When to Upgrade?
Have you been thinking of upgrading your small business communications for some time now? Is there functionality that you are lacking, or a gap in your communications that would like to plug? Maybe your current system is “good enough” for now, but you are still looking for the right time to upgrade. But when is that?
When Disaster Strikes
We don’t like to think about natural disasters like tornadoes and flooding. However, these events pose a real threat to our telecommunications gear. If you suffer equipment damage from an even such as these, or even a lightening strike, it’s a good time reevaluate what it will take to get you up and running again. Don’t just put a band-aid solution in place, take the time to consider an upgrade.
On Your Own Terms
Many business owners and IT managers will set their own thresholds as to their upgrade procedures. It may be after X number of support problems. It could be the next time a phone quits working, etc. Or it could simply be a business decision – “every five years,” or “when we reevaluate our budget next quarter,” etc. If you aren’t currently thinking through your telecommunications at this level, it may be something to consider before sinking your hard earned revenue into an existing solution.
Logical Upgrade Events
There are some more logical and controllable upgrade events:
- Aging communications equipment
- Business expansion, additional locations
- Moving locations
- Hiring teleworkers or remote employees
These are all opportune situations for evaluating your communications. How old is your current system? Communications technology is moving at a rapid pace and there are more new features and benefits than ever before. What is the one benefit you wish your current communications solution could provide? Maybe that one feature alone is worth an upgrade. With solutions such as Hosted PBX, the capital costs of upgrading can be minimal, while the benefits of these types of services is huge!
Once You’ve Decided
You’ve made the decision to upgrade your communications. Congratulations! Now what? In order to transition smoothly and save on implementation costs, it’s important to put some thought into planning your upgrade. The types of information you will need to gather to simplify this process are contained in our FREE Installation Planning Guide, accessible by clicking below:
