Have you ever paused to think about your phone system, its purpose and contribution? It’s hard to get philosophical and reflective about a communication system because often it’s just another tool we take for granted to help us do our jobs.

Business phone systems traditionally haven’t been considered much beyond their ability to connect callers. For most businesses, telecom is a line item on an expense budget—no thought is given to how the technology can actually help improve your company’s bottom line.

The truth is, your business phone system should be considered one of the most important assets in your company. It’s not just a tool for connecting calls; it’s a tool for creating and building relationships and for improving productivity.

When choosing the ideal system for your company, look for the three Cs: communication, collaboration and control. Each are important elements and should be considered carefully in your purchasing decision.

Communication

It’s not just dial tone or voicemail. An effective system will have robust calling features that enhance the user experience, such as personalized call handling and presence, conferencing, voicemail to email, interactive voice response voicemail access and more. Integration with third-party business systems, such as integration with CRM systems, can further enhance the user experience and create a top-notch customer experience as well.

Above all, the system must be simple to operate, so your employees can get the most out of their communications environment.

Collaboration

A good system also includes collaboration tools that are not only seamless to the communications experience but also easy to use. Instant messaging, web and audio conferencing, peer-to-peer video chat, desktop sharing and file transfer capabilities can increase your employees’ productivity by giving them the tools they need to communicate beyond voice, effectively and easily.

Control

For some businesses that don’t want to manage their business phone system, a cloud system is a good option. ShoreTel has the same robust functionality in one platform whether for cloud or for onsite, or even a combination of both. Both the CLOUD and ONSITE solutions are end-to-end, as ShoreTel provides the phones, system software and applications. ONSITE is perfect for companies that like to control their apps in-house and have the IT resources to do it, while CLOUD is geared to companies that no longer want to manage their phone system or are light on IT resources.

Your employees need more than just dial tone to communicate effectively. Discover what an onsite unified communications and collaboration environment can do to enhance their productivity. ShoreTel Connect ONSITE is a feature-rich yet cost-effective option that also provides a future path to the cloud while leveraging your onsite investment.

If your current business phone system is missing one of the three C’s, it’s time to see how a new system can help improve your company’s bottom line.