Common Challenges Of Outdated Business Phone Systems

Outdated phone systems can impact your business, from eating into your profits with expensive monthly costs to dropping your most important calls.

The good news is that there is a solution — and it won’t cost a fortune. In this post, we’ll identify common issues with outdated phone systems and offer an easy way to fix these issues for good.

What Challenges Do Businesses Face With Outdated Phone Systems?

Are you frustrated with your phone system? If you have an outdated system, there may be plenty of issues plaguing your business. Here are some challenges business owners often face with their outdated systems.

Poor Call Quality

A major issue with legacy systems is overall call quality. Dropped calls, static, echoing voices, and other issues can negatively impact your communications.

The latest phone systems have exceptional call quality, and fewer dropped calls and outages. All you need is a stable internet connection.

Lack Of Mobility

One of the major drawbacks of outdated systems is the lack of mobility. If you or an employee steps out of the room, you risk missing phone calls. Sure, there’s voice mail, but there’s also the risk of playing phone tag with your customers.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could take your phone system anywhere? Fortunately, the newest systems offer a solution, which we’ll discuss a little later in this post.

High Monthly Costs

It’s ironic that outdated phone systems are actually more expensive than modern systems, but compare a few calling plans, and you’ll see it’s true.

It makes sense, though. Old infrastructure like copper wiring is expensive to maintain. And if you need to upgrade your system with the addition of another line or even a simple phone jack, or your system needs repairs? A technician has to come on the premises to complete this work.

The downside of all of this is that the costs associated with maintenance, repairs, and upgraded systems are passed along to you, the customer. That means that even if you got a great deal on service a few years ago, you’ve likely seen increases on your monthly bill — increases that you can expect to continue.

Expensive Equipment

Phone systems of the past require a lot of expensive equipment. Key service units, private branch exchanges (PBX), and other equipment can also be eyesores. Legacy systems also require desk phones — and with pricing at around $50 for a basic phone, costs can add up quickly.

While you may still opt to purchase desk phones, it isn’t a requirement with new phone systems. You also won’t need KSUs or other units — unless you have a larger business and opt for on-premise installation. Most businesses, however, will opt for hosted services that require little more than a router, modem, and a device of your choice.

Unscalable Systems

As your business grows, so should your phone system. As we touched on earlier, simply adding an additional phone jack for another office can be time-consuming and expensive.

The latest phone systems eliminate these hassles. You can easily add lines, extensions, desktop phones, upgrade your plan, and configure your system — in most cases, simply by logging into your account or online dashboard.

Instead of waiting days for a technician, you can upgrade in just minutes with the newest business phone systems.

Future Sunsetting Of Legacy Systems

One of the biggest challenges of outdated phone systems is that they may not exist for much longer. Remember the outdated infrastructure we mentioned earlier? It’s expensive and requires a lot of work to maintain. With an easier, more affordable alternative, phone carriers are also making the switch to updated systems.

In fact, the Federal Communications Commission ruled that carriers can abandon this infrastructure — and more carriers are doing just that. While it’s been ongoing, more carriers have taken the time and money to move to more advanced technology like fiber optic cables.

In short? Your carrier may be switching to more advanced technology — so, why shouldn’t you?

How Does VoIP Eliminate Common Phone System Issues?

While these challenges are frustrating, there’s an easy solution: VoIP.

While we won’t get into the specifics of what VoIP is, VoIP (or Voice over Internet Protocol) is a phone system that uses the internet instead of traditional phone infrastructure. The most important thing to keep in mind is that VoIP eliminates many of the challenges that accompany legacy phone systems.

Want to know how? Here’s a quick breakdown of each issue and how it’s solved with VoIP.

While it sounds too good to be true, there’s a reason (or several) that more businesses are using VoIP phone systems. VoIP systems are not only reliable, but their mobility and scalability are truly unmatched.

You can add as many desk phones as you want, or you can save hundreds (or more) by using your own devices. Best of all, VoIP is affordable — there are plans available for every budget.

Additionally, VoIP features include analytics to help identify areas that need improvement, unified communications tools to better connect with customers, and features to boost customer satisfaction.

Legacy systems are on their way out — so there’s no better time to update your phone system. Check out the best VoIP phone systems, start a free trial with a few reputable providers, and check out our other VoIP content to move forward with a phone system of the future.