5 Reasons to Combine Business Phone and Internet Services ASAP

Are you relying on two separate providers for your business phone and internet service? There could be immediate benefits to combining your phone and data with a single provider. That’s right, immediately.

Consolidation isn’t the right choice for everyone, but most businesses find that there’s no sense in waiting until their annual tech budget renews to make the switch.

Could Your Business Benefit From Combining Phone and Internet Services?

Does your business’s success require your business phone and internet services to be at peak performance, instead of primarily relying on foot traffic to communicate with your customers? If you regularly use phones or the internet, you may be a candidate to combine your service ASAP.

You stand to benefit from simplicity, transparency, cost savings, and better quality. Here are some major reasons to consolidate your telecom services as soon as possible.

Reason #1: One Bill

If your business phone bill is very difficult to understand and decipher each month, you’re not the only one who’s mystified. Despite the relatively simple cost structure for both voice-over-IP telephony and business internet, bills are often a confusing mess of mysterious charge codes.

There are relatively few regulations that dictate how commercial phone service providers bill their clients, which means bills can vary significantly. Since the information on monthly bills is often not logically-presented or clear, clients can feel confused about what they’re paying for.

Consolidating your services carries the immediate advantage of only having one bill for two telecom services to pay each month. Switching to the right provider who’s committed to transparency in billing also gives you the advantage of always knowing exactly what you’re paying for.

Are you curious how much you could save by consolidating phone and internet? Click here to get a free analysis of your telecom bills.

Reason #2: Cost Savings

In business, bundling usually means cost savings. Most vendors offer a “bulk discount” of sorts to clients who buy more than one service, and the telecom industry is often no exception. Most clients save significant money if they purchase their internet and phone service from one provider. The potential cost savings can be much higher if you’re switching from traditional phone service to voice-over-IP.

In addition to the hard cost savings on telecom you’ll realize with bundling, there’s potential for soft cost savings, too. Many companies who combine business phone and internet are able to save money by spending less on factors such as:

• IT staffing
• Faster implementations
• Flexible billing
• Superior scalability
• Better productivity
• Improved reliability

Reason #3: One Source for Support

When your internet-based phone service goes down, who do you call? Since VoIP relies on an internet connection to transmit voice packets as data, it could either be a problem with your VoIP provider or your internet provider.

Just as confusingly, companies who rely on separate phone and data vendors have to coordinate with two companies for upgrades, expansions, and quality improvements. You need to ask your phone vendor for insight into things like needed bandwidth upgrades, relay this info to your data provider, and so on.

Combining your communication services gives you the advantage of one number to call when there’s issues, questions, or other needs. With the help of a telecom provider who offers 24/7/365 service, you can also rest assured that you’ll never have to leave a voicemail or wait hours for a ticket response again.

Reason #4: No Runaround

As a business professional, you know the value of accountability. When you make a mistake that impacts your coworkers or clients, it’s imperative that you own up, apologize, and work hard to make it right.

Correct?

These standards don’t always carry over to vendors. Whether it’s how they do business or the lack of transparency that arises when you have your voice and data with separate vendors, it can be challenging to pinpoint the source of issues. The run-around and pointing fingers aren’t just annoying, it can cost your company’s reputation and customer loyalty if your clients can’t call because your phones are down.

With one fiber internet and VoIP vendor, you gain access to faster troubleshooting. Better yet, with a vendor who commits to best-of-class uptime and reliability, your need for troubleshooting downtime and quality issues could virtually disappear.

Reason #5: Better Quality

Too many companies learn the hard way that there’s no guarantee that your new contract with a vendor for business phone service, internet connectivity, or unified communications (UC or UCaaS) guarantees quality service.

Here are a handful of reasons why quality can vary so widely in the business communications field:

1. Minimal regulatory requirements and oversight from the FCC
2. Public internet connectivity repackaged and sold as “business class” internet
3. Vendors with limited experience or “resellers” with little to no control over the services they sell
4. Minimal or non-existent protection against fraud and security issues
5. VoIP vendors who don’t offer ready-made e911 solutions
6. Limited or non-existent customization to meet client communication requirements

Learn more about Why High-Quality UC-as-a-Service Isn't Always Guaranteed.

Even within the Washington DC metro area, the quality of vendors who offer business phones, business internet connectivity, and other cloud-based communication tools varies significantly.

3 Signs of a Quality Business Phone and Internet Provider

How do you know your new vendor agreement will deliver the value you need, including quality-guarantees, without overpaying? Here are just a few of the many ways Atlantech Online maintains client satisfaction and delivers quality:

1. Superior network and significant investment in business continuity planning for reliability
2. An owned and company-controlled voice switch
3. Dedicated fiber rings to protect client transmissions from the security and reliability risks of public internet connectivity

In addition, we’ve been in the telecommunications business for over 23 years. Our experience and client commitment allow us to deliver customized solutions that meet client needs, not one-size-fits-all packages.

Learn more about Atlantech’s record of success and Download the Montgomery College Case Study.

Don't Wait to Unlock the Greatest Communications Advantage

Your business communication tools can either be an advantage or a risk.

If your phones are constantly going down and you’re spending hours troubleshooting and trying to figure out whether it’s a VoIP or data issue, you’re facing risks of damage to your reputation and client relationships.

If your monthly telecom bill provides you with guaranteed quality service and the peace-of-mind that you’re paying for value, you’re gaining an advantage. Not only are you saving money, but you’re also saving time spent troubleshooting, managing multiple vendors, and balancing complex, multi-vendor upgrades to your phone and data when needed.

Since 1995, Atlantech Online has been committed to making business communications a breeze for companies in the greater Washington DC Metro area. In addition to leading options for IP-based business phones and fiber-optic internet connectivity, we offer a full range of solutions for Unified-Communications-as-a-Service.

For unbiased advice on whether you could benefit from consolidating your communication services ASAP, click here to get a no-obligation quote today.