There is no shortage of Cloud Communication providers in the market today. No matter if you are HERE in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, California, Texas or even New York, one of the benefits of a UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) solution is that it doesn’t really matter where HERE is for your business phone system.

Old PBX on Premise phone systems have traditionally been very dependent on a strong local provider of that particular model. They increasingly struggle with a national or global deployment because getting the right remote company in another city with the same skill set, often proves difficult. That coupled with today’s reduced number of premise based systems to choose from and the rush of those remaining premise providers to offer a Cloud Solution, means UCaaS has to be part of your evaluation process.

“Synergy Research Group in June 2017 stated that year over year UCaaS Market growth in Q1 2017 was 22% and premise PBX solutions declined at -9%.”

So which UCaaS business phone system solution is right for you?

How do you source and compare offerings? Ultimately how do you assure a successful deployment?

Having come from 18+ years of premise deployments and watching the UCaaS market evolve, I have some advice on the subject. It is very important to follow a good evaluation process. First, establish your criteria. Be thorough. In my experience, most features are available in some form from almost every provider. Voice Mail to Email, Mobility, Softphones and the basic PBX features come standard or are easy line item additions on most all solutions. What you must consider is what might be needed now that is different than what you have or how will your requirements change in 2 years or 3 years down the road?

For example, a current trend I have been seeing lately is many companies today are incorporating some form of SMS/MMS texting into their customer contact points on their business voice over IP phone solution. Sometimes, they even need multiple numbers to appear local to a market in another city.

Also, webchat is often needed for an additional Customer Touch Point. Some of these criteria will start to eliminate providers to consider. These types of criteria are where understanding how a UCaaS provider accomplishes the solution and how much does it add to the price, becomes important. Do you need integration to a CRM like Microsoft Dynamics or SalesForce.com or others?

How to chose a good partner for your next UCaaS business phone system.

Next, think about criteria for a good partner. There are pros and cons to most of the following items and what is right for one company may not be right for another but some important considerations:

• What is their commitment to customer service for customers your size?
• How do they handle training?
• Does the UCaaS provider own the technology or are they rebranding another product?
• Do they offer common third-party SIP based phones or specifically designed handsets?
• What features can they accomplish in their base package?
• What features require going to a Contact Center package?
• Do they offer ala carte features or is everything a package?
• Are they publicly traded or privately held?
• Are they profitable?
• Has their technology been born in the cloud or has it been evolved from premise?

Depending upon the size and complexity of your deployment most UCaaS providers will offer some form of a Proof of Concept where their business phone system solution is set up in your environment prior to your final purchase decision. This can be of great help in feeling confident you are ready for your new Unified Communications as a Service in the Cloud!

At VOIP WERX we specialize in assisting clients work through this decision process. We help clients figure out what is best for them and then we assist them in acquiring that solution at the best possible price. We remain involved throughout the deployment to make sure the UCaaS provider delivers what the customer expects. We will stay as your trusted advisor in communication going forward.

Please give us a call today at 513-453-4558 to explore any provider in more detail.