What’s Best for Your Business: VoIP or Unlimited Cellular?

Your unique business needs a unique solution to its communications needs. There is no single be-all, end-all answer that provides the best answer for every business. We discovered this in our VoIP and landlines discussion. There are advantages and disadvantages to each, meaning that each individual business must determine what will best serve its needs. Yet VoIP and landlines aren’t the only services at play. They get the most attention, because they represent the traditional business schema. But there are other options, namely cellular phones.

An all-mobile workplace has its advantages, especially for businesses that have traveling employees. There are certainly reasons to forego the traditional landline setup and get everyone on your sales force a mobile phone. It might be an expensive solution, but it can help provide opportunities that are not available through VoIP and landline solutions. Here are a few reasons why an unlimited cellular plan might work for you better than a standard VoIP plan.

Mobility

Obviously, the No. 1 advantage mobile phones have over stationary phones is that they can go with the user wherever they are. That means fewer voicemails to be checked. It also means easier access to the employee, from clients and bosses. This can help foster a more efficient workplace, where tasks left on voicemail don’t slip through the cracks, and where clients can talk to their representative one-on-one, no matter where he’s currently stationed.

Data On The Go

Mobile solutions are expensive not only because they provide mobility, but also because they provide more services than a landline or VoIP carrier. That is, they provide data and messaging services on top of the standard voice options. This means employees can access information from wherever they are, making for a more flexible work environment.

The BlackBerry has long been considered the best smartphone for businesses. It contains a world-class messaging system, which will keep all mobile employees connected to their email at all times. It also has a high-quality web browser, a big upgrade from older BlackBerry models, and applications that can help a mobile worker do her job more efficiently. There are even apps that allow employees to access their office computers, making mobile life even easier.

Always-On Connection

One of the advantages landlines have over VoIP solutions is connectivity. If power goes out in the office, so goes a VoIP connection. The same goes for the internet connection. Every so often everyone experiences an issue with their internet connection. For VoIP customers, this means problems with the phone lines. Some businesses just can’t afford this type of inconvenience. It can cost them time, and therefore money.

Mobile phone connections are essentially always on. There need be only a few bars of reception for an employee to access basic voice and messaging services. While signal-less areas do pose a problem, there are far fewer of them now than there were even two years ago. Most of America is blanketed with cellular network signal, and with all of the roaming agreements between carriers it’s sometimes tough to find an area that has no service.

The Rub: Price

The three above-mentioned features don’t come for free. The added convenience necessarily means a higher price on those services. On our VoIP comparison you can see plans for as little as $7 per month. Even the most expensive ones are $20 per month. Cell phone plans will cost more than double that — maybe even triple, depending on what services you require. Many cell phone carriers work with businesses to provide custom solutions that help keep costs down. But where you pay $20 for VoIP service, you might end up paying $80 per month for a single employee’s smartphone, and that doesn’t even cover the cost of the smartphone itself.

As with the VoiP vs. landlines debate, the VoIP vs. cell phones debate comes down to each business’s unique needs. For some businesses, the extra cost of mobile phones is a mere investment. They can recoup it with the added work its employees can handle. For others, though, it’s an unnecessary cost that will negatively affect the bottom line. Choose with care.

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