What to Know When Implementing a VoIP Network

Making the switch to a VoIP phone system lets Ontario businesses embrace a new level of connectivity and communications that can unite workers and enable them to take advantage of many advanced features regardless of physical location. However, although the process strives to be user-friendly, VoIP implementation can still pose its fair share of bumps and hurdles if you charge in unprepared. In order to ensure your transition to VoIP is as smooth as possible here are a few things to keep in mind.

Do Your Homework

Making sure to do proper research before committing to any serious infrastructure change is a useful piece of advice regardless of whether you're adding a VoIP network or getting the plumbing upgraded. Look up the VoIP system you have your eye on and get a thorough analysis. For example, you'll need to not only know what systems the VoIP can interface with, but also (and possibly more importantly) which ones it can't. Making sure you have enough bandwidth to support VoIP traffic as well as your existing data is another good point of investigation. It's possible some parts of your infrastructure will need upgrading to support the VoIP implementation, so that will need to be considered as well.

Talk to Your People

A VoIP implementation is not the kind of change you should make without talking to your employees who actually use the existing phone system in their day-to-day activities. Learning about any grievances people may have with the existing system as well as what current features are popular or considered mandatory will help with your decision about which VoIP system is the ideal choice.

Definitely Do Pre-Implementation Testing

You may have heard the phrase "measure twice, cut once". A similar principle applies to VoIP implementation. Take the time to carefully test out your VoIP system before going live. These tests should be both on the individual module stage as well as on the full system level so you can see how everything works when it's all running at once. It is almost inevitable that such testing reveals minor flaws, quirks, or overlooked elements that will need to be addressed before the true go-live date.

Update Security Practices

Cyber attacks are an unfortunate reality of the modern world, and maintaining effective and proactive cybersecurity measures is important for both continuity of business but also for customer trust and confidence. VoIP systems can be vulnerable to the same types of security threats as normal networks, such as ransomware, malware, denial-of-service attacks, viruses, port scanning, toll fraud, worms, and so on. The risk, of course, is that a compromised VoIP network can bring down your telephone communications in addition to normal Internet activity. For the sake of prudence, a security audit would be advisable ahead of any VoIP implementation. Other approaches can include layered security strategies, network segmentation and firewalls, intrusion protection and detection services, and so on.

Get VoIP System and Implementation Services from High Tech Communications

High Tech Communications, based in Aurora, has partnered with several best-of-breed cloud service providers to bring top-tier cloud services to you. In addition to cloud telephony, we offer a number of high-end VoIP phone systems and data solutions (on site or in the cloud) that can benefit a host of GTA sectors such as education, healthcare, hospitality, call centres, and countless types of businesses. Our integrated network partnerships allow us to offer dedicated communications support across regional, national, and even international accounts.

For more information on VoIP phone services, please feel free to contact us toll-free at 1-800-853-2335.