There’s no getting around it: Moving is a hassle. It doesn’t matter how much or how little you have to move, where you’re moving from or where you’re moving to, it takes time, energy and money. For businesses, moving doesn’t just involve packing up all your “stuff” and heading down the road. It also involves tearing down, transporting and reassembling the entire infrastructure you operate on. While the prospect of this can be daunting, it’s also an opportunity.
One of the most important components of any office infrastructure is the phone system, and moving is the perfect opportunity to re-evaluate how well your system is meeting your needs and where it can be improved. Here are a few things to consider when looking at your phone system, whether you’re changing offices or just looking to update.
- If you’re using a hosted system, is it the right time to switch to a premise-based solution? Will the new space accommodate the equipment and staff that enable you to take full control of your phone system?
- If you’re using a premise-based system, is it the right time to shed the extra equipment and move to a hosted system? This could cut costs during the move and further down the road.
- If you decide to update your system, look for solutions that optimize space. Consider desktop clients versus handsets. Speaking from experience, we (Powernet) switched to a desktop client before our big move in February and it saved us the trouble of moving every single person’s handset phone. Desktop clients also present an opportunity to easily implement a unified communications solution in the future.
- If upgrading, select a company that will make service, support and implementation simple. The last thing you want to think about during the actual move are issues associated with coordinating installation.
- Finally, make sure your employees receive thorough training on any new system. Consider simplicity and ease-of-use when evaluating options to minimize the time and resources you need to devote to training.
Updating your phone system doesn’t have to be a painful process, especially if any changes you’re making coincide with an office move. But you need to do your homework and make sure any new services or solutions you implement are the right ones for your business.
