Hosted VoIP phone systems benefit schools and colleges

More and more schools, colleges, academies and universities are replacing their tired old phone systems with Cloud based VoIP systems. There are several reasons for this, with the main drivers for these changes including the lower operating and maintenance costs associated with a Cloud PBX system. Read on to find out about the benefits available to educational institutions through a VoIP phone system.

If you need to refresh your knowledge of VoIP, view our comprehensive guide to learn what VoIP is and how it works.

Flexibility and efficiency for all staff

VoIP phone systems ensure flexibility for staff. With access from both handsets, headsets and smartphones, staff members are no longer restricted to their desks. Departmental heads who are constantly on the move can benefit from a move away from a completely desk-bound phone system. With the option of VoIP softphones, schools also have a service that can be integrated with staff mobile phones. A wide variety of VoIP desk-phones additionally ensure that you can cater for busy multi-line reception environments, all the way through to single line needs too.

Reliability and resilience

Campuses can find that they may use around 100 handsets, so can benefit from more reliable calls that don't drop, departmental call groups that can be easily setup online, and new extensions that can be created in minutes. With no reliance to having phone lines installed, new systems can be set up in no time, whether on a half term holiday or inset day.

Subscription based billing ensures low costs

With a subscription based billing model, schools can reduce unnecessary capital expenditures such as on-premises PBX servers. Using a hosted VoIP system, the main expenditure is focussed more on the operational SaaS costs. This also provides flexibility for staff who can choose to use a VoIP phone or softphone should that be preferred. Calls between Yay to Yay accounts also avoid additional charges, making for a more cost-effective inter-departmental call solution.

Peace of mind for dedicated IT resources

As anyone who has worked in a school can tell you, it's often the dedicated internal IT department who are proved to be the most in-demand throughout the day. With a VoIP phone system, your internal IT resource will find themselves much happier, as there will be less day to day administration associated with a VoIP phone system. Provisioning of new extensions for new staff is so simple and can be easily managed through an intuitive online control panel.

High capacity bandwidth makes VoIP more accessible

With the increasing availability of high capacity broadband, accessibility to VoIP communications is now even easier within a school environment. Although VoIP technology tends to only need around 80Kbps upstream and 80Kbps downstream for a VoIP call, increased bandwidth means that that everyone can safely experience high quality calls at a fraction of the price of ISDN lines.

BT to switch off ISDN by 2025

With BT set to shutter it's ISDN service by 2025, it makes sense for schools and universities to stay in front of the curve and more to more versatile VoIP phone systems before this time. Hosted VoIP provides a brilliant alternative to copper line phone systems.

Cost effective, contract-free and scalable

All in all, schools and campuses are turning to hosted VoIP as it is a reliable, scalable technology, with low associated costs and smart routing functionality. It's easily manageable and can integrate with existing systems, including door entry systems. With a less stressed out internal IT department and HD quality calls, your school or university will wonder how it ever did without a hosted VoIP phone system.

View the features available with our VoIP phone system or take out a free 14 day VoIP trial to try the system out for yourself. For any further enquiries or set-up help, do feel free to get in touch on +44 (0)330 122 6000.