Advantages of a Cloud Based VoIP Telephone System

Every Business should have a Disaster Recovery Plan, but how many of us really do?

Some disasters may strike with little or no warning (e.g. fire, burglary, hacking or system failure).

Others may give some notice (e.g. rising flood waters, transport problems – snow, rail strikes)

Disaster Recovery (DR) is often overlooked or at best buried in a “DR Plan”, as the day to day focus is entirely on running the Business. But a high proportion of Businesses that suffer a disaster never fully recover.

A DR plan that kicks-in quickly can turn a disaster into no more than a short-term inconvenience.

The traditional business telephone systems employed has all the intelligence localised in a single box of hardware (the PBX). If this fails for any reason, then calls cannot be made or received and the Company is effectively “closed for business”.

Is there a solution?

Yes, by choosing a cloud-based VoIP Telephone System that has a built-in DR plan. There

are several ways in which this can work. Some examples are outlined below:

 Incoming calls are forwarded to pre-selected number/s (e.g. mobile)

• This can be done at the highest level (the main business number)
• The departmental level (e.g. the sales team, the technical support group, the accounts department etc.)
• At individual level

When does the DR plan kick in?

– Automatically, when an inbound call gets an “unobtainable” signal (e.g. when the broadband link to the office is cut).

– Manually, by hitting the DR button on the web-based supervisor platform (useful if you can see the disaster coming)

Resilient Working – When You Cannot be in the Office

Relocating the Office Phones

The IP Telephones can be relocated to another location (e.g. home) and plugged into the broadband there. They continue to work just as in the office, with no requirement to change any settings on the phone.

So if it is not possible to work from the office, everyone can be sent home with their phone and work from there. Management retain complete visibility of who is on the phone and to whom.

“Remote Office” Feature

Any remote phone can be turned into an office phone with the same number as the office phone. For example, this could be a hotel phone or your home phone.

• Calls into the office will ring this phone instead.
• Calls placed from this phone will show the office number.

And in all cases:

Incoming calls that are unanswered go to cloud-based voicemail.

With voice messages forwarded by email as a wav attachment.

So if the office has been abandoned, or all the lines are cut, the ability to leave a message is totally unaffected

AND

Call Recordings are Retained

Anyone using a relocated Office Phone retains all the features they had when in the office. So if they had call recording, they can continue to work from home and still have call recording.