Business Phone Systems

By Christy Birmingham

As the digital revolution changes business operations, your workplace buzzes about the potential advantages of a digital phone system. You might wonder whether your current analog phone system is useful in the modern business age. If you want a small phone system that maintains high sound quality and needs minimal features, the answer is "yes." But here are other details and things to consider:

Digital vs. Analog Technology

Alexander Graham Bell gets the credit for inventing the first analog phone structure, which still is widely used in homes and businesses. Analog technology transmits audio data by translating the signal into electronic pulses, while digital technology breaks transmission signals into binary code (1s and 0s) and recreates them at the receiving end. Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) is the affectionate name for analog lines.

The coding process of digital transmission encrypts data, so your conversations remain secure — for some companies, that's a major benefit of digital over analog.

Other comparisons to consider:

• Sound: Believe it or not, sound quality is not necessarily better with digital — in fact, some argue that digital's sound can be flatter and less inviting than analog. Both, in the end, have opportunities for technical disruptions, but both will also carry conversations clearly and well. Still, some might prefer analog's somewhat richer sound quality.


• Size: Unfortunately, analog signals have size limitations, and that limits the amount of data the phone system can handle. If your business pays a provider for phone lines, there are limitations to the amount of information receivable, too.

Making the Switch

For a small business, a POTS is an inexpensive, effective way to keep in touch with customers. The phone line supplies the dial tone and the power, and can be hooked up to modern accessories like an interactive voice response (IVR) system, allowing you to handle more clients in a timely manner. While analog may not be fancy, it still gets the job done.

But for a growing business with increasing call volumes, it's smart to switch. However, you can't just plug in new equipment to make the change, as you may inadvertently fry the line. Analog lines use higher voltage than digital.

Instead, one upgrade solution is to use an analog-to-digital adapter, which converts analog equipment into a digital environment. Phones operate over the Internet rather than the telephone network; your phones become VoIP compatible, without requiring your company to purchase all-new telephones.

If you expect to increase your staff size as your business grows, it may be time to switch to digital lines to handle the growing communication needs.

A (Phone) Call to Action

Analog phone systems use time-tested technology that keeps the lines of communication open between you and your customers. As your needs change, though, it may make more business sense to make the leap to a digital phone system. Talk to multiple dealers to help you decide if an analog phone system fits your business needs, or if you're a better candidate to go digital.