Investing in new technology when your existing technology still works can be difficult to justify. But does the fact that something works make it worth keeping and maintaining? A phone system that’s more than five years old may be functioning just fine, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s working for your company.

How much does your old phone system cost to maintain? Is support readily available if something goes wrong? Is it making your company better?

Your phone system should do more than meet your most basic business needs. It should improve the way you do business.

Dow Lohnes, a national law firm with offices in Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, knows the difference between a phone system that functions and one that works. The firm was using an aging Nortel phone system that was costing $75,000 a year to maintain. IPC Technologies implemented a new ShoreTel unified communications system that leverages VoIP to integrate all communication tasks – and deliver a four-year ROI.

Here are seven reasons why companies like Dow Lohnes are upgrading to new phone systems.

1. Significant cost savings. IP communications enable companies to cut long-distance charges by connecting multiple locations and remote workers in one network. This can reduce telecom costs by up to 40 percent Also, the latest IP communications systems enable businesses to save more than 90 percent on moves, adds and changes (MACs) by managing these administrative functions internally with minimal effort.
2. Improved productivity. Real-time collaboration tools speed the decision-making process and the exchange of ideas and solutions. Studies have revealed that unified messaging can provide 25 to 40 minutes of added employee productivity each day. The ability to stay connected to the company phone system anytime, anywhere – especially in today’s mobile environment – minimizes phone tag and reduces time spent checking messages.
3. Better customer service. IP communications and collaboration solutions enable employees to get the information they need faster, so customers get answers to their questions more quickly. In addition to saving time, this builds trust, strengthens relationships and improves profitability.
4. Reduced risk. Relying on outdated, unsupported technology makes your company more susceptible to emergencies that are costly and complicated to fix – if they can be fixed at all. Upgrading to the latest technology reduces risk by ensuring that support and replacement equipment are there when you need them.
5. Greater availability. IP phone systems enable fault tolerance and adaptive routing to ensure availability. They also allow companies to disperse equipment throughout the network and use redundancy to bolster disaster recovery capabilities.
6. A new generation of phone systems. Unlike traditional non-IP telephone equipment that had been considered long-term investments, IP phone systems are made up of computer hardware and software. In fact, the phone sets themselves are essentially specialized computers dressed up as phones. Consequently, older IP-PBX phone systems typically require more frequent upgrades. With these upgrades come…
7. Cutting-edge features. Upgrading to a new phone system makes it possible for your company to take advantage of the latest innovations that are driving enhancements in business communications. Features like mobility, videoconferencing, speech activation, instant messaging and presence can be at your fingertips.

Don’t settle for a phone system that merely functions. Make sure you have an IP phone system that works for your business.