Everyday office purchases that cost more than a VoIP system

Once a VoIP phone system is in place on your corporate premises, the financial savings can start seriously stacking up. This is especially the case if you switch from an ageing onsite system to a cloud-based one, but you might still be struggling to justify a VoIP system to yourself.

To put the merits of VoIP into perspective, it’s worth considering how the costs of running one compare to other day-to-day expenses your firm might be incurring – such as…

Software upgrades

Maintaining stringent security can be imperative for your business. This can be particularly true for a firm that relies heavily on technology, as it’s not wise to entirely scotch the possibility of hackers, scammers and similar nuisances springing nasty surprises.

It is for this reason that it is crucial to keep on top of your company’s software upgrades. Otherwise, you could leave security gaps just awaiting exploitation. However, software upgrades can also add significantly to your business costs, Real Business suggests.

Fortunately, if you choose a VoIP system hosted in the cloud, you won’t need to worry about remembering or paying for software upgrades. That’s because the VoIP service provider can upgrade the system on your behalf and so leave you to focus on other corporate matters.

iPads

As your company grows beyond just one office, you might want to regularly shell out for devices that your staff can use on a daily basis. This can be a sensible strategy if the devices they already own aren’t quite capable of satisfying current corporate demands.

You may be particularly enticed by Apple’s least expensive iPad model, which is simply called ‘iPad’ and was refreshed with more modern components earlier this year. However, while you might have seen a price tag of $299 attached to it, this pricing is for the education market, says PCMag.

In the US, the standard price per tablet is $329 – and that’s before you consider the added costs of monthly data packages if you are mulling over purchasing the cellular models. All of this can add up to a surprisingly large total monthly expenditure outweighing that of a VoIP system.

PBX hardware

On the other hand, your company might still be relatively small and perhaps even limited to a single office. In this situation, it would be crucial to devote most of your time and attention to your firm’s core operations; otherwise, it could too easily sink rather than swim.

You probably wouldn’t welcome the potentially very costly distraction of having to buy, implement and manage the infrastructure of a traditional PBX phone system. This is why PCMag warns that the cost of such a system could make it an unwise investment for your business in the long run.

It’s reassuring, then, that the UK company Planet Numbers offers a VoIP solution for businesses that might be fairly short of money on an ongoing basis. This system is a ‘hosted’ one that saves its users as much as 90% in monthly phone expenses.