Hosted Solutions Explained – Basic Guide
If you are a business owner, you will have seen the many changes over the years in terms of marketing, manufacturing, and nearly every other process. In the past couple of years, it has been ‘hosting’ that has taken the market by storm. For this reason, we have created a brief guide for you today explaining what the process involves and how the change is implemented.
What is Hosting?
Essentially, hosting can cover a number of topics and it depends on how deep you wish to go into the many services. For example, the term ‘hosting’ could describe your website being looked after by a different company. After choosing a hosting company, they will be in control of keeping your site online in the long-term.
Furthermore, some companies have all their files held on a completely different server on the other side of the city and this has some great benefits including protection from natural disasters. Finally, you can also have all of your communications hosted by a different company and this is called VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). In short, this means that everything from phone systems all the way to a wireless office can be supported by a third-party.
Benefits
In truth, there are numerous benefits that come with hosting but most companies go for these solutions because they are reliable and because they receive good customer support. Whether the company is hosting the website or all of your communications and files too, they are completely dedicated to the cause and protect your servers at all costs. Even when issues do arise, they are often fixed within a quick time because you will have professionals with years of experience and all sorts of qualifications in your corner.
After this, you will also benefit from improved design, control of your data and content, as well as improved communication through the whole business. As long as you choose the right company who meets your needs, you can have a long relationship where your servers remain in the best possible position without having to worry.
How to Prepare
If you are switching to a VoIP solution, there are some steps you can take to be prepared and avoid a big upheaval on the day itself. For example, you will want to document the so-called ‘call flow’ and this is something most companies will help with. Ultimately, this describes when calls are forwarded, what happens when someone dials your number, will it go to one phone or more, is there an answer phone, etc.
After this, you should look to notify all employees that there will be a change. Even though you are improving the phone service, change is often met with resistance so be sure to explain exactly what is happening and why they should be excited. Even before it arrives, you can sit them down and explain how it will work and how their jobs will be made easier than ever before.
Implementation
Ultimately, the installation process can be disruptive if not planned for properly, but the provider should make the whole process less stressful. With a good provider, you will know what is going to happen long before it does. You could even hire a freelance IT partner for the week so they can ensure that it all goes smoothly. As long as you make the right decision on the provider, the process will not disrupt your business too much and you should be able to continue with your day quite normally. With all employees notified, they should also be ready to help whenever necessary!