Having multiple phone service carriers catering to various global communication needs sounds like a good idea, right? But it is a complex landscape, especially for organizations operating across diverse regions serving an international clientele.
And the challenges can impede operational efficiency and detract from the organization’s ability to focus on core business activities. Out of 1,300 CEOs surveyed around the world, a staggering 77% stated that focusing on making operations more efficient is their main way to increase revenue.
So, if you run a multinational business, how do you communicate efficiently and cost-effectively without losing out on call quality?
In this article, we’ll go over:
- Challenges with using multi-carrier phone services
- Consolidation as a better alternative
Using Multi-Carrier Phone Services: 4 Key Challenges
Finding business phone carriers to cover all the areas you need can be tough. Plus, managing costs and dealing with all the paperwork can be a headache. On top of that, keeping track of all the data from different sources is a real challenge.
Let’s take a look at the common problems that arise with using multiple different phone service carriers for business communication:
1. Finding Carriers for Hard-to-Reach Areas
Locating carriers that cover all target regions—remote and emerging markets—can prove to be daunting. This happens because most traditional carriers focus on urban areas with higher population densities, leaving remote regions underserved. Also, providing services in these far-off areas can cost more because there’s not much competition, and setting up infrastructure is expensive.
Lusia Tsymbrovska, Carrier Relations Manager, shares that “on top of this, multiple carriers means working with multiple points of contact especially when suppliers have different contacts for sales, tech support, billing, etc.” This can mean longer response times for carriers in remote regions.
So, when you do find a carrier, chances are you’ll be paying higher than local costs to simply access the region. And this cost rises further if there isn’t enough telecom competition—that could encourage carriers to lower their rates—in the region.
Related: Why Choose Global Call Forwarding?
2. Time-Consuming Organizational Issues
“The more carriers you have, the more people and work hours you need to manage from invoicing to tech interconnection to communication etc.,” shares Tsymbrovska. Dealing with different carriers gradually adds more administrative work and costs:
- Handling communication with each carrier contact
- Managing various contracts and billing processes with different terms and conditions
- Sorting through invoices from different carriers, resolving differences, ensuring accuracy, and so on.
Depending on how many carriers you’re working with, you may need to contract with a telecom expense management company.
3. Inconsistent Call and Call Data Tracking
The absence of unified systems across carriers–or integration functionality–means that call detail records are fragmented. We’re talking about data that shows call origination, duration, caller’s location, outcome information, etc.
This can make it difficult to track and analyze call traffic effectively. It could potentially lead to errors in data captured which in turn, could result in forecasting errorts and delays in resolving issues, impacting customer experience.
4. Managing and Reducing Costs
There are a few different levels of costs to consider when using multi-carrier phone services:
Setup fees: Each carrier could have setup or hidden fees for their service.
Administrative time: Time spent managing contracts, keeping track of call rates, usage, and fees, and double-checking invoices. Without attention to detail, you may end up paying exorbitant fees for services you’re not even using.
Different countries: Consolidating services can give you more competitive and discounted rates for phone services than individual carriers.
Downtime costs: When juggling multiple carriers, it can be difficult to track down where the issue is when a system or service shuts down. And if the carrier doesn’t have responsive support, then your business will face downtime.
Set up and infrastructure: Here’s where things get more complicated since there are many different communications architectures:
- Traditional PBX vs IP-PBX – On-premise PBX means your business is in charge of setup and maintenance (up to $5-$15K); this needs a professional team and additional hardware. Cloud PBX is hosted by the provider (from $10-$100/month/user), reducing your financial and administrative burden.
- Working with multiple local, traditional carriers – Connecting local phone services through traditional networks (PSTN) to your business’ PBX. In this situation, you are in charge of managing contracts and your PBX (if on-premise). This is the most expensive and time-consuming solution.
- Working with multiple VoIP carriers – Connecting VoIP carriers to your internal phone network and infrastructure through the internet. Since VoIP calls travel over the internet, they cost less than traditional phone service carriers. You will still manage contracts and a PBX system (if on-premise).
- Consolidating with one VoIP provider – Connecting the VoIP service to your existing devices. Provider worries about handling PBX servers and local carrier contracts. No IT professionals are needed, though network, systems, and infrastructure experts help. This is your least expensive solution.
7 Benefits of Consolidating Phone Services
By embracing a unified approach to voice communication, businesses can unlock numerous advantages that streamline operations and enhance connectivity.
1. One Point of Contact
By consolidating telecom providers, you simplify communication channels, having only one point of contact for all your global voice service needs. This reduces complexity, streamlines issue resolution, and ensures clearer lines of accountability. This also means that even in remote regions, where accessing multiple providers might be challenging, you can rely on a single global service provider for all communication needs.
Tsymbrovska explains: “Using one carrier gives businesses more leverage. The more phone lines you have with one supplier, the more likely the supplier will be able to provide some workarounds and exceptions, in case of need.”
For instance, Global Call Forwarding offers voice coverage in over 160 countries. So you can easily get toll-free or local numbers for your target regions spread across the world (including remote and hard-to-reach regions) through one cloud phone service.
Additionally, for areas where toll-free access is limited, you can leverage our Toll-Free FlexDial service. This is a toll-free phone number accessible from anywhere worldwide, especially remote and hard-to-reach locations.
2. Quick and Easy Setup
Every new carrier means a new setup process; this can take time, setup fees, and IT experience, in some cases. With one global carrier, however, you don’t need to keep adjusting internal systems and do extensive setup each time you add a new phone line or coverage. And if your global telephony carrier has quick activation times, you can get up and running with your new phone number within days, without any downtime on other services.
3. Less Organizational Work
With fewer providers to manage, your organizational workload decreases significantly. And when you consolidate with one global provider, they handle carrier relations on your behalf. This means less time spent on administrative tasks such as managing invoices, contracts, and compliance requirements, allowing your team to focus on more strategic initiatives.
4. Eliminate Multi-Vendor Number Mapping Frustration
Managing multiple local and international phone numbers and SIP accounts from different countries and providers can quickly become a hassle.
By centralizing phone numbers under one provider, you eliminate the frustration of dealing with multi-vendor number mapping and tracking. You work within one dashboard that connects all your phone lines. This simplifies call routing and ensures seamless communication without the hassle of coordinating between different vendors.
5. More Focus on Quality Assurance
Around 90% of buyers think customer experience is just as important as the products or services a business offers. Quality assurance is all about making sure customer interactions meet or beat expectations.
By simplifying processes, you can dedicate more time to focus on fine-tuning your phone system and improving quality assurance. One way to do this is by unifying reporting and monitoring tools. A single phone service provider will be able to provide better insights into call performance, enabling you to identify and address issues promptly and improve overall call quality.
6. Better Control of VoIP and Communication Costs
You can get a VoIP number plan for as low as $7.95 per month. And business softphones, typically bundled with VoIP service, offer an additional cost-saving benefit, with prices ranging from $10–$30 per month.
Furthermore, opting for VoIP offers several advantages in managing communication expenses:
- Simplified billing structures
- Potential volume discounts for larger usage, and
- Predictable cloud telephony costs contribute to better control over expenditures.
Additionally, consolidating with a single VoIP carrier eliminates the complexities of managing multiple setups, contracts, and fees associated with traditional carriers.
This streamlined approach not only simplifies operations but also leads to significant savings in both time and money in the long run.
7. Ensure Business Continuity
By streamlining your phone services with a single provider, you significantly enhance your organization’s ability to maintain continuous voice communication, even in the face of unforeseen challenges.
With a consolidated infrastructure, you can implement robust backup and redundancy measures more easily, ensuring uninterrupted communication even during emergencies or unforeseen events. Additionally, a centralized system allows for rapid response and adjustment to any issues that may arise, from technical difficulties to routing needs.
8. Easy Scaling and Expansion to New Markets
Migrating to cloud technologies like VoIP provides a significant advantage in terms of scalability. It lets you add users, international phone numbers, and extensions as needed. This flexibility contrasts with traditional phone systems, which often require extensive infrastructure updates and the installation of additional lines to accommodate growth.
Moreover, with access to wide global coverage, you can establish a local presence in different markets without physical offices. By utilizing virtual numbers with local area codes from a reliable provider, you can attract local customers and enhance your market reach.
In fact, Global Call Forwarding has been helping businesses across the globe expand into new markets virtually. To know more about our global coverage, check out our pricing page.
Consolidation is the Way to Go
The challenges associated with managing multi-carrier phone services can impede operational efficiency and detract from core business activities. However, by consolidating phone services, businesses can streamline operations, enhance connectivity, and boost productivity.
You can simplify communication infrastructure with a more reliable provider offering an extensive global voice network. Global Call Forwarding has been helping businesses across the globe unify and centralize their global communications. Whether you want to migrate from traditional telephony to VoIP or find one home for all your cloud phone service needs, we’ve got you covered.
Chat with our experts today to know more about what we offer that can help you grow your business!
Related: Global Call Forwarding vs Legacy Telecom Carriers
