Choose Open Technology
This will not only save you money, it will also allow you to use more third party devices (e.g. door stations and adapters) on your system. Many companies (such as Cisco and Avaya) advertise support for SIP (which is an open standard called Session Initiation Protocol), but there are a couple of traps to be alert to. Firstly, their support for SIP may be altered to work only with their brand of products and therefore not be truly compliant with the open standard. Secondly, they may require you to purchase additional licenses to use any devices without their brand name.
To give you an example; if you purchase an Asterisk based VoIP system with SIP support, there are more than 6 major brands of IP telephone you can use with the system. This means that you can add the best available IP handset in 5 years time without having to worry about your system supporting it.
Choose Configurable Technologies
If you can configure the 'back end' of the system, you can then easily (and therefore more cost effectively) integrate your phone system with your database and CRM systems. These days there are quite a few things you can do including 'click to call' or 'click to dial' plug ins allowing you to click on a telephone number in a web browser window or email client and your phone will automatically answer and call that person without you dialling the number on your telephone or telling it to dial.
Another thing to consider is how easy it is to add a feature later on (for example an interactive voice response system) as these 'add ons' generally cost a lot to purchase and then integrate with your system unless you have support for open technologies and the configuration is easy. Any 'add ons', including voicemail and IVR, should be 'hosted' within the main PBX system; they shouldn't be a non-integrated third party box that you use. If the system you are looking at can't support your requirements, it is time to look at another system which has it all built in.
Enough Spare Capacity
This is always an unknown; but making sure you purchase a system with enough capacity, or at least knowing what it will cost to upgrade, can save you from an expensive bill later on. For example, a lot of systems will only allow a certain number of telephone lines (from the exchange) and a certain number of internal extensions. Even if the system can support '120 lines', you need to ask 'What hardware do I need to purchase to support the 120 lines?' as the answer may be surprising. And never assume that you can add more voicemail boxes or extensions; always find out how much more it will cost. Don't forget to also ask how much it will cost in the future to add an additional extension (both purchasing the phone as well as having the system configured) as this can also be quite expensive depending on the system.
Allows Integration Of Technology
This has partially already been covered but it is important. If you plan to integrate your phone system with a database system (to match caller ID or to provide specific information to people once they enter an account number and password) you will need to plan this in advance. Most phone systems will not allow you to easily integrate them with third party equipment, and when they do, it is often expensive and locks you into a system that, as it gets older, will be a legacy system making upgrading even harder and more expensive.
Research ALL Available Technology
Knowing your organisational objectives, review all the available options. Shop around; even if you think that one brand will deliver the solution, shop around within that brand. (I would seriously recommend shopping around several brands trying to find a solution which provides exactly what you need.) Shopping around not only will get you the best price, it will also help you to identify the best installer / reseller by their skill set and ability to provide you with the solution you require.
Different brands provide different solutions; some will provide voice recognition and others will provide email integration. Carefully note down all the benefits each system can deliver. If you don't examine all the technologies, you may miss one that can really benefit your business.
Look At What Your Competitors Are Doing
In every industry, the leaders are the people that get emulated. Their great ideas for reducing negative customer contact and improving self-service are emulated by all those that follow. Investigating how your competitors are using their phone system to service customers effectively (reducing the amount of time on the phone, reducing the number of operator assisted calls, increasing customer satisfaction) may help you identify improvements you can make in your company as well as what you will require your phone system to deliver, either now or in the near future.
Quick Guide To Choosing A Phone System
- Make a list of what your existing phone system does already.
- Remove items from your list which you no longer require or are likely to be out-dated. Remember that the world has generally moved on from 'key systems' (smaller phone systems with buttons for each person on the system) to PBX's which may require staff retraining and user change management.
- Prioritise the items on your list from your existing phone system and keep them in mind when shopping for your new system.
- Add to your list any functions you require or would like from your new phone system if it seems reasonable to expect a new phone system to deliver it.
- Shop around lots of different brands. Identify the different technologies and applications they sell the system as having. Always get data sheets / sales brochures as they may highlight some interesting differences.
- Make a list (different to the original) of all the unique functions, technologies and applications available when you went shopping. Don't worry about the brand name, just make the list of what functions will benefit your business.
- On a separate sheet of paper (or in a separate electronic document), combine and order your two original requirements lists into one list.
- Send the document for review around all key stake holders. Make sure they know what will change, what will benefit them directly and what changes will be made to benefit your business and your clients.
- Gather proposals. Try to get as many proposals as possible. Set a submission date, but remember to allow a week or two for delayed submissions.
- Cross check the proposals against your list of requirements and email the companies that didn't make the cut.
- Contact the remaining companies and get them to demonstrate the phone system, some of the important integration features and discuss in detail with them the functions that they have offered. Remember that because the phone system offers a function, it doesn't always mean it will accomplish what you expect.