Factoring VoIP into a disaster recovery plan

VoIP easily safeguards your communications in the event of a disaster

Many businesses affected by a disaster do not realise the importance of a recovery plan until it is unfortunately too late.

No matter how small the chances of needing to implement it are, your business has a much greater chance of minimising the impact of any lost revenue and surviving if you have a plan in place.

As the telephone is the primary form of contact for most businesses, loss of your phone system could prove damaging – not least of all for generating and securing new business, but in terms of your reputation too.

The recent hurricanes that have devastated parts of the Caribbean and south eastern United States have served as a reminder of the consequences a catastrophic event can have on not just homes, but businesses too.

While we’re fortunately not in any danger of having to endure anything on that scale here in the UK, disaster recovery should still be taken seriously. How would your business cope if there was a fire, a gas explosion, a flood, or if a digger accidentally goes through a power cable outside your office?

In the unlikely event of a disaster striking, your business needs as much normality and continuity as possible to reduce the impact, and from a communications point of view, VoIP is a useful system to have in place. Here’s how:

Remote access to your account and system

As a system that is managed entirely online it means should any disaster take place on site, your access to it will not be restricted.

This means you can log in to your web based dashboard from any location with internet availability, accessing and managing crucial areas of your system including call diversion and forwarding plans, phone settings, features configuration, call recording, voicemail and more.

No infrastructure damage on site

With a PBX located on site it would be disastrous for your communications if anything was to happen, resulting in it being very difficult at best, and impossible at worst, for customers to get in touch via phone.

Luckily, adopting VoIP means there is no requirement for you to keep any infrastructure on site at all. This is because all the hardware and infrastructure is hosted across multiple secure data centres by the provider, so your overheads are dramatically reduced as is your risk. This means should a disaster occur, VoIP affords you the redundancy to stay connected from an alternative location.

Easy and flexible call routing capabilities

One of the many options VoIP gives you for making and receiving calls if your office is out of bounds and subsequently your usual desktop handset cannot be used, is through forwarding calls on to another destination.

A simple call routing system accessed within your online account means you can log in and configure diversion plans at any time, allowing you to change how and where calls are routed within just a couple of clicks. This is extremely convenient for setting calls up so they go straight to your mobile, or another destination of your choice.

Easily setup office elsewhere (even if it’s just temporary)

VoIP gives you total geographic independence so setting up or moving office is simple, stress free and very cost-effective as there are no telephone lines or equipment (other than perhaps a VoIP phone handset) to move.

So, if possible, this means you can simply unplug your phone and take it with you to another location where there is an internet connection for you to plug in to and you’re good to go. Your number will not change so you can make and receive calls just as normal. Meanwhile, if this isn’t possible, you can opt to use the call routing options to forward calls to another destination or make and receive calls via softphone applications on your PC.