If you are considering the purchase of a new telephone solution, don't be caught flat-footed without the information that you need to make the right call for your business! Here are some good questions to ask when purchasing a new communications solution:

1. Is your vendor selling YOUR best solution - or HIS?

In just a few years the number of business telephone solutions has exploded. Where companies purchasing new systems had just four or five appropriate choices just a few years ago, there are potentially more than ten options to get the job done. All this has resulted in increased confusion for the customer. Worse yet, you cannot really be sure if your potential vendor is recommending a solution based on the merits of the system, or based on other factors. Did YOUR sales lead come from the manufacturer? If so, you'll likely be presented the solution provided by that manufacturer. Does the lead provider have a personal preference that the vendor must adhere to - even if your needs are better served by another platform? Is a particular vendor offering cash spiffs or other prizes to the sales or design people?

2. Do all these marketing information snippets matter to my company?

Do you really care if your system is wall mounted or a "modern, space-saving design requiring minimal room in standard equipment rack." Much of the information you will be presented with will be designed to build in "requirements" that may not be directly addressed by that phone system manufacturer's competition. It's a funny game in the phone business. Many of the features are identical in function, but are called by different proprietary names by each of the manufacturers.

3. Are you buying TOO MUCH?

Systems today provide many features. But do you need them? Would your business run just fine without the combination videophone/espresso maker? Sometimes advanced features just overload your users. If your business needs to pick up the phone and answer calls, consider getting a system that lets you do just that.

4. It looks good on paper, but what about in practice?

"Oh, the system can route calls based on the callers phone number? Woo Wee!" That's a feature that is in demand for businesses that want to offer personalized customer service experiences. Does that work in the real world? Sure - with lots of effort. Make sure you know and are able to enter the callers cell number, home number, and any phone numbers that may come out of their office phone system. Without putting in the significant extra effort to collect more information some features just won't come through with their benefits!

5. Does paying more mean better quality?

Not necessarily. Certain items, such as phone handsets and headsets, usually get better as they get more expensive. There are possibly some features that you may or may not need, but in general terms the quality of the core features will be better. With phone carrier services, paying more usually means that you are supporting more overhead on the part of the carrier. Certainly some of this overhead could be better support systems or enhanced features, but does it matter to you? Investigating the options available to your business will pay off. Do you really care that the carrier is nationwide and has offices in every city if you are located in one area? Local players often have a better value on better service for their local market.

6. Maintenance Agreements - Do I need one?

That could be a simple answer: If you depend on your systems and you do not make other recovery plans, you had better take the maintenance agreement. All the systems have warranties, but the fact is that you cannot be without your phone system while your bad part is shipped out to the manufacturer. It's better to have a company on the line to be responsible for not only fixing your bad hardware, but for getting your solution back online after a failure. Depending on your phone system and your carrier, there are ways to work around this requirement with proper planning. Would it be OK for our calls to go to the employee's cell phone if the system were down for a couple of days? How could we handle the calls on an emergency basis while our system was being repaired or replaced? It's really a choice between planning on disruption and working a disaster recovery plan, versus making a call to the vendor and making it their problem. Only your company can decide what makes sense for your situation.

What now? Take your time. Read a bit. Look at the handsets. Check some references. Don't be too quick to assume that systems have what you need because it is newer than what you are replacing. Sometimes features that are important to you may get lost in the quest for progress.

The author, Bob Langys, is an experienced systems design and implementation specialist with a focus on business telephone systems. Bob carefully examines the business requirements and helps to provide real solutions that address them. His interest in the technology and applications combined with his love of coaching / sharing the knowledge has served him well throughout his career. Bob works with Medlin Communications, in the Chicago Suburbs, and has the pleasure of working with a team of can-do people. Find out more about the information in this article at:

Find out more about Bob at:

http://www.langys.com