There are three main phone system options for your manufacturing plant; Hosted telephony (VoIP), IP Phone Systems and Hybrid Phone Systems.
The Hosted Phone system is cloud-based which means you connect to it using an internet connection (IP technology.) When you choose a Hosted Phone system for your manufacturing plant you are effectively renting the system rather than purchasing your own dedicated system.
An IP Phone System uses IP technology and the handsets are connected via an Ethernet connection either on a Local Area Network or a Wide Area Network. This means that your phone system will use your own dedicated internet connection to operate which means you can ensure the voice quality of your calls without impacting your general data usage.
With an IP Phone System, you purchase the phone system for your own use and you choose where to host it; on-premise or off-site.
A Hybrid Phone System combines the different types of connection technology (ISDN, Analogue, Digital, and IP) into a single modern and flexible phone system. Essentially, if you have existing analogue, digital or ISDN ingrastrucutre and want to take adavnatage of IP, then consider a Hybrid Phone System.
It is worth noting that a Hybrid Phone System is an on-site phone system and isn’t available as a fully cloud hosted system.
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We mainly recommend Hosted Phone Systems to Manufacturing Plants because although, some have a large workforce, the majority, don’t require their own extension so a hosted phone system is the more cost-effective option for those that require less than 40 extensions.
For cases above 40 extensions, we tend to recommend an IP Phone System unless you have existing ISDN, analogue or Digital infrastructure and you want to safeguard that investment, then we recommend the Hybrid Phone System.
Pros and Cons of a Hosted Phone System
- Flexibility when you have remote workers because all you need to do to move your phone is to simply plug it in where there is an internet connection and it will load all of your settings.
- Scalability as adding and removing users is simple.
- Variety of Features such as video conferencing, call routing, voicemail recording sent to email etc.
- Automatic upgrades are distributed to all users.
- Phone system Management is in your hands as you have access to change any settings such as opening times.
- Business continuity is covered with hosted telephony, as your calls can be instantly rerouted in the event of an outage.
- Minimal set-up costs as there is no hardware except if you want a phone handset.
- Low monthly cost per user.
- No physical hardware to host on-site or remotely.
- Speedy installation as it’s unlikely that you’ll need physical cabling because most places have internet connectivity.
- Maintenance is included within your monthly subscription.
- There is only one caveat; Your voice quality is determined by internet connection so again, you need to have a strong, reliable internet connection.
Pros and Cons of an IP Phone System
- You own the system.
- You can choose where to host it, whether that be on your own server/ on-premise/ hosted in your own private cloud via a data centre; it gives you ownership on the maintenance of the system.
- No long-term contracts (unless you purchase using finance.)
- Flexibility for your remote workers .
- Scalability as adding and removing users is simple.
- Variety of Features such as video conferencing, call routing, voicemail recording sent to email etc.
- Phone system Management is in your hands as you have access to change any settings such as opening times.
- Business continuity is covered as your calls can be instantly rerouted in the event of an outage.
- There will be up-front costs to purchase however, it can be financed or leased.
- You will need to choose somewhere to host it, whether it be on-premise or hosted externally which may incur additional costs.
- Maintenance will be your responsibility unless you outsource this aspect or it can be included in the lease.
- Your voice quality is determined by internet connection so you need to have a strong, reliable internet connection.
- Any upgrades are at your expense.