The VoIP Mistake You Don't Know You Are Making

By Barb Paluszkiewicz, CDN Technologies Inc.

As an MSP you have to be accessible at all times and the inability to receive incoming calls can be catastrophic. So, what would happen if your phone system suddenly went down? We traditionally think of back ups and disaster recovery as applied to data within computer networks, but what happens when there is no dial tone?

Our job is to help other businesses plan for and recover from disruptive events and we all know the importance of backing up data, backing up systems, documentation, and how a proper data continuity plan can prevent a business from bleeding money and losing time. However, do we all know the importance of voice continuity planning? I’d argue most of us don’t.

When the sound of a phone is not heard, people panic. Revenue, productivity, and public image is negatively impacted when voice communication is interrupted. Events that can take out data communications are the same that can take out voice communications:

• Power outages from weather
• Power outages from technology
• Human error
• Cutbacks on capital expenditures
• Failure to upgrade or maintain
• Cyberattacks

Voice communication is important because it helps us to stay connected to the outside world. Changes in technology have opened a wide range of options enabling employees to be more productive.

According to Gallup, 43 percent of employees work from home as businesses move their data to the cloud to provide better and easier access to documents, anytime or anywhere. While access to documents is important, voice communication with customers, prospects, and peers is even more so.

Voice continuity planning provides automatic failover when the office dial tone is compromised. The seamless transition to a voice continuity contingency plan enables people to receive phone calls, texts, and voicemails from vendors, clients, and other employees. Businesses can continue to operate by having calls routed to cell phones and alternate offices, and voice mails can have email notifications.

Rather than leaving your clients wondering when their phone service will be restored in the event of an interruption, include voice continuity with your business continuity/disaster recovery offering. Even if you do not offer VoIP services, you can still offer business continuity for VoIP.

It doesn’t matter if your customer is using a hosted VoIP solution, hybrid solution, or on-premise solution: including a VoIP continuity contingency plan is a value-add service that can be easily understood by people in the executive seats that don’t understand IT problems and don’t want to expose themselves to unnecessary risks. Everyone agrees the hope is payback from the voice and data continuity contingency plan will never be needed but having a plan can determine which companies will survive in the event of a service disruption.

A voice continuity plan is a value-added benefit of using an MSP. We all know there is a rise in phone systems attacks, and VoIP sends calls directly through the exact same path that a network uses for internet and other traffic so VoIP connections can open the network to attack and exploitation. VoIP information security is closely connected to internet security. Even though they are not the same internet connections, the internet needs to be connected and configured through proper firewalls and commercial grade routers.

The goal of MSPs is to prevent customers from making mistakes they don’t even know they are making. Selling is probably the most frustrating part for the techie turned business owner. If anyone is getting frustrated selling all these different services and just wants to focus on tech, please reach out to us at CDN Technologies. Our growth strategy is through acquisitions and we can assist with all the headaches and issues of selling and you can focus on what you enjoy doing the most.

About The Author

Barb Paluszkiewicz, CDN Technologies CEO, is the author of IT Scams: How To Avoid Being Ripped Off. Over the course of her 20-year career in IT, she has been known for her ability to present highly technical information in a clear, easy to understand manner. A frequent expert guest on ABC, NBC, CBS. CityTV & FOX TV News & Talk shows, she speaks on the dangers of ransomware and tech developments that save companies big money on their IT Systems and critical data security. In addition to her assignment as CEO of CDN Technologies, Barb serves as an Executive with internetHosting.com and internetRegistration.com. A Global company, with representation in Canada, Australia, Europe and the United States.