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Debunking the 6 Mythsof Hosted VoIP Phone Systems

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Debunking the6 Myths of Hosted VoIP

Phone Systems

Over the last several years, a growing number of businesses - from ambitious start-ups and small

businesses to mid-market organizations and multi-national enterprises - have made the switch from a

traditional landline phone system to a cutting edge, hosted VoIP phone system (also known as a hosted

PBX system).

The core reasons for switching to a cloud phone system aren’t just compelling, they’re outright

convincing - especially since all businesses, regardless of size or sector, are under constant pressure to

minimize total cost of ownership, do more with less, and maximize ef�ciency.

Hosted VoIP Bene�ts That Help Achieve Core Business Objectives:

Dramatic cost savings that can easily reach - but go beyond - 50%.

Seamless scalability that supports both expansion and contraction.

Powerful versatility driven by advanced calling features and total solution control.

Reliability and quality that is supported by redundancy and 99.99% guaranteed uptime.

Indeed, given that each of these bene�ts directly support critical performance metrics and KPIs, it’s not

surprising that HYPERLINK "http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/79842". Entrepreneur.com has

advised that: “No matter the size of your business, VoIP is a surprisingly �exible, affordable technology

that offers the same, sophisticated communication tools [as] your enterprise-size competitors”.

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The Hosted VoIP Myth MachineHowever, despite the signi�cant and established rewards of hosted PBX phone systems,there are still some businesses that haven’t made the switch from their traditional landlinesystem. And if it’s not because they aren’t at least somewhat aware of the bene�ts, orbecause they somehow don’t want to improve productivity, performance and pro�tabilitythen what’s the hold up?

The root cause of their hesitation – and the obstacle that is preventing them reaping therewards - is that some traditional phone system hardware manufacturers, along with localand long distance carriers, have spent the last several years disseminating myths regardinghosted VoIP phone system technology, cost, capacity, reliability and quality.

And the sinister reason for their efforts is obvious (in an unethical and unconscionable kindof way): they’re afraid of losing even more customers than they already have to cloudphone system providers. So, by spreading everything from half-truths to outright falsehoods,they’re trying to turn back the clock.

Why We Don’t Ride Horses or Rent DVDs Anymore“The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty - a fad.” Those infamouswords as uttered by the Michigan Savings Bank president to Henry Ford’s lawyer wereultimately ignored and it didn’t take long for the automobile to sweep the nation andchange the way the world traveled.

More recently, video (and later DVD) rental stores did everything they could to squeezeevery last drop of revenue from their rapidly dwindling customer base, before throwing inthe towel.

What this means, is that we are only a few years away from cloud phone systems becomingthe standard norm - because the technology and business bene�ts are qualitatively andunquestionably superior. In fact, many new businesses are hitting the ground running fromday one with a hosted VoIP phone system and avoiding the landline experience altogether.

Yet what this also means, is that between now and then - i.e. when hosted VoIP phonesystems, like broadband internet, becomes the obvious choice rather than a possible optionsome businesses will be on the outside looking in; and as noted above, it is entirely becauseof the myth machine fuelled by traditional phone system manufacturers and local/longdistance carriers.

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Debunking Hosted VoIP Phone System Myths Generally speaking, there are some enduring myths that seem virtually bust-resistant. For example,

contrary to popular belief and thanks largely to the rock group Pink Floyd, there is actually no dark sideof the moon. And what about the widely held notion that lightning never strikes twice in the same place?

Do not tell that to the tens of millions of trees that get fried many times – sometimes even during thesame storm!

However, there are some other myths that are quite easy to demystify. And fortunately, this categoryincludes all of the hosted PBX phone system myths disseminated by traditional phone system

manufacturers and local/long distance carriers.

Below, we highlight 6 of the most common myths – and frankly, the most insidious as well – andthoroughly debunk each one with ease.

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The Truth: Call quality with hosted VoIP phone systems is crystal clear. This is because cloud phonesystems use specially designed routers that support VoIP transport, session maintenance, and remotemanagement and ensure VoIP data packets receive priority over all other data on the network. In short:there are no traf�c jams because VoIP communications are always in the express lane.

At the same time, hosted PBX systems use certi�ed VoIP phones that have been speci�cally designed toconvert standard telephone audio into a digital format that can be transmitted via the Internet. The endresult is outstanding call quality, regardless of what else may be happening on the network(i.e. employees sending emails, watching videos, visiting websites, uploading/downloading �les,and so on).

So yes, it’s true that hosted VoIP phone systems do not always deliver the same calling quality – and thatis because they are often far superior to landlines, and especially mobile phones(“Can you hear me now?”).

HostedVoIP CallQuality is Inferior

MYTH#

1.

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MYTH#

2.

The Truth: Not only are hosted phone systems suitable for growing organizations, but they arefundamentally designed to support scaling in either direction. Here are the three key reasons why:

1. Cloud phone systems use a remarkably cost-effective and affordable “pay as you grow” model,which allows businesses to add new lines, extensions, services and calling features whenever theyrequire – and remove them just as easily. In fact, businesses can start with as few as �ve employees,and expand to beyond 5000 simply by adding certi�ed VoIP phones and adding affordable licenses.

2. Businesses that expand into new locations do not have to add new lines. Rather, they can simplyadd new extensions and continue doing so with each new location. Furthermore, they can assignemployees in multiple locations their own 3-digit extension. That way, instead of dialing a 7-digitnumber, they simply punch in 3 digits and quickly and easily connect with a colleague.

3. Hosted VoIP phone systems are ideal for businesses with remote workers and distributed teams.From wherever they are and whenever they are working, everyone from “road warriors” to businesstravelers can connect and collaborate as simply and effectively as if they were in the of�ce downthe hall.

Simply put, the level of scalability (both increasing and decreasing) that hosted VoIP phone systemsoffer is categorically impossible with traditional hardware.

Cloud Phone Systems Are NotSuitable for Growing Organizations

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MYTH#

3.Hosted VoIP Phone SystemsAre Not Reliable

The Truth: Hosted VoIP phone systems leverage not just one, but three levels of redundancy to ensurereliability and guarantee 99.99% uptime – regardless of a local power outage, severe weather or evena natural disaster.

The �rst level of redundancy is a secondary data connection, which is exclusively used to power thehosted cloud phone system. If there is a power outage associated with this data connection, the systemautomatically switches over to a functioning connection and continues operating as per usual.

The second level of redundancy is Virtual Autonomous Network Aggregation. This bonds connectionsfrom various carriers into a single pipeline, and enables 24/7 automatic failover response in the eventof a power outage.

The third level of redundancy is a geographically diverse cloud infrastructure, which ensures thathosted VoIP providers are not “shut down” in the event of a local power outage. For example, aprovider that is headquartered in Boston that deploys a geographically diverse cloud infrastructurewill not be affected if “the lights go out in Boston” – because their system will automatically bepowered from another area (of the country or the world) that is not affected by the power outage.

And while it’s not necessarily another level of redundancy, it’s worth pointing out – again, since manytraditional phone system manufactures and local/long distance carriers claim otherwise – the fact thathosted PBX phone systems do indeed offer emergency 911 calling. This service is mandated by theFCC and offered by all interconnected VoIP service providers. Any suggestion to the contrary iscompletely false.

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MYTH#

4.

Hosted VoIP Phone Systems Are Not SecureThe Truth: Hosted VoIP phone systems are protected by multiple levels of security that, in many cases,exceed that which some smaller businesses use to safeguard their networks and endpoints.

There are many ways that cloud phone systems ensure robust, reliable security, including:

• Using “VoIP Aware” �rewalls to fortify perimeter-based network security.

• Conducting regular, automatic backups of VoIP servers.

• Ensuring that all wireless networks feature WPA-2 encryption and WPA password security.

• Installing appropriate encryption and authentication on employee smartphones (e.g. BYOD).

• Regularly reviewing call logs to ensure that unauthorized calls are not taking place.

• Regularly reviewing call-forwarding rules to ensure that calls are being correctly routed.

• Using monitoring algorithms to proactively detect any unusual or suspicious call behavior.

• Establishing usage limits that end calls once a speci�ed duration has been reached (e.g. 2 hours).

• Establishing geo limits that prevent calls from connecting when beyond a pre-de�ned range

(e.g. 50 miles from the of�ce).

And just as importantly: a credible and proven hosted VoIP phone system provider will handle all of theabove, including monitoring call activity and providing usage reports.

Even if these reports do not highlight any potential or real security issues (because no such issues mayexist), they will nevertheless help businesses manage and adjust system, so they get even more valueand ROI.

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MYTH#

5.

The Truth: Traditional phone systems typically offer a basic feature set (e.g. call waiting, voicemail),and then either charge a hefty premium for advanced features, or in some cases, can’t offer them at alldue to the limitations of their infrastructure.

However, hosted PBX phone systems offer a huge range of advanced calling features, including:

• Instant messaging, which as HYPERLINK "http://www.techradar.com/us/news/world-of-tech/ roundup/instant-messaging-for-business-1075434" TechRadar.com notes, an increasing number of businesses are using to keep their employees connected and their customers informed.

• Video conferencing, which enables employees to visually and virtually connect with colleagues, customers and all other stakeholders, and - at the same time - help businesses cut down (or possibly even eliminate) travel costs.

• Voicemail-to-text, which is ideal for employees who need to stay informed but can’t conveniently check voicemail because they’re in meetings or on-the-go.

• Desktop sharing, which helps employees solve customer problems or demonstrate products and features anytime, anywhere.• Calendaring, which drives ef�ciency and makes it fast and easy to schedule meetings.• Interactive voice response (IVR), which provides callers with either dynamic audio or pre-recorded menus to ef�ciently direct their call to the appropriate party or department. • Call forwarding, which routes calls to any phone including landlines and cell phones.• One-number service, which is perfect for BYOD employees who no longer have to juggle multiple phone numbers. They simply have one (and only one!) number, which they can give to customers and other stakeholders. And, of course, all of the above versatile and “business-friendly” calling features are in addition to basicofferings such as call waiting, voicemail, call display, and call waiting – which as noted, are often theonly features that traditional phone systems provide.

Hosted VoIPPhone SystemsOffer LimitedFeatures andAre Not for theLarge Enterprise

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MYTH#

6.

The Truth: Some myths in life are unwarranted exaggerationswhile others, frankly, are outright lies. And this myth iscertainly among the latter, which explains why traditionalphone system hardware manufacturers and local and longdistance carriers are especially motivated to keep it alive.

Hosted PBX phone systems effectively “cut out the middleman” (i.e. traditional phone manufacturers and local/longdistance carriers), and directly empower businesses withunprecedented solution control.

As a result, businesses have the freedom to access their systemvia an intuitive web-based interface to alter their program,adjust call �ow rules, divert calls, add extensions, and makemany other changes - without having to “call the phone company”or open a service ticket.

They have total access from anywhere, at anytime. This level ofsolution control is not just a game changer – it’s a fundamentalre-invention!

Hosted VoIPPhone SystemsLack Solution Control

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Back in 2007, HYPERLINK "http://www.inc.com/telecom/articles/200706/peiro.html" Inc.comboldly stated that “the future of business telephony is here: and it’s called VoIP”. Fast forward nearly a

decade, and we can begin to fully appreciate the accuracy of this statement!

However, many traditional phone manufacturers and local/long distance carriers are doing everythingthey can to turn back the clock. And while their efforts won’t be successful in the long run, for the timebeing they continue to spread the 6 myths noted above. It’s the only way they can “stop the bleeding”

and delay the loss of even more customers.

Fortunately, you are now equipped with the truth – which means that the compelling and convincingrewards of a hosted VoIP phone system are fully available to you. In fact, the only regret you’ll have

after making the switch is that you didn’t do it sooner!

Contact Votacall today and learn how you can easily and affordably make the switch to a hosted VoIP

phone system that: provides superior calling quality, is suitable for your growing organization, delivers

world class reliability and security, offers a huge range of advanced calling features and empowers you

with total solutions control.

The Bottom Line

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Votacall is a leading provider of cloud-based voice solutions and business communication systemswith an expertise in VoIP, Uni�ed Communications (UC) and Call Center design and deployment. The Votacall value proposition is simple: we conduct ongoing R&D to deliver our customers andchannel partners with the latest best-in-class Hosted VoIP and Uni�ed Communications solutions,so they can stay ahead of the technological curve while enjoying the industry’s lowest Total Cost ofOwnership (TCO). Our relationships, expertise, and relentless focus on unleashing game-changingsolutions are the core reasons for our ongoing success.

The Votacall Business Class Hosted VoIP System (Votacall VBX) is our �agship solution. Built on theBroadSoft Class 5 Service Provider switch located in geographically diverse data centers, thisplatform enables our customers to take advantage of enterprise communication applications,reliability, scalability, ultimate redundancy, and true investment protection – and all without thecorresponding budget or capital expense required of legacy platforms.

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votacallinnovate | communicate

Customer Testimonials

“As an innovative, evolving company, we wanted a communications company that will offer ussuperior service and �exibility to grow. Votacall was able to work with us to �t our unique needs.”

- Richard Vardaro, Director of Finance, Giggle 

“We reviewed three different phone companies and Votacall was an easy decision due to their personalinteractions and support, as well as their thoroughness in evaluating our campus network in order to

ensure a smooth and successful migration. Their continued support and attention to our needs isevidence that we made a good decision.”

– Michael Westfort, Director of Tech, Cambridge School of Weston

“We were impressed with Votacall’s approach; their infrastructure and their ability to implementsolutions tailored to the customer’s needs.  We recommend Votacall’s business-class

Hosted VoIP Phone System.”

– Internet Telephony Magazine

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