Companies with legacy phone systems are facing challenges that are costly and handcuff their ability to grow and improve.
“Many companies are experiencing a great deal of frustration, expense and inefficiencies with their legacy phone systems,” says Lauren Hanna, President, Blue Technologies Smart Solutions. “However, there are now fully cloud-hosted systems that enable companies to do much more with far less hassle and little obligation.”
Smart Business spoke with Hanna about the challenges of legacy phone systems and the modern solutions that address them.
What challenges exist with legacy phone systems?
Companies with analog telephone lines are finding themselves stuck with outdated or failing phone systems. Often those systems are so antiquated that there is no longer a vendor to support them, or parts to fix them, making adding new lines challenging or impossible.
Companies that have gone remote or hybrid are trying to find ways to manage their communication — not just internally between employees, but finding ways to maintain a consistent customer experience. Companies also face challenges when they have multiple locations with no unified, centralized system, and instead have different phone vendors for each location.
Inefficient call management leaves companies unable to track call volumes, missed calls or hold times, which negatively impacts customer support. Auto attendants are increasingly outdated or hard to manage, and the inability to record calls or track analytics for quality assurance is contributing to an inefficient call management system.
Growth or scalability can also be problematic with old telephone systems. It’s very difficult on legacy systems to add a new user. If a company opens a new location, it can require big investments in hardware, and installation can take a lot of time.
Companies that have outdated telephone systems also face high costs and unpredictable billing. There can be separate bills for local, long distance and conferencing calls. And companies can be locked into multi-year contracts with carriers that have high fees, or they must use multiple carriers based on location or services offered.
Security and compliance risk with legacy phone systems has also increased as encryption is not available for secure calling. That could mean not meeting HIPAA or PCI requirements.
What solutions do modern systems offer?
Companies stuck with outdated systems should look for a partner that’s going to help them modernize their phone solution to address these issues. There are companies offering fully cloud-hosted systems that require no on-site hardware. These systems are managed externally so there’s no concern about missing updates or hardware becoming obsolete.
These solutions also address hybrid workforces with technology such as soft phones, which run through computers, tablets or cellphones. It’s a centralized platform that will perform seamlessly across locations, giving companies consistent call menus, voicemails and automatic call routing to people or departments regardless of their location.
Auto attendants and advanced call routing ensures customers are getting where they need to go efficiently for fast follow up, and the analytics generated can help companies improve customer service and better coach team members.
From a growth and scalability perspective, adding users and locations can be done instantly via a portal. There’s no hardware. Changes are made through an app enabling companies to easily scale up or down for expansion or seasonal hiring. These systems also help with cost control by providing a single monthly bill.
Security and compliance are addressed through call encryption that protects data, and customizable security settings specific to the compliance needs. These systems can also integrate with industry-specific software packages and business lines of software, as well as integrate with CRMs such as Salesforce, or other software suites such as Microsoft.
Cost-saving and easily customizable systems are widely available. Having a conversation with a vendor could help companies identify solutions that address their most significant communication challenges. ●
INSIGHTS Technology is brought to you by Blue Technologies, Inc.
