“What is the best VoIP platform?” That’s a good question — and honestly, there is no concrete answer. There are some VoIP services that offer more functionally than others, that cost less than others, and those which can be deployed easier than others.

But, all of those factors can change depending on the needs of your business, the environment that comprises your business’ network, and where the majority of your business takes place.

HOW TO DETERMINE WHAT VoIP SYSTEM IS BEST FOR YOU

When making the decision about what VoIP provider to choose from, you’ll want to take at least one of the following steps: consult with a CIO or vCIO, and bring in a third party contractor or MSP to analyze your network, call flows, and organizational structure.

There’s no two businesses with the same environment, and the needs of those two businesses can vary wildly — a legal office will have a much higher volume of calls when compared to a software developer, for instance, but may not have a high server load like the software developer.

That’s why it’s necessary to take an in depth look at your organization’s call structure and volume, as well as the capabilities of your network. Since VoIP systems rely on bandwidth within your network to transfer your voice rather than a standard phone line, you’ll need to make sure your network is able to handle the increased load of data passing through your switches and routers.

Some questions you’ll want to ask yourself before consulting with a CIO and MSP are:

• - How many calls do we receive a day?
• - What are our peak phone usage hours?
• - What is our peak call volume?
• - What are our peak internet and application usage hours?
• - How many phones will we need?
• - Do we want to integrate our VoIP system with our ERP?
• - How mobile are our employees?
• - How much control do we need over our phone system?

By presenting the answers to these questions to your consulting MSP or CIO, you’ll be able to significantly reduce the time spent planning and resource gathering, and therefore reducing your overall costs.

Many VoIP services offer the same features and functionality, it’s their implementation that’s different. By studying how your business functions, a CIO or MSP will be able to accurately match you up with the service that works for you.

WHICH VoIP SERVICE IS BEST FOR REMOTE WORK?

If your business — like most, is catching up to the forced-remote work switch, and didn’t have time previously to set up a VoIP system, you’ll need to find a provider with the capability to deploy your system remotely.

Luckily, Konica Minolta’s All Covered UC-One platform is a cloud-based VoIP service which offers standard VoIP features such as do not disturb, call forwarding, and message and call history, also offers cloud services such as file sharing, and collaboration services like instant messaging, screen sharing, HD video calling, and virtual meeting rooms.

All your business needs to provide are your call flows, personal and private phone numbers, and extensions. With this information, All Covered will be able to connect your employees smartphones to your existing phone system in your office — when their office phone is called, the call will instantly be forwarded to the employe’s phone — meaning your business can continue normal operations, without giving out personal phone numbers.

UC-One also allows your business to forgo the need of purchasing much needed collaboration software.

THE BEST OPTION DEPENDS ON YOUR CURRENT AND FUTURE NEEDS

The needs of your business may be completely different this month than the are the next — and when we’re finally able to return to the office, your needs will probably change then as well.

That means that right now is the perfect time to assess your business’ organizational structure — not only will it help you more efficiently manage your team, it will give you a good indication about what VoIP service is right for you. Especially in times such as these, it’s within your best interest to partner with a feature-rich VoIP service, as it will make it much more manageable to switch from a remote work situation to a more standard structure.

What Is VoIP? 5 Things You Need to Know

If you have access to the internet, then you have access to Voice over IP telephony. But what exactly is VoIP, and do you even need it?

How Much Does VoIP Cost?

There’s a lot more that goes into a VoIP system than you’d expect. VoIP systems are built with customizability in mind, so the price of both installation, and monthly charges, can vary wildly depending on the size and needs of your business.

What Happens to My VoIP Service if My Internet is Down?

So, what happens to your VoIP phone system if the internet in your office is down? Watch here to learn more!