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Not more than a few years ago, a teenager going to the mall with her friends involved a careful ballet of planning, which started with getting a ride from someone’s parents and ended with a call from a payphone to get someone to come pick her up. Of course, to get that ride someone had to be sitting next to the phone -- or at least in the house somewhere -- to make sure the call came through. Otherwise, that poor girl would be stranded.
Today, your customers are that teenage girl, and they are trying to get through to you. But what if your power goes out? Will they get a busy signal or an error message? How can you make sure that you’re there to answer, even if there’s a thunderstorm or worse?
If you make the switch to VoIP calling, you may wonder if your phone system will continue to work in the event of a power outage. There are a few different ways to look at this question.
Backup Power Sources
If it is critical that you have access to the handsets at your office, setting up a backup power source is the best idea. Your VoIP provider can help you choose an Uninterruptible Power Source (UPS) that will connect to your phone system and keep it running even when the power goes out. Of course, this type of solution only lasts as long as the battery itself lasts, so it is certainly not a long-term solution in the case of really dire circumstances.Your VoIP Set Up
Simply, if the power in your office goes out and your VoIP phone is connected to that power source, it will not work when the power goes out. If your on-premise PBX does not have a power backup, you will not be able to receive phone calls and your customers will not be able to reach you when the power is out.
However, a cloud or hybrid VoIP calling system can be a highly useful alternative to UPS. WIth a cloud phone solution, you and your employees can still access your business communications tools through a mobile application. As long as your mobile device has power, you can forward calls from the phone on your desk to the one in your hand. This means that practically speaking, your VoIP calling system will still work even when the power goes out. You will also still be able to use all your other unified communications applications that are available through the mobile app.
Power outages can cause unnecessary drops in productivity. With cloud communication options, that doesn’t have to be the case. Instead of losing hours or days to power outages that are outside of your control, invest in communications tools that will work no matter what and give your customers the service that they deserve.
Read our eBook "Which Hosted VoIP Solution Is More Cost-Effective for You" to determine the best route to take in order to enhance your bottom line.
