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Is it time to update your business phone?

Author Rogers Business

As workplaces and workforces evolve, business communications need to change along with them.

Like all technologies, business phone systems evolve over time to meet the changing needs of the people who use them.  

As businesses continue transitioning to hybrid workforces, rely more on video conferencing, and deal with increasingly savvy customers, what worked in the past—physical phone lines and basic voice-over-IP systems—may no longer be adequate to provide the communications experience staff and customers expect. 

What's more, an aging business phone system is likely costing you more than necessary and delivering less than you'd like. If you're paying separately for multiple systems and platforms, such as your phone service and Microsoft Teams, there's a good chance you're suffering cost inefficiencies and needless administration tasks as a result. 

Here’s how to assess your current setup and decide if it’s time to move to a solution that simplifies communication and improves both employee and customer experiences.

Fives signs of a phone system with limited capabilities 

If your phone system feels more like a roadblock than an enabler, it could be holding your business back. Look for these common pain points: 

  • Calls unaswered or left in limbo during transfers
  • Lack of key calling features
      • do not disturb
      • call routing (ability to route a call to the right person to answer) 
      • voicemail to email
  • Limited conference calling or video calling capabilities
  • Difficulty scaling up or down as staff fluctuates
  • No integration with other communications tools
  • Increasing costs to maintain the system
  • Hard to make changes, like adding or removing users 

So, what makes a great phone system? 

Modern phone systems are more than just phones—they're integrated communication hubs that tie together voice, messaging, video, and collaboration. These systems are often referred to as unified communications (UC). 

A unified communications system combines: 

  • Business phone features: Call forwarding, voicemail-to-email, and auto-attendants. 

  • Video conferencing and messaging: Tools for collaboration within teams and with clients.

  • Mobile and desktop integration: Ability to use the device that’s right for the moment – phones or laptops in the office, or mobile devices when you are on the move.

  • Team presence and status indicators: Understand if someone is busy or available at a glance. Keep everyone connected, no matter where they’re working. 

Cloud based UC solutions are managed by the provider, removing the overhead and cost of regular maintenance. 

The result? Improved efficiency, fewer technical headaches, and a smoother experience for both your staff and your customers.

Benefits of Unified Communications for Small Businesses 

Unified communications offer practical advantages that small businesses can immediately benefit from: 

  • Enhanced Productivity: An interior design studio can streamline its workflow by integrating video calls, messaging, and file sharing into a single platform, allowing the team to collaborate effortlessly on client projects. 

  • Improved Customer Experience: A busy restaurant can use call routing and auto-attendants to ensure reservation requests or takeout orders are always directed to the right person, even during peak hours. 

  • Flexibility for Remote Work: A small accounting firm with hybrid employees can keep everyone connected with mobile integration, allowing them to work seamlessly from home or the office. 

  • Scalability: A growing fitness studio can easily add or remove lines as they hire new instructors or open new locations, ensuring their communications scale with the business. 

How Rogers Advantage Voice can help improve your business communications 

Our unified communications product is called Rogers Advantage Voice. It combines our decades of expertise delivering voice service for Canadian businesses with Microsoft Teams, one of the most popular business messaging and team collaboration tools on the planet.

You get access to everything you'd expect from your business phone service provider, including advanced calling features such as shared team voicemail, call alerts on any device you choose, an optional auto-attendant, and hunt groups to ensure calls are answered as quickly as possible. Your staff will also be provided the latest desk phones as well as the freedom to connect and use their own personal mobile devices.   

All of this is managed inside the Microsoft Teams app, where you can also access the collaboration and communication features Teams has to offer, such as messaging, sharing files, video conferencing, and more. One app, complete and effortless communications control. 

Plus, it has the added bonus of consolidating billing for both Rogers and Microsoft Teams services, cutting down on administration and potentially reducing costs. 

Which Rogers Advantage Voice plan is right for your business? 

Advantage Voice comes in three forms: Basic, Office, and Remote, and it's pretty easy to figure out which is right for your business users based on their names. You can also mix and match seat types to meet your specific business needs. It’s also a fully managed service, which means Rogers business advisors will support you through configuration, security updates, and any changes you need to make as your business grows. 

Manage a small office with just a few staff? Basic delivers a full suite of calling features, such as voicemail-to-email, customizable on-hold messaging, and call-pull to transfer calls across devices. A handset is included for each seat, and multi-conference supports up to three users. 

Office and Remote, meanwhile, are true unified communications systems. They both include Microsoft Teams integration, including the Teams essentials licenses and Teams phone standard, so all your workers' communication and collaboration tools live in a single place and work seamlessly with one another. And they both bump multi-conference support up to 300 users. The primary difference between Office and Remote is that the latter doesn't include a handset with each seat, so it's a little less expensive.  

If you think it's time to get a better phone system, check out Advantage Voice or contact a Rogers business specialist. They’re here to walk you through the options and help you decide on the best system for your business.