In the interests of showcasing some of the features of the all-new Yealink SIP-T21P VoIP phone and learning more about VoIP phones in general, we’re taking a minute to sit down with Kevin Peyton, VP of Sales at VirtualPBX. Kevin has been integral in researching all of the leading VoIP office phones and desk phones in the market so that we can offer only the best values to our customers.
What would a company that just got their first hosted phone service look for in a new desktop phone?
The most important thing is that you’re not able to notice the difference between a VoIP phone and one that operates over traditional copper wire technology. Familiarity is important for new technology to be adopted successfully, which also dovetails nicely with another important topic, ease of use. If there are a bunch of hurdles to jump over with configuring your new VoIP phone, it’s going to hurt the chances of your staff leveraging its benefits. That’s why we preconfigure all of our phones for each individual customer’s network before we send them out. Then, of course, you will want to make sure that the sound quality is top notch. The Yealink SIP-T21P packages a respected technology foundation with a familiar platform into an easy to use and crystal clear desk phone.
Would a user notice any differences between VoIP phones and traditional phones?
If they are really looking closely they will notice that the phone is connected through an ethernet cable, not a traditional phone line, but the big thing that users will ultimately recognize is the added functionality of modern VoIP phones. Not only do they have a host of customizable network functions that are typically more in the back-end than a person at a desk will realize, VoIP phones can now link with multiple devices to establish truly unified communications for employees.
What about the Yealink SIP-T21P makes it such a compelling option?
Right off the bat – when you consider this phone you’ll see it’s just such a great value. Yealink in general has been so rapidly and widely adopted in the marketplace over the past 10-15 years because they recognize the core functional features that businesses need, include the best variations of them, and trim out the excess. What you end up with in a phone like the SIP-T21P is high quality construction and sound, customizable technology, future compatibility, and all at a very competitive price point. But personally my favorite part about the phone is the big HD screen on it. You can customize it with any information or company logo as you’d like and it’s similar to how I expect to interact with my other devices, which is nice.
For someone who is still considering a cloud-based phone system for their business, what are some of the pitfalls they would like to avoid?
From an infrastructure standpoint, having wired ethernet at each location is critical, but the other obstacles might not be so obvious. You will want to make sure that the network you are operating your business on will be able to accommodate the addition of the hosted phone system on top of that. That includes if there is enough bandwidth to handle your daily internet use plus the added data travel of VoIP and if your network supports QoS. We can help with all of that in a flash, too, of course by either conducting an easy VoIP Speed Test or doing a comprehensive Network Health Check that includes a complete battery of diagnostics.
Anyone at VirtualPBX can help you get started with a Speed Test, Health Check, or just to field any other questions you have that we didn’t cover here about VoIP phones. Talk to one of our award-winning Customer Support members and see how VoIP can help your business grow, today!
