At Bandwidth, we work with both large and small companies, and consequently, we interoperate or work with phone systems of various size and capability. If you are a business looking to replace or implement a new phone system, I’d like to share three aspects of telecom buying I’ve observed in my career that lead me to make recommendations which could help you make a better decision for your business.

Less features = higher cost? Huh?
Nearly every business has some type of phone system. Phone systems vary in capability and features and, certainly, by price. Larger companies implement more advanced systems, while smaller companies implement much more basic systems. Like many industries, there is a direct correlation between features of a system and the price of the system, or total cost of ownership (TCO). Surprisingly, however, many small companies pay more per employee for their telecommunication experience than larger companies and get fewer capabilities or features in return. There are ways to avoid this issue, but the phone system decision maker needs to be aware of all their options. Just like buying a car, unless you come armed with the right knowledge, you’re an easy mark, and likely won’t come away with a deal that benefits your business.

Recommendation: Don’t buy the rhetoric that you’re buying a bargain system so you shouldn’t expect to get a lot of features. You just have to find the right system that has the features your business needs – more about this in my final observation.

How do you buy telecom?
There are two strong personas when it comes to buying telecom. One persona is that of the “phone guy” or “techie”. This persona is keenly interested in or aware of the phone system’s features, capabilities, and the phone system ecosystem. This person usually can answer questions like: “Is the phone system easily managed and configured?” “Does system administration require a specialized contractor or can it be done internally?” or “How easy is that interface to use?” A phone guy can also tell you how much you are being charged for phone service and advise on service provider options.

The second dominant persona is the business owner, who is decidedly a “non-phone” person. This type of telecom buyer simply wants to pick up a phone and hear dial tone and make a call without problems. They have little patience for the effort of implementing new or advanced features. They may use and enjoy new phone features, but they prefer to have someone else configure and manage their user experience.

Recommendation: Are you more of a techie? Don’t get tripped up by shiny new features – make sure that the phone system will work for your business while saving you money on your phone bill. If you’re the business owner, don’t leap at the lowest cost provider – when it comes to VoIP, you generally get what you pay for, so it can be worth it to pay a little more to get higher quality for your business.

Don’t skimp on research
Every office needs a “phone guy”, and it usually falls to either our techie persona or the business owner. Our experience shows that there are few people in the middle. In other words, if the world of phone systems were a political contest there are few independents. The impact of this observation is significant - it means the decision resides with a powerful minority. It’s critical for the decision maker to do their homework: get several quotes, investigate and compare open-source based PBX options against big brands, and compare the benefits of a hosted PBX solution versus a premise-based solution. It’s important they take time to understand the implicit and expressed needs of the business. What features are important to end-users, to power-uses, and to the business at large?

Recommendation: Find the three or four critical features that your phone system must have, and use that as your baseline. Eliminate any contenders who lack those features, then learn everything you can about the remaining companies before you have to make a decision.

With so much price and feature disparity, compounded by the reality that phone systems are becoming more complex and feature-rich, crafting a phone system for your business can be a difficult process. But getting the right system results in great payoffs, like improved productivity, monthly savings and many more, so don’t be afraid to get involved in the process and do the research. A sub-par decision will place you in a competitive disadvantage in some form or another. This isn’t golf; sub-par isn’t going to make the cut this time around.

Speaking of golf… I’m off.

Tags: business VoIP, IP PBX, Joe Merrill, PBX, phone system, telecom

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