Long gone are the days when businesses required an onsite phone system with expensive, dedicated circuits — now VoIP business features allow you to send and receive calls over your existing network. And, by leveraging your existing equipment and Internet connection, your costs stay low — a necessity for small businesses!

With Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone systems you have all the benefits of an old-school, onsite system, and more, including calling anyone with a telephone number, long-distance, local, mobile, or even international. Some options even allow you to connect a traditional phone to a VoIP adapter so that you can use your VoIP services anywhere.

While there are many advantages of VoIP business systems, such as lower calling cost, greater manageability, and enhanced mobility, there are a few features absolutely essential to any small or medium business.

The Top 5 Must-Have VoIP Business Features

Extensions

Firstly, your phone system must have multiple extensions. Having the ability to receive multiple calls and route them to other people or message systems is vital for any company. Virtual extensions allow a single phone number to receive multiple calls which can be answered by a “live” person or by system auto-attendant and then properly routed to the desired department or staff member regardless of whether they are in the same building or physical location. These are a wonderful bonus to companies like non-profits and medical centers that field many daily calls. And, when you use a provider like Net3IT with managed services offerings and support, you receive added integrations with some of the newest technologies. For example, Microsoft Teams is a collaborative secure environment for shared files, screen shares, notes, chats, and information logs integrated into Net3IT’s cloud phone solutions.

IVR or Attendant

The Interactive Voice Response (IVR) or system auto attendant feature can eliminate the need for a receptionist and make even the smallest business big. The IVR acts as a virtual assistant to answer incoming calls with a custom greeting. From there, callers can select departments, extensions, or pre-recorded messages. Depending on how you customize your IVR, clients could use a dial-by-name or dial-by-extension option.

Find me/Follow me

Find me or Follow me refers to a list of preset numbers the system will try to reach you through. When you are away from your desk or on the road, you no longer have to worry about missing calls. If you miss a call to your desk phone, the system will push the call through to the next number on your list. If you’re still unavailable the call is routed to your voicemail, automatically and can be emailed directly to you for convenient listening. With this feature, you’ll never miss out on an important call again.

Call Recording

Next, your phone system should have the ability to record your calls. Whether the message contains vital details you may need later or is used for training, recording is a vital asset. With VoIP services, recording can be accomplished with the click of a mouse. You won’t even have to have set up something prior to the need. And, once recorded, the message can be stored and easily retrieved later. This gives you the ability to check the quality of your work and make sure it always stays high.

Conference Calling

Finally, conference calling is an obvious necessity. With built-in conference features, you’ll be able to organize calls and access them inside or outside your company through the conference line. You can access conference calls at any time simply by entering a password. This is just an added layer of security for you and your clients. Additionally, you can easily connect to your remote offices or add an unlimited number of participants to your calls.

While these are the top VoIP business features your business needs, there are many others that you take your company to the next level. Other VoIP features to look for are:

  • Application Integration (MS-Outlook, Salesforce, URL based, Click-to-Dial)
  • Voicemail
  • Call forwarding
  • Caller ID
  • Intercom/Paging
  • Free domestic long-distance calls
  • International calls
  • System management

At Net3IT, we’ve installed VoIP for businesses of all sizes, across a range of industries. Of our existing clients, all have made the switch from traditional to VoIP because of its features. The best VoIP business features include cost-savings, scalability, robust feature set, and ease of use. Contact us to learn more about what VoIP phone services can add to your business!

There are plenty of reasons to consider bringing an IT consulting company into your business operations. Is your company not performing as well as you’d hoped? Is it growing beyond what you’re able to handle yourself? Or are you just starting out? No matter what challenges your business is facing, an IT consulting company can help you focus on what matters while they take care of the day-to-day details.

Why Get an IT Consulting Package?

While some IT consulting companies may offer standalone consultations, others provide consulting services along with practical strategies for managing, planning, and implementing the solutions suggested in the consult. Service packages are often a better option than consulting alone because you will only need one company for IT needs. This consolidation means streamlined communication and simpler steps towards resolving issues or meeting new needs.

Even if you understand your IT needs, you won’t always be able to tackle every task by yourself. Maybe you don’t have the expertise or the staff or simply don’t have the time. Getting an IT company to manage your technology needs gives you the time and energy to focus on what you do best in your business.

IT Consulting Can Save You Time

An IT company has the expertise that will help your company meet its goals as efficiently as possible. They can easily and confidently create, plan, and implement technology solutions that are customized exactly for your needs and goals.

IT consulting can help you make the most of your resources, time, and money. Instead of you or your employees spending time researching, buying, and implementing IT products, you can count on the experts to find the best solution quickly and let you continue working.

IT Consulting Can Save You Money

If you’re trying to save money, it may sound counter-intuitive to hire an outside company to keep costs down. But the return on investment you’ll see from a customized, functional IT system that meets your needs will be more than worth the initial cost. Plus, your paid employees can spend their time on tasks that make your business money instead of fighting with sub-par technology.

Strategic IT planning from a group of experts won’t just solve the IT problems your company is facing now, but help you plan for the future and head off potential problems to come.

Do you need help with IT consulting, planning, and implementation?  Schedule a consultation with Net3 IT to discuss solutions that can help to save you time, money, and headaches.