There are many situations in life when all signs point to a change for the better. When we heed these signs, we’re always rewarded. When we ignore these signs, we always regret it — and wish we had a time machine to “know then what we know now.”
With this in mind, if your business is seeing any or all of the following signs, then it’s time to elevate your business phone system to the cloud — so you can enjoy rewards, instead of lament regrets:
Your business isn’t static and unchangeable. Rather, it’s dynamic and evolves. For example, over time you may have added more on-site/remote staff, expanded into new locations, or identified the need for more advanced telecommunications features to drive operational efficiency, competitive advantage and customer service. However, your on-premise (PBX) phone system likely isn’t designed to support any of these objectives. It’s holding you back instead of driving you forward, which is bad news for you, your staff and your customers— but great news for your competition.
As you know, skilled IT professionals aren’t cheap. In fact, in most businesses they’re among the highest paid of all human resources. However, if your IT team spends an excessive amount of time on telecommunications problems — responding to support tickets from frustrated workers, dealing with hardware compatibility problems, unraveling complex network issues, and so on — then they aren’t focusing on high priority tasks and projects. That’s not just a huge waste of money, but it puts your business at serious risk.
When it comes to cars, eventually there comes a time when the cost of repairs and maintenance exceeds the price of a new vehicle. Well, the same thing happens with on-premise phone systems: there comes a point when keeping it functional is no longer financially sensible. This is especially true if you’re saddled with proprietary hardware and software (which is likely the case), because it severely limits your options. The only folks happy about this are vendors who get to keep billing you for repairs and maintenance, or hit the jackpot and sell you a brand new system that costs tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Either way your vendor wins, and your business loses.
1. You’ve outgrown your current on-premise phone system.
Your business isn’t static and unchangeable. Rather, it’s dynamic and evolves. For example, over time you may have added more on-site/remote staff, expanded into new locations, or identified the need for more advanced telecommunications features to drive operational efficiency, competitive advantage and customer service. However, your on-premise (PBX) phone system likely isn’t designed to support any of these objectives. It’s holding you back instead of driving you forward, which is bad news for you, your staff and your customers— but great news for your competition.
2. Your IT team is spending too much time solving telecommunications problems.
As you know, skilled IT professionals aren’t cheap. In fact, in most businesses they’re among the highest paid of all human resources. However, if your IT team spends an excessive amount of time on telecommunications problems — responding to support tickets from frustrated workers, dealing with hardware compatibility problems, unraveling complex network issues, and so on — then they aren’t focusing on high priority tasks and projects. That’s not just a huge waste of money, but it puts your business at serious risk.
3. You’re forced to manage multiple vendors.
There’s a very good chance that your on-premise phone system doesn’t have the capacity to seamlessly connect to different platforms and applications. And as a result of this, you’re forced to manage multiple vendors —including very expensive consultants who cheerfully charge by the hour. And that’s not even the worst of it. In addition to solving ongoing problems with your on-premise phone system, these pricey vendors must work with each other, which means that you have to manage all the relationships. Otherwise, the work of vendor will be dismantled by another vendor. When this happens, vendors shrug and you pay the bill.4. You’re pouring money into your on-premise phone system — and there’s no end in sight.
When it comes to cars, eventually there comes a time when the cost of repairs and maintenance exceeds the price of a new vehicle. Well, the same thing happens with on-premise phone systems: there comes a point when keeping it functional is no longer financially sensible. This is especially true if you’re saddled with proprietary hardware and software (which is likely the case), because it severely limits your options. The only folks happy about this are vendors who get to keep billing you for repairs and maintenance, or hit the jackpot and sell you a brand new system that costs tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Either way your vendor wins, and your business loses.
5. You’re spending an excessive amount of time training employees how to use your on-premise phone system.
You appreciate that new employees need orientation, training and support to make an effective contribution, and hopefully grow with your team for many years to come. But you don’t appreciate spending an excessive amount of time training these new hires how to use the on-premise phone system. And to be fair, it’s not because these individuals aren’t trying to get up-to-speed as quickly as possible. It’s because your on-premise phone system uses “old school” interfaces, configurations and tools that are confusing and non-intuitive. Naturally, the learning curve is steep, long and frustrating for all involved — trainers and trainees alike.The Bottom Line
Doing the math on this is simple. If your business is seeing any of these signs:- You’ve outgrown your current on-premise phone system.
- Your IT team is spending too much time solving telecommunications problems.
- You’re forced to manage multiple vendors.
- You’re pouring money into your on-premise phone system — and there’s no end in sight.
- You’re spending an excessive amount of time training employees how to use your on-premise phone system.