What Are Managed Telecom Services and Why Do You Need Them?

November 11th, 2024

Chances are your business isn’t built to be an expert in managed telecom services. An entire sector of IT professionals within the telecom industry has made it their life’s work to take that burden off others so they can focus on building their businesses. Statewide Communications is built to serve our customers and provide custom solutions for their businesses. Every company’s needs are different, so our solutions must be just as unique. 

How much time would you dedicate to your business if you had an expert handling your telecom and IT needs? 

An Overview of Managed Telecom Services 

Managed telecom services outsource the management and maintenance of your organization’s infrastructure to a third party. Managed telecom services are also known using the broader term of managed service provider (sometimes referred to as MSP). Offloading the management and upkeep of your communications allows you to focus on what you do best and leave your telecom issues in the hands of experts. Managed telecom services can help you optimize your technological systems and save you money. According to Research and Markets, successfully deploying managed services can reduce your IT costs by as much as 45 percent. A managed service provider can give telecom companies an unbiased view of their current plans and suggest ways to update or change systems to achieve their business goals better.  

Working With a Managed Service Provider 

Managed service providers bring deep industry expertise, the latest tools, and proactive methodologies to the table, giving you an edge over your competitors. The relationship with a managed service provider needs to be built for the long term, so a base of trust should be the first thing established. This needs to be seen as an equal partnership and one of collaboration. 

Additionally, a managed service provider offers many benefits, including cost savings, increased efficiency, and technological infrastructure beyond the standard off-the-shelf setup. Ultimately, a quality managed service provider is a one-stop solution for your business, taking the stresses and unknowns associated with your tech and giving you the peace of mind that you’re taken care of. 

Provided Services 

Telecom managed service providers typically offer expanded services beyond telecom management, including convenient help desk services, networking infrastructure, and proactive monitoring to ensure your systems run efficiently. According to Fortunly, 27 percent of small businesses used third parties to improve efficiency and save time. 

Furthermore, they can help you develop a strategy for your telecom services, budgets, and telecommunications equipment, getting ahead of hardware failures and end-of-life equipment before disaster strikes. Telecom managed service providers can help you audit and negotiate better contracts for your telecom services if they aren’t providing dial tone for your business. A managed service provider offers services that lessen your downtime and increase the availability of your business to your customers. 

Proactive Monitoring and Disaster Recovery 

Proactive Monitoring and Disaster Recovery

The truth is that natural and technology-related disasters will hit you at some point, and you need to be prepared to re-establish business operations when they do. With that scary reality acknowledged, a telecom managed service provider will monitor your business communications system  24/7 and partner with you on disaster recovery scenarios for your business. Taking the time to plan for the inevitable reduces extended downtime and ensures uptime so you can be there when your customers need you the most. A study from FEMA found that 43 percent of small businesses affected by a natural disaster never reopen, and an additional 29 percent go out of business after two years of reopening. 

Telecom managed service providers can optimize your communications infrastructure to prevent problems and recover quicker when issues arise. Additionally, they can fix problems on your behalf instead of passing them over to you to manage. This autonomy allows your managed services provider to keep you connected and help you develop and maintain disaster recovery plans. 

Custom Solutions for Your Business 

It’s great to offer various plans for customers to get an idea of what’s out there, but rarely, especially with telecom and IT solutions, does a generic plan work out of the box. You can think of those plans as a starting point, and then the telecom managed services provider can help you develop custom solutions for your business. 

The crucial first step with a telecom managed services provider is to get the right technology at the right time for you. This means they must understand your business now and where your business goals are taking you. It’s about getting the best products and services now for the right price and setting you up for where you want to go in the future. 

Choosing the Right Telecom Services Partner 

When looking for a telecom services partner, consider their industry expertise, track record within the telecoms sector, and the quality of their telecommunications consultants. Do you know of anyone who has used them or recommends their services? Take a look into the range of services they offer. Ensure they can provide a complete solution from strategy to implementation and support. Most importantly, check out client testimonials and case studies to see how they performed in similar projects. Take your time and do your research; it will save you wasted time and energy in the future. 

Related content: Statewide Communications Success Stories 

Overcoming Telecom Management Challenges 

Overcoming Telecom Management Challenges

Telecom managed service providers help you overcome common telecom management challenges, such as managing complex telecom networks and operational efficiency. They are professionals in the industry who can help you avoid challenges associated with your telecom. Additionally, they can help you navigate your business need for cloud services. Telecom managed service providers can guide you on which equipment and services you need to keep your business moving forward. 

Statewide Communications: A Telecom Managed Services Provider Built for Your Success 

Managed telecom services can transform your business by providing a one-stop solution for your telecommunication needs within the telecommunications industry. By outsourcing telecom management to a third party, you can focus on what you do best and have your telecoms in the hands of experts. Statewide Communications can help you optimize your telecom and IT infrastructure, save money, and increase operational efficiency. Contact us today! It’s time to modernize how you manage your telecom. 

Statewide: Your Trusted Telecom Consultant for Every Step of the Journey

November 8th, 2024

Rapidly advancing technologies are impacting businesses everywhere, creating pressure to quickly decide which ones to adopt and how to implement them, often working with limited IT staff and tight budgets. In a small business, it’s not unusual for an owner or manager to be saddled with IT duties in addition to their primary responsibilities, with little time to thoroughly evaluate the company’s current and future communications needs, much less vet service providers and solutions. 

Most small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) often struggle with integrating and leveraging next-gen technologies to their fullest. In addition to trying to deliver a modern, proactive, and personalized experience for their customers, they’re also trying to incorporate an efficient and optimized communications infrastructure for their employees. Furthermore, older technologies don’t have the security features necessary to keep sensitive data and employee and customer information safe. These issues make the timeliness of adoption important, as 90 percent of cyber security breaches occur in small businesses, and 82 percent of all ransomware attacks are against SMBs essentially making it a question of when, rather than if, an attack will occur. 

Many SMBs turn to consultants to guide them through, and accelerate the process of, integrating cloud-based Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) tech to get customized solutions tailored to their unique business and customer needs. However, not all telecom consulting services are created equal. Experienced telecom consultants bring a broad scope of expertise and technologies, a fresh set of eyes to objectively evaluate your business’s needs, and only work with reputable service providers with a strong history of network security and reliability. A trusted partner will design tailored solutions that fit your budget and help your business become more connected and efficient. Whether you’re looking for a business phone system or completely hosted cloud communications, a relationship with a great telecom consultant takes the guesswork out of choosing the right vendors and solutions to meet your needs now and in the future.

Streamline and Optimize Your Operations 

A telecom consulting service helps take the burden off your team so they can focus on their primary responsibilities. By identifying solutions that will enhance and optimize your communications infrastructure, we’ll help develop strategies to leverage the latest technology. Not only will you increase connectivity and productivity, you’ll also future proof your business with solutions that scale easily. 

The telecom consultant you choose should thoroughly train your team, so they have the needed information and skills to provide outstanding customer service. Or perhaps you require help securing your network and sensitive data to meet industry compliance standards. Your business might even need assistance transitioning away from outdated technology. Whatever your needs, Statewide offers all this and more to help streamline and optimize your business operations. 

Save Time and Money with a Telecom Consultant

To effectively enhance your business operations, it’s essential to analyze your communication needs and identify areas for improvement. This includes curating tailored solutions that meet both your requirements and those of your customers, ensuring you avoid unnecessary costs associated with packaged features that go unused. By focusing on specific needs, you can also save on in-house IT design and maintenance costs while enabling faster implementations and migrations. Moreover, with ongoing support provided before, during, and beyond implementation, you can guarantee a smoother transition to new technologies that enhance your overall customer experience (CX). 

Additionally, managing vendor pricing negotiations can lead to more predictable and set pricing structures, allowing for accurate budgeting and forecasting. By accelerating access to powerful next-generation technologies and gaining insights into upcoming advancements, businesses can stay ahead of the competition. Implementing these technologies not only streamlines processes but also fosters a more personalized experience for customers, ultimately driving satisfaction and loyalty. 

 

Customers Expect More and Will Pay More to Get It

A recent Forbes Advisor report on customer experience trends found that a majority of consumers surveyed feel that their experience with a company is as important as the product or service it provides. Almost half reported that they are willing to pay more for quality customer service, and that they would buy more when receiving a personalized experience.  

But telecom consultants are not all the same, and choosing the right one for your business is critical to ensure you have a partner that aligns with your current needs and future goals. Managed service providers (MSPs) may specialize in a specific technology or offer a wide array of solutions, but it is crucial to partner with a consultant and provider that has deep industry experience, the newest technologies, a secure and reliable network, and the expertise to develop a plan with the customized solutions that will best serve your (and your customers) needs and be most beneficial to your bottom line. 

  

Statewide Is the Telecom Consultant You Need

Statewide telecom consultants will partner with you every step of the way. We’ll evaluate your current infrastructure needs and future goals by designing the best solutions to streamline your communications and enhance the customer experience. As we thoroughly train your team and support you hands-on after implementation, we ensure you can fully leverage the technologies and get the most bang for your buck. Statewide’s integrated network incorporates next-gen cloud technologies, advanced call and contact center features, collaboration tools, and mobile and softphone apps built for SMBs that easily integrate with existing systems and CRMs. And you can control and manage it all through our easy-to-use dashboard: view call activity, create call groups, view billing information, run reports, track invoices, add users, and much, much more.

We’ll keep your team connected with our mobile app for easy communication and collaboration from anywhere and on any device. Host meetings, enjoy clear voice and video calls, voice-to-email capabilities, screen sharing, and much more. Employees can even use their business phone number throughout the network for calls and texts for one point of contact without showing their personal contact information. 

With cutting-edge technologies driving IT expenditures in order to stay competitive, partnering with an experienced telecom consultant and provider like Statewide can help you maximize your telecom budget, boost operational efficiency, and increase productivity and customer satisfaction. This saves you time, money, and effort while giving you peace of mind that your infrastructure is optimized, monitored, and secure. At Statewide, we don’t just set up a system and leave; we support your communications and success every step of the way. 

Ready to Make the Switch? 

Statewide Communications started as a family business and has grown into a full-service UCaaS provider focused on helping companies of all sizes find affordable solutions that help them stay competitive, enhance customer engagement, and scale easily. Let us show you why our customers keep choosing Statewide for their telecom needs. Contact us today, and we’ll get your business moving toward greater communication success. 

Communications Evolved. Veteran Led. That’s Statewide. 

The Critical Channels for Success in Office Communication Systems

November 1st, 2024

When it comes to business, communication is crucial. If it fails, so does everything else. Decision-making stops, operations are interrupted, and customers have a bad experience. This means that office communication systems are more than tools—they represent the heart of your organization. If your communication channels aren’t functioning, neither is your business. 

What matters most here is to keep things simple and effective. Make sure your communication is clear, concise, and reliable. This is why unified communications is the step you need to take in order to encourage team collaboration, create a better customer experience, and ultimately grow a better business. 

Unified Communications: Making Teams Work Better 

Imagine an office with poor or disjointed communication. Phone calls, emails, and video meetings are all happening as they should, but no one is coordinating. People jump from one app to another, wasting time and creating gaps in knowledge. Confusion builds. Projects stall. 

Now imagine one system where everything including voice, video, and messaging is all on a single platform. That’s unified communications. Your entire workforce can be connected, no matter where they are, allowing them to handle calls, chats, and meetings all in one place. The whole process runs smoother, faster, and without the hassle of balancing data from multiple disparate apps and platforms. 

With unified communications as your office communication systems, your employees can work from anywhere. The same tools they use in the office are the ones they can take home or on the road. It’s seamless and you don’t have to worry about scattered communication, meaning that everyone is on the same page. 

Contact Centers: Keeping Customers Happy 

Customers don’t usually have patience in spades. When they reach out, they want answers, and they want them fast. If you drop the ball, they might get upset and even leave. That’s where the contact center comes in. It’s more than just a call center, it’s the hub of customer service. Here, every channel comes together under one roof including calls, emails, live chat, and even social media. 

A good contact center handles everything and keeps track of every interaction, allowing your team to know what’s going on in real-time. It routes calls to the right person, answers routine questions with AI chatbots, and lets your agents focus on the big issues. Efficiency goes up, and wait times and issues go down. Best of all, your customers stay satisfied. 

The key to success here is speed and accuracy. When you get it right, customers feel heard. They stick around. And that’s good for business. 

Managed Services: The Backbone of Reliability 

Your office communication systems can’t fail if you hope to maintain your business. If it goes down, so does your organization. That’s why you need managed services. These outsourced firms monitor everything 24/7 and can fix problems before you even know there’s an issue.  

You don’t have to worry about maintenance, updates, or security. The telecom managed service provider handles it all. They keep your system running at its best so you can focus on running your business. 

And when your company grows, they can scale your system with it and significantly reduce the downtime and the headaches. Just reliable communication that works when you need it most. While an in-house IT crew can also provide these options, managed services allow you instant access to the expertise of an experienced team without the cost and hassle of hiring a team yourself. 

How Statewide’s Office Communication Systems Can Help 

Your office communication system isn’t just another tool. It’s the engine that drives your business. With unified communications, your team works better together. With a strong contact center, your customers stay happy. And with managed telecom services, your system stays up and running, no matter what. 

If your current system is falling short, it’s time for an upgrade. Invest in the right solutions, and your business won’t just survive—it will thrive. Here at Statewide, we provide solutions for your office communication systems that are reliable, efficient, and catered to your specific needs. Our cloud phone systems combine all the advanced features of VoIP software with the ease and flexibility of cloud-based options. Give us a call today to get started. 

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