5 Ways Hosted VoIP Helps Your Small Business Avoid Disaster

While all businesses need to avoid disaster, small businesses are particularly vulnerable since some of them do not have the ample resources – or the established reputation – to withstand a prolonged closure due to a catastrophe, such as a hurricane, flood, fire, or even a major malware attack or network infrastructure failure.

However, hosted VoIP is inherently designed to help small businesses avoid disaster – even as other businesses nearby using traditional telephone systems are not as fortunate. Below, we highlight the 5 key ways that hosted VoIP makes this happen:

1. Complete Reconfiguration Capacity

Hosted VoIP uses geographically dispersed infrastructure to automatically reconfigure the system elsewhere in the event of a local area disaster. As such, the system will remain operational, and employees can continue to make and receive calls -- even (as noted above) businesses nearby using a traditional phone system cannot even get a dial tone.

2. Automatic Failover Response

In the event of a broadband failure (i.e. issues with an ISP), hosted VoIP systems leverage automatic failover response to switch to a secondary, functional broadband connection. And when the primary connection comes back online, the system automatically switches back. And just as importantly, small businesses do not need to configure or re-configure anything.  

3. Automatic Call Routing 

A local-area disaster may take out the entire electrical grid, thereby making it impossible for callers to reach their desired party (e.g. account manager, technical support representative, sales agent, etc.). Hosted VoIP features automatic call routing that seamlessly transfers calls to other locations that are not affected by the disaster, and can therefore carry on “business as usual”.

4. e911 Access 

Hosted VoIP systems are mandated by the FCC to include e911 access, which connects callers to emergency services (e.g. police, fire, ambulance, etc.). This feature is managed upstream by hosted VoIP Solutions Providers, and so there is no added resource or cost burden to small businesses. 

5. Video and Web Conferencing

During a disaster, employees may be unable to come into the office as it may be cordoned off due to flooding, fire, etc. Hosted VoIP phone systems feature built-in video and web conferencing, which allows employees to virtually stay in touch, hold meetings, and remain productive. Furthermore, communications via hosted VoIP are much more secure than peer-to-peer networks such as Skype, which are frequently used by cyber criminals to transmit malware-laden links that infect endpoints and networks.

Learn More

To learn more about the ways that hosted VoIP helps small businesses avoid disaster, contact Votacall today. Your consultation with us is free.

Now that you know the 5 ways VoIP helps your business avoid disasters, you might be interested in finding a VoIP partner for your business. Download our FREE eBook "How to Choose the Right Partner for your Hosted VoIP Phone System" below: