Thinking of making the switch to VoIP? A checklist to ensure success:

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Before signing on the dotted line, every organization considering a switch to hosted PBX VoIP should carefully evaluate their needs. Doing a bit of upfront research can save huge headaches in the long run. By getting a full picture of your needs, you'll be able compare vendors more effectively. Use the list below to profile your company:

1. Profile your company. How many employees do you have? How many offices? How many remote or mobile users will you have?
2. Profile your calling. What is your current mix of internal, local, long-distance and international calls per month? Number of outbound vs. inbound calls? Do you make conference calls?
3. Profile your current phone system. How many lines do you have? What type of phones do you use? Do you need to keep any of your existing lines?
4. Profile your current broadband connection. What is your bandwidth? How many lines do you have? Who is your current supplier? What is your current network load? How much unused bandwidth is available? Will you need to upgrade your network? Check out our speed test to check yours
5. Make a wish list. Do you need an 800 number? Do you have a receptionist or will you need an auto-attendant? Do you need to integrate with email or other systems? Do you need a call center? Voice menus? Will you need to scale your system as you grow? What service level agreements will you need?
6. What is your budget? How much can you spend in total? What is your targeted per user per month cost?
7. Will you have one person responsible for managing the system? Or do employees need to be able to manage it themselves?
8. What type of Internet Service Provider (ISP) will you select? Cable or DSL? You will need a business-grade service that offers Service Level Agreements and can meet bi-directional bandwidth needs.