Before Bob Halper, CFO of Janou Pakter, decided to change his company’s voice and Internet services, he used to compare his cranky, expensive in-house phone system to the one used by Alexander Graham Bell. For the New York executive search firm with branch offices in Paris, Milan and Los Angeles, the phone system is truly mission critical, with recruiters using it to help place creative design people all over the world.
Like many small businesses, Janou Pakter doesn’t have a dedicated information technology staffer. So as CFO, Halper looks after all things financial and administrative, and that includes the phone system. As a nonprofessional, Halper ended up with contracts with four different companies for local and long-distance voice, data and Internet services. “I would pull my hair out if I had to deal with them, and unfortunately, I had to deal with them,” Halper says. He wanted a new phone system that could save the company money, provide predictable monthly costs and leave some hair on his head.
Thousands of small and mid-size businesses are facing the same decision–what to do about their voice and data services. And a growing number of them are looking at voice over IP (VoIP, also known as IP telephony) to consolidate their voice and Internet connections on one network. But sorting through the hype, the options, the service providers and the hardware vendors–and deciding how and when to move to VoIP–can be a minefield for any business.
VoIP was initially promoted as a low-cost alternative to traditional calls traveling over the public switched network. The idea was that voice packets could move over the Internet at a much lower cost. In the early days, though, while the price may have been good, the quality was often bad. In the last two years, however, VoIP services have come of age. Businesses of all sizes are happily transmitting voice, data and Internet traffic on the same network. And Internet telephony is increasingly being integrated with applications used by businesses to increase productivity and access to information.
Smaller companies interested in VoIP have two main options: do it themselves or outsource the system to a “hosted” VoIP provider. In typical VoIP setups, companies buy and manage their own VoIP equipment and services. A hosted voice provider, on the other hand, operates a client company’s voice, data, and Internet services on the host’s own network and houses the equipment in its data center, with nothing but IP phones located in the customer’s offices.
After considering its options, Janou Pakter went with a hosted VoIP provider. Hosted service is the answer for a growing number of small and mid-size businesses, but it’s not for everyone. If your company is intrigued by VoIP and trying to decide between an in-house installation and going with an outsourced solution, Give VorTech Communications a call 616.422.7500.
About VorTech Services, INC
VorTech Services, INC, is a leading provider of Hosted Phone Systems (“Hosted PBX”) and Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) services for emerging growth and mid-sized businesses based in the United States. VorTech makes buying or upgrading a business phone system extremely cost effective, easy to manage, and even reduces monthly telecommunications expenses. Our platform offers better scalability and business continuity options compared to customer premise based phone systems. We provide the lowest total cost of ownership by eliminating the need for customers to buy expensive hardware and software that usually resides in a phone closet. Expensive service contracts are also a thing of the past. VorTech seamlessly interconnects multiple offices and mobile workers with our national footprint, and we have the perfect calling plan to meet virtually any business requirement.