Your business needs a solid method of communication to ensure your business can operate more smoothly. This often meant getting both a long distance and local phone service provider for your business. With today’s business communication options, you can combine all your phone service providers into one simple integrated solution. One of your first steps is to determine your total cost of ownership, or TCO.
Acquisition Costs
The first part of your equation is determining your acquisition costs, which are those costs associated with starting with a new provider and system. You will need to include the cost of any hardware, training or installation of your new system. However, you must also factor in any early termination fees or other fees charged by your current long distance and local phone service provider. Any purchase or fee that relates to switching services falls under this category.
Recurring Costs
The next piece of the TCO puzzle is the monthly costs your new phone service will require. In most cases, there will be just one monthly fee for the service. However, because many of the new integrated phone systems also include data, as well as voice, you will only need to worry about one bill. This is another of the primary advantages of switching from separate services to an all-inclusive service for all your voice and data needs. You will need to determine whether the service provider you choose charges a per-minute rate or a flat rate, especially for long distance services, as part of your evaluation.
Annual Maintenance Costs
The final aspect you need to add to determine your TCO is the annual maintenance costs of your system. Will your IT department be able to maintain the system in most cases? Who will be responsible for installing any equipment updates? How much does it cost to make use of technical support? All these questions can play a role in how much your annual costs will be for your fully-integrated phone system.
If you are currently using a long distance provider and local phone service provider separately, it is time to evaluate your TCO for a fully-integrated phone system for your company. Once you add in all the acquisition costs, monthly costs and annual maintenance costs, you will see it makes sense to switch to a single provider for all your voice and data needs. With one integrated solution, your business will be able to run more smoothly and save more money.
