Just look at some of the big brands that were all hit by recent data breaches in recent years — Target, Sony, Yahoo, Home Depot, JP Morgan — and it appears that cyber-attacks are an increasing threat to all businesses as the severity and frequency of these events are all over the map. The cost of a breach extends beyond downtime and profits lost; it can also negatively affect your company’s brand and customer loyalty. 

With cloud services and advanced business systems, it has never been easier and more practical and profitable for businesses to promote telecommuting than it is right now. Virtual teams and remote workers are becoming the norm for some companies and according to 2011 data from Statistics Canada, 11.2 per cent of staff work from home for as little as 8 hours a week. And that number is on the rise as recent reports estimate that by 2016, 43 per cent of employees will be teleworkers.

In today’s modern workplace, there are countless ways to communicate: email, text, buddy, share, video chat, conference call and of course, phone. Unified Communications (UC) uses all forms of communication available to your business and integrates voice, email, instant messaging, desktop sharing and other functions into a seamless package. While it may sound more complex, UC offers you a more consistent and centralized platform to communicate and stay in touch, optimizing your business’s performance and increasing productivity among staff.

If you are just starting the process of updating your phone system, you may be surprised with all the options available these days. With Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology advancing and high-speed Internet getting cheaper and more accessible, more businesses are jumping from traditional landlines to VoIP phone systems.

We have come a long way since the telephone was invented in 1876. Fast forward a couple of hundred years and there continues to be radical changes in telephone systems where businesses are at the forefront of the technology.

No matter what, all business have this in common: they need to direct incoming and outcoming calls efficiently. A PBX, which stands for private branch exchange, lets you do exactly that.

In today’s world, employees are no longer just working in the physical office. Rather, the shift to a mobile work force, improving cloud technology and fast network speeds means it has never been more easy for small businesses with dispersed employees and contractors to telecommute, practically and profitably.

When it comes to technology and phone systems for small businesses, there’s never an easy solution or a one-size-fits-all fix. But like with any piece of office equipment, the more features you choose, the more you’ll likely be paying for. Knowing what the common phone system mistakes are that most small businesses make and working to avoid them can help save your business a lot of money. Remember, a phone system doesn’t have to be overly complex to be useful and effective for your business. To help, here are some common missteps with phone systems that small businesses make that you may not realize are costing you money.

The cloud (a.k.a ‘Hosted’)— we’ve all heard the buzzword but in the case of cloud-based phone systems, it’s not a new idea. It’s really another word to mean the Internet. A cloud-based phone system refers to a phone service where you can make calls, route inbound calls and provide features like virtual voicemail and call recording — all delivered through your Internet connection.

In shopping around for a new phone system, you may find yourself asking a lot about features, integration and scalability but one of the most essential factors to consider is security. As much as Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) systems can offer your business benefits, there are also potential threats from inside and outside your organization such as hacking, toll fraud and phishing scams.

No matter the nature of your business, your phone system is critical to internal and external communication and can determine how smooth and efficiently your business runs. Over the last few decades, modern business phone systems are benefiting from the proliferation of new technology and applications. But with more choices and options for features than ever before, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Some can lead to smaller efficiencies while others can affect wider systemic changes in your company so knowing which feature does what and how each delivers better outcomes is key to choosing the right features for your business.