Businesses have formally relied on traditional PBX (private branch exchange) systems to host their phone calls. Everyone deployed physical keyphone systems that were bulky and required regular maintenance. These machines are known as private branch exchanges (PBX), and relied on Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN) that were run by traditional telephone companies. On top of paying for the maintenance of these lines, companies also shouldered the high costs of installation and configuration.

With the rapid pace of technology that we enjoy right now, the customer service landscape is forced to shift and adapt. Clunky and outdated PBX systems are slowly being weeded out, and virtual phone systems are on the rise.

There are a number of reasons why current enterprises choose to take their computing to the cloud. Chief among them would be convenience, accessibility, and savings. Are you thinking of following them?

IP phone vs Cloud PBX

Though some might question the intent of foregoing traditional IP phones for soft phone solutions like our Cloud PBX, there’s no denying the convenience of seamless connection. Nautilus does this by leveraging the power of Amazon Web Services and their promise of a 99.9% Uptime and our team of dedicated engineers who are on standby 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year round.

There’s also the matter of cost-effectivity. By going with a cloud-based phone system, you’re seeing significant and progressive savings. There’s no physical hardware to setup and maintain. It’s all virtual!

Steps to take before transitioning from PBX to VOIP

The first unofficial step would be finding the right VOIP provider. In this case, we’re writing from the perspective of Nautilus so these are the steps we are taking to help you transition to VOIP.

1. Have a high quality Internet connection. As you take your operation to the cloud, the first and most important consideration is your internet connection. Test the quality of your internet bandwidth and capacity . This allows you and your team to do your jobs, so it makes sense to invest in the best internet plan available. If and when possible, look at fiber connection as they provide the best and most reliable solutions for an enterprise-level cloud contact center.
2. Have reliable backups. Before you go ahead and fully transition to a cloud operation, back up everything: your database, your website, and your PBX system.
3. Configure QoS (Quality of Service) to work with your routers. Choosing which activities to prioritize can decrease latency especially during your operating hours.
4. Ensure compatibility. Make sure that the equipment you have is suitable for use with the new cloud phone system. Have all the prerequisite cables, wires, and other peripherals ready before your operation goes live.
5. Check that everything works and is properly set up. To avoid any hiccups when your team starts handling customer inquiries, make sure that everything works. Check your extensions, hold music, and transfer options to make sure that your team doesn’t encounter any avoidable issues.
6. Provide your team with the proper training. To ensure a seamless transition, make sure that everyone in your team is on board. Have everybody familiar with the new processes and how to use the new tools. It would also help to teach your team the basic troubleshooting steps in case something goes wrong.

Benefits of VOIP for businesses

Traditional phone systems worked to push the lever of telephony, but at this day and age the IP phone offers benefits that the latter can only dream about. The first of which is its plug-and-play model. Take our Nautilus Cloud Phone, for example. You can choose to use it on one of three methods: IP phone, soft phone, or through a mobile application.

The second most notable feature is that of IVR and auto attendant integrations. VOIP phone systems allow for effective call deflection practices that can greatly improve your contact center numbers.

The third notable feature would have to easy integration with customer relationship management (CRM) software. As customer demands and behaviors call for a multi-pronged approach to getting assistance, having CRM and calling features in one place is a great thing to have. This allows your team to offer extensive assistance while also building a clear customer journey.

The last benefit here would have to be the cost effectivity that you get with a VOIP system. According to reports from various businesses, they save an average of 50–75% after switching to a hosted VOIP. This is mostly because there are less hardware to maintain, and these plans also include various features that otherwise would have been extra for a traditional PBX system.

Need help with your VOIP migration?