With virtual phone numbers, internet-based calling, and mobile networks handling most business communication, many companies question whether a traditional landline is still necessary.
The answer is not straightforward. Factors like company size, stage of growth, and budget all play a role.
While landlines may seem outdated, they still offer value to certain businesses. Others operate efficiently without one. The right choice depends on how your company communicates and what it needs to support customers and operations.
Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Landlines
A hardwired telephone line, otherwise known as a landline, is a valuable business asset for large companies with employees that work in the same building. In fact, they’ll probably have a few landlines and other equipment that allows for the proper internal routing of calls.
But let’s say you’re not a Fortune 500 company. How do you know if you really need a landline?
A few points to consider include:
- Your company’s size. A large company can save money with a business phone system. But if you have just a few employees, you can connect easily. Use cell phones or services like Skype instead.
- Who answers the phone. When your company has an interactive voice response system (IVR), and it seems to be working just fine, you may be ok without a landline. The IVR will direct calls to the appropriate person within your organization. However, if you eventually want to have a live answering service or a reception team, you may not be satisfied with a system patched together using cell phones or VoIPs.
- Your planned growth. Today, you have five people working for you, but do you intend to grow that number? Telephone systems that work for five people won’t necessarily scale for 500 people, and if they do, it may not be cost-effective. Consider what your ultimate goal is and when you hope to achieve it. Planning for the future can start today, even when it comes to your telephone line.
- Disaster planning. Does the weather get out of control where you live? What’s your plan if the power goes out and the Internet’s down? Can your company handle the situation if a natural disaster jams all the cell phone towers? If not, a landline is imperative. Don’t forget that your exact location is also built into your landline. If you call 9-1-1 and don’t provide your address, responders can still locate you. This isn’t always possible with cell phones and VoIPs.
Landlines may seem like a thing of the past, but they’re still highly utilized by businesses large and small. Still, not everyone needs one, especially if an answering service handles the majority of their calls or if they route calls through a virtual number to an IVR. Even though it seems like a small thing, you should take the decision to dump your landline (or to get one!) as carefully as you did choose your company’s name or URL.
