Cheap VoIP Service Davis

A quick guide to finding the best cheap VoIP service in Davis

In the real world, many businesses, especially SMBs, implement VoIP mainly to lower their phone bills. Some may go on to implement more advanced functionality if it lowers costs in some other way. If you’re looking to switch to VoIP to cut back on costs, here is a quick guide to finding the best cheap VoIP service in Davis.

Easy To Getting Cheap VoIP Service

1. Decide what VoIP services you need (or really want)

The more VoIP services you implement, the more you increase your costs. This means that the easiest way to keep costs to a minimum is to stick to VoIP services for which there is a clear business need or at least a very strong want. Basically, if these are functions you would have needed anyway, there is a good chance that implementing them through VoIP will be more cost-effective than implementing them through the regular telephone system.

For most companies, the easiest way to decide what you need is to look at your current usage patterns to get a baseline of what you are doing now. Then see if there are any obvious gaps you would benefit from filling.

When looking at your usage, it’s advisable to look at your cell phone usage and your fax usage as well as your landline usage. For example, if you find that staff who move about the office are using their cell phones simply because it’s easier than finding a desk phone, then moving that traffic onto VoIP could lead to meaningful savings.

Implementing Fax over IP offers all kinds of advantages over traditional faxes. Firstly it reduces calling costs without compromising on reliability. Secondly, it reduces printing costs while increasing security. This is because fax systems offer secure, end-to-end transmission (through encryption) and only print on demand. This reduces the need for paper and ink and also eliminates the issues with automatically printing paper faxes and then needing to store them safely.

Another value-add service you may need, or strongly want, to implement is call-recording. This isn’t particularly difficult technically but you will need to make sure that you adhere to data-protection rules.

2. Think carefully about implementing video-calling

Video calling is massively bandwidth-intensive. Even basic webcam calling needs at least three times as much bandwidth as an equivalent call with just audio. It also creates extra security implications. That said, video calling can still work out a lot more affordable than business travel. For this reason, it may be worth implementing it but placing firm restrictions on its use.

3. List your equipment and consider how you will pay for it

The main choice you will need to make is whether you want to use softphones or VoIP handsets. If your goal is to minimize costs, then softphones may seem like the obvious choice but they can be a false economy.

In the real world, softphones only tend to work well if they are used on fairly large screens. Unless you have these already, buying VoIP handsets will probably be much more affordable than replacing monitors. Also, softphones generally need headsets to work effectively so they do have an (indirect) cost and do take up some space on a desk.

VoIP handsets come at varying price points and the more basic ones can be very affordable. What’s more, you can generally choose either to buy them upfront yourself or to have them bundled as part of a VoIP service contract. The former may save you a bit of money, but the latter may allow you to spread your costs.

4. Look for the best deal on connectivity

Implementing VoIP almost always means that companies have to upgrade their bandwidth, often quite significantly. If you’re in the public cloud, then usually the only sensible option is to look for a VoIP service vendor who can manage your hosting for you as well. If you’re in a private cloud, you can choose between using a VoIP service vendor with hosting or using a regular managed-to-host plus a VoIP service contract. In principle, if you’re running your own data center, you could also manage the upgrade yourself.

Sorting out your own bandwidth could offer the opportunity for cost savings, but think carefully about whether or not they’re really worth it or you’d ultimately get more value out of having your VoIP service provider just take care of everything for you.

5. Make sure your calling plan reflects your usage

Generally, the most cost-effective calling plan is one that covers your regular usage on a subscription and has reasonable prices for occasional expenses. Think carefully before you sign up for any extra services. They may be offered at a low cost, but they’re only worth anything if you actually use them.

If you’d like to speak to one of the best cheap VoIP service partners in Davis, please click here now to contact Aperio.IT.