Switchfast Blog: The Future of IT
SF Giants: Low maintenance costs and an able feature set prove to be big cost-savers with new VoIP system
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 by Michael Holley
Reading through this article about the Giants and their new ShoreTel system, I realized that this is a
textbook example of the "new era" of big cost-savings through
voice-over IP telephony. A few years ago, everyone was looking to
VoIP to directly reduce their communication bills via toll bypass.
While there are still savings to be had through toll bypass, a
combination of falling telecom prices and rapidly developing new
technologies have shifted the public focus to a wide array of
bigger cost-cutting features.
Although the Giants' example exists on a much larger scale than
applies to most of us, the same core benefits apply across the
board. Most notably - as an immediate cost cutter - is reduced
maintenance overhead. The Giants expect a 72% decrease in annual
maintenance cost with their system, likely resulting from a
combination of higher reliability, better energy efficiency, and
easier moves/adds/changes. Although the system was a big
investment, they expect it to pay for itself in just three years
through decreased maintenance costs alone.
Another significant benefit of a VoIP system is
the nearly limitless potential for added functionality and network
process integration. The Giants largely leveraged these
opportunities to improve the customer experience, but most
organizations will find great potential to streamline internal
business processes and reduce overhead by increasing productivity
and operational efficiency.
The strides that VoIP technology has made over the last couple
of years have caused us to look at our phone system as more than
just a convenient means of communication. If you haven't already,
you owe it to your business to take a good look at how VoIP may
benefit your business. It isn't always an easy choice, but the
potential benefits are big enough to make considering VoIP a
worthwhile investment of time.
Best,
Michael Holley
Switchfast Technologies
Chicago IT Support
& Consulting
Rochester
IT Support & Consulting
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