“Business phone downtime can cost 71 hours of productivity per employee per year”.

Businesses choose Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems instead of landlines as it supports remote and hybrid working, due to calls being connected over the internet. 

VoIP is a better way to communicate with customers, as they are an all-in-one communications service – enabling video, computer and mobile connectivity from anywhere at any time. 

It’s important to choose a great VoIP provider, as VoIP phone downtime can create unhappy customers, disrupt your employee’s workflow and cost your business money. 

Business phone system downtime can cost 71 hours of productivity per employee per year. This puts a huge strain on your IT team, especially if issues can’t be identified or resolved. VoIP phone system downtime is often caused by poor device management, configuration and support, all of which can be prevented with a reliable VoIP provider. 

VoIP System Attacks

If your VoIP system isn’t secured with a firewall and intrusion prevention system (IPS) then you’re at risk of VoIP system attacks. 

VoIP system attacks include:

Remote eavesdropping – tapping a call to listen to the caller, unauthorised call recording or implementing malware.

VoIP phishing – scammers pretend to be legitimate businesses or customers to steal information.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks – cyber criminals destabilise your phone system so you’re unable to make or receive calls.

VoIP system attacks can result in huge monthly bills, stolen information and unauthorised access. 

How to Secure Your VoIP System

There are many ways to secure your VoIP system to prevent downtime, such as controlling access with strong passwords, only allowing calls during work hours and immediately deleting sensitive voicemail messages.

It’s also important to install security technology such as VoIP firewalls, encrypt your call’s with transport layered security (TLS) and install VPNs on remote phones. 

Ensure that your staff immediately report anomalies or suspicious activity to your IT Support Services team to prevent further escalation of criminal activity. 

How to Minimise VoIP System Downtime

VoIP system downtime is not always due to phone system attacks and can occur if you have a poor internet connection or a power outage.

Poor internet connectivity and power outages do not always need to lead to disaster if a recovery plan is put in place.

Some things you can do during an outage include connecting to a backup internet service provider, using VoIP on your smartphone or diverting your calls to voicemail or other locations.

Having an IT support team you can call in times of IT disaster can also help to reduce VoIP downtime. 

Why Choose Intrasource for Your Hosted VoIP System?

At Intrasource we have over 10 years of experience in providing secure VoIP business phone systems. We help all our customers through call planning, implementation and ongoing support with the vendor to ensure you receive the best business phone connectivity. We are also partnered with world-class vendors to ensure all of our customers receive quick and reliable support.  

If you’re interested in our VoIP Business Phone Service you can contact us online or call us on 01482 628800.