My current communication system is old, but it works fine and serves my current needs. Why would I want to evaluate my old system, upgrade options, or new technology?
It is good practice to regularly review your communications plan to be sure it is in line with your current and future business plan – and, that you are taking advantage of available cost saving opportunities. At Nighthawk Group, we look at your total business and help you develop a cost effective course of action. That can range from “do nothing” if things are good, to cost saving changes in services, to more extensive enterprise transforming changes.
Here are four things to consider –
1. In many cases, keeping your current system makes perfect sense. But it is still a good idea to ask the question at least once every five years, more frequently if your business is dynamic. Technology changes, business needs change, service and support costs change. Asking the right questions often uncovers cost savings or service improvements you may not have been aware of. And often, cost savings can be realized without major changes to your system.
2. Does your technology / communication plan support and enhance your business plan? Recent developments in communication technology have driven equipment and service costs down. Today, small and medium-sized businesses can cost justify feature/functionality that was cost prohibitive just a few years ago.
3. Is your telephone system mission critical? Do you have a backup or disaster recover plan in case you experience a catastrophic system failure or a loss of your facility. How long will it take to restore service and what is the cost of lost opportunity for each hour or day the system is down? What will you do if your facility is damaged and you need to relocate operations? There are options and they can be cost effective.
4. From a plain dollars and cents standpoint, there are typically two primary drivers that motivate businesses to upgrade or replace their equipment. Cost of support and the cost of lost opportunity.
As equipment ages, it becomes more costly and difficult to maintain. Maintenance contracts become more expensive, replacement parts become scarce, knowledgeable support becomes harder to find – at the end of the day, systems take longer to repair. Also, if your system can only accept certain dial tone services, you may be missing out on opportunities to reduce dial tone expense.
Give Nighthawk Group a call. We would be happy to discuss your needs.