The Best Oneonta Business Telephone Systems

This is a comprehensive guide for businesses in Otsego County on picking a reliable, capable phone system. The truth is, businesses throughout Oneonta and the surrounding area have been at a bit of a disadvantage over the years, as local telecom providers haven’t been keeping up with modern technology, and the alternative options are geared towards residential use.

Let’s explore the latest trends, features, cost savings, and benefits of modern phone systems, to ensure that your business gets a solution that helps you stay ahead of the competition.

The Importance of a Modern Business Phone System

You probably think “Hey, what could be so special about a modern phone system?”

This is pretty common around here in Otsego County, because the business phone systems we’re all used to seeing are several generations behind what most modern organizations can take advantage of. 

Here’s the thing though—it doesn’t have to be. It’s not an infrastructure problem. There’s nothing stopping a business from simply deploying a modern phone system. In fact, it’s easier and more accessible than it ever has been, but when you call up your telco provider, or you call up your local ISP, they aren’t offering you something modern, although they are offering you something expensive.

What to Look for When Upgrading Your Phone System

First and foremost, if you are about to renew your contract or upgrade your phone system in any way, definitely shop around. You aren’t bound to your local telco provider simply because you are in a small town. Sure, it’s wonderful to do business with local companies, and we strive to do the same, but you wouldn’t buy your computers from Spectrum just because that’s what you use to access the Internet. You don’t need to buy your phone system from the same organization that’s providing the local infrastructure.

Go with VoIP: As long as your business has a reliable, high-speed internet connection, you can rely on VoIP as a better solution than a traditional telephone system. VoIP tends to be the most cost-effective, comes with more features, and in some cases (more on this later) it tends to cost a lot less to get onboarded. If your phone service provider doesn’t offer VoIP, which uses your Internet connection to broadcast your phone signal instead of the traditional telephone lines, then it’s time to look at your other options. VoIP is definitely the way to go for local businesses.

Scalability: One of the most frustrating things about older phone systems is how expensive and challenging it is to scale upwards. Once you hit the cap of how many users can be connected to your phone system, you are suddenly put in a position where you need to pour a lot of time, money, and effort into upgrading. Modern phone systems aren’t as restrictive. When you need to add a new user, you order a new deskphone (or not, you can just use software that runs on their desktop or smartphone), and fire up a new account. 

Flexible Accessibility: Most old-school phone systems force users to be at their desk to make and receive calls. It’s just like the 1980s, when the main house phone was in the kitchen with a big long curly cord. Today, we aren’t tied to the kitchen landline at home, so why do businesses think they should be tethered to their desk?

Modern phone systems give you a ton of flexibility. You can use the nice desktop handsets if you want to, but you can also simply install some software on your workstation and use a wired or wireless headset connected to your PC. Some modern systems even let you install an app on any smartphone so you can make and receive calls from anywhere, giving you the same features you would have at your desk at the office.

Advanced Features: Modern phone systems come with modern-day features, like auto-attendants, call forwarding, voicemail-to-email, transcription services, conference calling, instant messaging, and more. Traditional phone systems had some of these too, but they usually cost extra, whereas VoIP systems have them built in.

Integrations: Imagine a phone system that can integrate with your customer relationship management platform. Imagine being able to run reports on support calls or sales follow-ups. Modern phone systems can help you optimize your existing workflows and improve overall efficiency.

Otsego County Organizations Should Look Towards the Cloud

The most expensive aspect of a traditional phone system is the physical infrastructure that needs to be purchased and installed onsite. There’s no need for that in a modern business—modern-day phone systems are kept in the cloud. This saves a ton of money, gives your employees the flexibility they need, and it makes it easy to scale since you don’t need to worry about the specialized hardware.

Not only are you going to save a lot of money, but you’ll get a solution that offers you important modern conveniences and features that are game changers for businesses that rely on communication.

It’s time to cut the (phone) cable! We’d be happy to give you a demo of our hosted cloud-based phone solution, and take a look at your situation to show you just how much money you can save. To get started, give us a call at 607.433.2200.