Compared to the traditional telephone system, a VoIP phone solution provides substantially more freedom to go about your business as you see fit, as well as the flexibility to adjust needs on a whim and the functionality you expect from an enterprise-level modern phone system.

Freedom
If all you’ve ever known are corded desk phones with a limited reach, then you don’t know the heightened experience of putting on a wireless headset and taking your business on the road. Traditional telephone systems are limited in scope because you’re tied to your desk or within a certain radius of your handset. VoIP phone systems can be used on any connected device, be it a desktop, a laptop, or even a mobile device. Since it’s a cloud-based application, your business can make use of it wherever and however it pleases.

Flexibility
When you implement a traditional telephone system, chances are you have a specific setup in mind that caters to your current needs. Now imagine that your organization is growing at a staggering rate and you don’t have enough phones for everyone. Knocking down walls, running cables, and changing your physical infrastructure just to add a few phones to your network is an overly complicated and expensive process. A cloud-based VoIP system allows you to add new numbers and users when they are needed. As long as your network can sustain the bandwidth (have the IT professionals at Platinum Technology consult your Internet service provider for more information on this), you can add as many users as you need.

Functionality
A traditional telephone system is subject to the whims of phone providers. This in itself isn’t inherently bad, but the fact that so many of them bundle together unnecessary services makes for a frustrating and expensive system. For example, your business certainly doesn’t need 300 channels of cable television in addition to its phone system. Instead of bundling unnecessary services together, a VoIP solution offers you the opportunity to customize the solution to fit your specific needs. This includes additional options like instant messaging and video chat, in addition to all of the tried and true basics like conference calling and voicemail. Basically, you only pay for what you actually want and need, not what the provider thinks you want and need.

Could your organization use hosted VoIP? Platinum Technology can help. To learn more, reach out to us at 970-526-6499.

What NOT to Do
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about tech support isn’t necessarily the best option out there. Most users think of a break-fix IT provider, which uses the following formula for providing service:

• Some piece of technology or equipment stops working and it begins to affect operations.
• You contact your tech support.
• A technician is dispatched to assist you.
• You wait for a technician to arrive on-site to fix the issue.
• The tech arrives and fixes your issues.
• You pay the support fees.
• Your employees get back to work.

While this method of IT support certainly gets your problem taken care of, the true cost of such support is that you’re paying every single time you require it. While you pay your IT provider for services, there are plenty of other costs associated with this type of break-fix support. After all, your employees will still have to be paid for any time spent in the office, even if their technology isn’t allowing them to work properly.

Plus, what if the problem is not just affecting your employees, but your clients as well? If they can’t receive the goods or services that you provide for them, then they aren’t going to be happy. If this happens too frequently, they might even consider breaking their agreement with you and moving to a competitor who might offer more reliable services. Therefore, while break-fix IT is certainly a solution, it’s unlikely to minimize damage. You’re better off taking a proactive measure to resolve your technology troubles.

The Right Way to Approach IT
Many organizations are shifting from a dependence on break-fix IT to more proactive solutions, with the primary one being managed IT services. This particular approach takes a much different method of administering IT support:

• One of the managed service provider’s technicians notices that there are components that might experience a critical issue. They then inform your organization of the possible issue.
• The managed service provider then works to resolve the problem remotely while possible.
• If your issue is covered by your service level agreement, then you pay nothing for the service besides your usual monthly fee.
• Your employees get right back to work with minimal interruption.

The managed services provided by Platinum Technology offer your organization dynamic, enterprise-level solutions that allow you to minimize downtime and take a proactive stand against IT issues. We can monitor and maintain your solutions so that your organization can focus on what it does best, without worrying about whether or not your technology will remain functional. To learn more about managed IT, reach out to us at 970-526-6499.

Tablets are definitely becoming a staple in the consumer electronics world. For the longest time, the tablet PC was an expensive, clunky device that just didn't wow consumers. Some businesses had adopted tablets back in the day, but they were difficult to use, hard to support, and they simply didn't perform for the price tag. However, like many consumer electronics, Apple reinvigorated the tablet market with the original iPad, and now it would seem tablets are here to stay. The question is, are they right for businesses?