost of potential plans
When making an investment, your organization should never be blindsided by costs or fees that you weren’t expecting. This could have a major impact on your bottom line. To avoid this, make sure to research extensively the costs involved in certain plans, as well as any additional features or international calling you might need from the service.
This will help ensure that you have a clear view of exactly what business VoIP providers and plans fall into your budget.
Do you need your VoIP to integrate with third-party applications?
Your business can save money and dramatically improve internal efficiencies when you integrate a VoIP service with third-party applications, such as Dropbox to improve how you store customer data in real-time or your CRM to improve the service you provide your customers.
If this is important to your business, it’s critical that you ask potential VoIP providers whether they have the ability to integrate with some of the core tools that your team uses.
Work with a local office technology expert
It can be an incredibly time-consuming and arduous process to evaluate VoIP providers and choose the right solution. It takes your company’s resources away from core tasks and responsibilities that lead to business growth.
That’s why it’s always a good idea to partner with an IT expert who has the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to help your business upgrade its telephony solution. Here at OT Group, for example, we’ve developed a four-step process to help your organization choose the right business VoIP provider.
We take the time to untangle the issues with your existing telephony solution, pinpoint exactly what your business requires for future growth, and then find a VoIP provider and plan that will offer your organization true value for money.
Interested in learning more? Get in touch with the OT Group team of experts today.
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