VoIP is a cloud-based service, which means cyber-crime prevention needs to be part of the game plan from day one. VoIP will touch every element of your business, with all levels of staff using it, and calls coming in and out from around the globe. Security measures need to be tight to say the least. Your choice should include end-to-end encryption and authentication, private VLANs, and firewall and behind-the-firewall protection.

Reliability is also really important. Ask about the uptime that the company experiences, and check how much bandwidth they need from you as a business to run at optimum levels. Do they have built-in redundancy, and do they offer call continunity if something goes wrong?

Of course, most providers will tell you that nothing will ever go wrong, but you need to make sure you understand what would happen if it all came crashing down at 3am. Your business never stops, and you need global opening hours to be supported – which means 24/7 customer support by experts.

Many larger companies are looking to their VoIP providers for Unified Communications, but what does that mean? Simply put, it’s taking all the methods that your business uses to communicate and putting them all into the same solution. Whether it’s chat messaging, confernece calling, emails, video and phone calls or voicemail – it’s all under the same umbrella. This means one app which can be used for them all, and simple cross-communication between the, such as Voicemail to Email or Chat to Call.

Even if you choose to go with a provider who doesn’t offer Unified Communications, you probably want to go for an Entrprise VoIP solution that includes a powerful mobile app. This can support your staff in working more flexibly, and raise morale and productivity amongst your employees. If your VoIP provider has a mobile app, they can log the calls which come in, and create voicemail transcripts. Remember, even without an app, most VoIP offers call forwarding to mobile numbers.

In the old days of telephony, PBX was the public branch exchange which helped offices communicate amongst one another in the same company, or routed calls around a busy office working space. Nowadays, VoIP takes over these tasks, and adds a whole lot of additional features besides.

If you’re looking to link more than one office through cheap or free calls, you’ll need a VoIP which is used to working with enterprises. This can allow you to make the most of auto-attendant features that route calls seamlessly with the help of extension numbers or names. It can also hold customers in a queue, activate on-hold music, and play recorded messages for varied situations.

The other big type of functionality is conference calling. Web meetings, shared screens, video conferencing and more can all be supported with VoIP, all with excellent Quality of Service for business professionalism and success.

Integrations are also essential, and worth looking at before you sign on the dotted line. Think about the people answering your VoIP calls. These are going to be your customer service representatives, responsible for trouble shooting and sales. If your VoIP can integrate into other third-party apps, it can make them a whole lot more productive while they do their jobs. Common integrations include:

• Desk.com
• Dropbox
• Google Drive
• Zendesk
• Microsoft Office
• Salesforce

It’s impossible to make a choice about your communications without considering the cost. Of course, we all know VoIP saves money, whether it’s dropping the monthly landline fee, saving on productivity and staff turnover, or just amalgamating all the disparate costs of comms into one easy to chew fee. But how do you know if you’re getting a good deal?

The truth is, the best way to gauge how much you’re spending on VoIP is to compare it to other solutions out there at the moment, and make sure you aren’t paying for features you don’t need. If a company gives you tons of web-conferencing extras, but that’s not the way you hold meetings – you’re just paying for no reason at all. If on the other hand, you need the best auto-attendant on the market, you might not mind to spend a premium on it.

The most important area to think about with cost, is scalability. Can you pay just for the number of users you want, when you need it? Many companies work in blocks, so if you have 49 users you’ll pay one price, but when it goes over 50, you may end up paying for 100 even if you only need 51! The best options will allow you to pay for exactly what you want, and not be tied into any particular contract or term if you decide you need to make changes.

Moving over to business VoIP is a difficult choice, because there are so many options out there, and they are all good! Some will be cheaper than others and offer less features, while others might specialise in one particular area for success. Make sure to ask the important questions about reliability and security, and to have the freedom to scale on features and cost as and when you need.