How assisted living providers can benefit from modern phone and internet solutions – 6 signs of an outdated system

These days it’s very common to take both phone and internet access for granted. When it comes to senior care facilities, it’s also easy to forget how important these two systems are for residents as well as the staff. They are very often a vital part of the daily operations and offers readily available access to the outside world. But we usually don’t notice systematic shortcomings soon enough to make sure the systems continue to perform as expected. Here are six tell-tale signs that you need to update your current system.

Your system is running near full capacity

While it might seem obvious that capacity is a limiting factor, it’s not always obvious when it’s time to expand. With Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)-based phone solutions and a growing number of internet services, it’s not always the number of actual users that determine the required capacity. More and more devices utilize internet access, and with streaming media and online services, it’s not uncommon for a single normal user to utilize resources that a few years ago would be equal to multiple users.

You are paying a lot but getting very little or maybe even too much

While there’s often no objectively correct price, it’s still true that the current market leaves a lot of room for negotiation and getting a little more for every single dollar spent. That’s why it’s important to regularly scan the market for better deals. In some cases, you might even want to scale down your current system to make sure you’re not paying for capacity that’s not being utilized.

There’s a demand for functions that you can’t provide

Modern systems are scalable and very flexible. Especially when dealing with cloud-based VoIP and modern internet service providers. Also, most existing hardware has capabilities that go far beyond what most of us are taking advantage of. Chances are your existing system can be upgraded and extended instantly by simply contacting your provider.

Lack of support is limiting efficiency and causing problems

Technical issues are often very time-consuming. When dealing with older systems, the combination of no support and outdated hardware can wreak havoc in any organization. If you’re in this situation, it’s usually a good idea to revamp the system and take advantage of available support and scalable hardware.

The existing system is prone to outages

Older systems often don’t handle unexpected situations very well. No matter if you’re dealing with a power surge or an outage, unless your system is equipped with redundancy and automatic recovery you might as well expect long periods of troubleshooting. This might put residents at risk, and put a great burden on your staff. By switching to a modern system, you can rest easy knowing that it will handle many unexpected situations without the need for external support.

Wires are limiting accessibility

Going wireless is a great way of increasing network range and providing access in areas where it’s simply not possible to offer wired access. Modern WiFi-systems combine great range with high-speed access and are very easy to extend.

Meeting the demands of the future – Why is it important?

Making sure that your phone and internet systems are up to date will not only safeguard you against technical problems, it will also make things a lot easier for both staff and residents. Modern systems have built-in safeguards against common problems and often require a minimum of maintenance. It’s a great way to future-proof so your organization will continue to meet the ever-increasing demand for simple and efficient systems.

Five signs you know your business has outgrown its current phone system.

As your small business expands, the demand for a more efficient phone system will come with that growth. While this is generally a good problem to have, it can be overwhelming.

when it comes time to switch your companies phone system over to one that will meet your growing needs, not being properly equipped to handle your growing businesses demands will eventually become unsustainable. For example, If you don’t have enough phone lines or you’re on the road and away from your business line, you could lose customers. These are good problems to have, think of them as growing pains and with the right information, the turnover process to a new phone system can be smooth. System upgrades can make a huge difference in supporting the continued growth of your company. If you are wondering whether it is time to upgrade your phone system, here are some signs.

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You have multiple locations

When your business has expanded to more than one location, to keep all of your phone numbers and services under a single umbrella, it is worth an upgrade. Consider the frustrating scenario and potential miscommunication that can occur when your customers are calling and there is no one to answer their call, or when you need multiple people to answer the phones at various locations just to make sure all your customers are receiving proper customer service. When you upgrade your phone service the pricing is structured in a way that the more you need, the lower the cost. This allows the service to scale easily with your business.

You have remote employees

Having all your employees under one roof is very different than having remote employees that work from home or from co-working spaces across the country or world. In this case, the ideal choice is a VOIP phone system for your business. VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol. With this, the phone service uses the Internet to route the calls to each person. This service allows you to take calls on any device, in any location, worldwide. With this system, your employees will be able to streamline their work and be accessible from any location.

Your business requires you to be on the move.

If you are a business owner and staying in the office is just not realistic, or if you spend your time on the road, meeting with clients, doing sales-driven visits, or on-location projects, a cloud-based phone system is likely a better choice. You can set the phone system up in your office and have all the calls redirected through the cloud to your mobile phone, so you can be available to your customer wherever you are.

The impact your phone system is having on your bottom line is being affected

Every business needs to evaluate what is helping their bottom line and what is inhibiting it. If your staff is losing productivity with its current phone system then it may be time for an upgrade. Your business investments should enhance your bottom line and investing in a new phone system will give you the ability to properly evaluate staff performance, optimize staff levels and provide better customer service, all via having access to data from your phone system.

If the above signs apply to you and your business, it may be time to start investigating new options. There have been many advancements in technology that you may not have been taking advantage of. You can get started by contacting Maxsip to find out what would best suit your business needs. http://www.maxsip.com