If your business phone system works, you might think that’s really all that matters. But the thinking that all you need is a dial tone could be preventing your users from communicating effectively – internally and externally.

If you’re using a legacy PBX system, your phones aren’t meeting the evolving needs of your business. Unless you look closely at some of the costs of keeping a legacy system, you might not realise the hidden costs behind it. The costs of upkeep, the inability to provide the best customer experience and the lack of worker mobility can be very damaging to your business, in ways you don’t even see.

The reality is your phone system can – and should – be doing more for you.

Improved Affordability

Older, legacy phone systems are expensive to maintain and encounter a number of challenges with upkeep. Legacy software and servers require periodic updates or replacement that may no longer be available. In some cases, vendors have gone out of business, leaving customers with no real support for their systems.

A modern phone system, like ShoreTel Connect ONSITE, is easy to deploy and maintain, so you get a more affordable system based on a modern, agile solution.

Improved Collaboration

Legacy phone systems tether users to their desks, offering limited options for a workforce that now can work from anywhere and from any device. Older phone systems such as these provide only the most basic forwarding options. Today’s modern workers – who can do their jobs from the office, remotely or on the road –expect to have tools that enable them to work in teams, collaborate, share content and communicate – all from a unified solution. They must be able to instant message, call, video chat and more from any device, anytime, without having to switch between multiple applications.

With ShoreTel Connect ONSITE, workers can call, chat, email or even video chat to connect with anyone, from any device. Connect ONSITE is a feature-rich IP telephony solution combined with an enterprise-grade collaboration suite that is easy to access via a simple modern interface.

Features like ringing multiple devices and find me/follow me are built in from the get go.

Improved Productivity

In older business models, employees worked predictable hours, from set locations, partly to make sure they were easier to get ahold of. A legacy system reinforces this model, leaving your business far less agile than your competitors.

Imagine the boost in productivity when you’re using ShoreTel Connect ONSITE, which lets employees turn virtually any endpoint into a fully-functioning phone system just like the one sitting on their desk. Features like softphone, remote number support and a fully featured mobile app allow users to access the company phone directory, make calls, use instant messaging and set up conference calls on their smartphone, PC or tablet, no matter their location.

Improved Security

Traditional phone systems lack security features like encryption, so your communications are more easily intercepted and easy to interpret.

For many organisations, this lack of encryption presents problems with government compliance or concerns about corporate espionage. In contrast, the ShoreTel Connect ONSITE solution offers encryption using TLS/sRTP. It has been tested and is protected against the newest vulnerabilities, as well as attacks designed for older systems.

If you’re among those companies still clinging to your current phone system because you need to retain administrative control and cloud is not an option for you yet, here’s some great news. A premises-based system like ShoreTel Connect ONSITE gives you everything that a modern cloud phone system offers and still lets you retain control while enabling modern communication and collaboration features for your business.

How well is your phone system really meeting your needs? We can help. Contact us 0191 226 3777