Education sector has undergone a drastic technological transformation. From elementary schools to college, hundreds or even thousands of faculty, students and administrators alike are continually connected, working on multiple devices simultaneously. Because of this change, schools have new needs – and new expectations – when it comes to the communications system.
Founded in 1961, the Catholic University of Santa Maria (UCSM) in Peru has seen how Unified Communications (UC) could make a difference when they upgraded their legacy phone system.
At that time, the 57 years old higher education institution was surviving on an analog phone system aging at capacity and simply fell short for efficient operation. To alleviate the growing communications constraints of physical presence and time, UCSM decided to move to a new UC solution. Out of all options, they chose the UC-capable S-Series VoIP PBX and found out that dynamic communications had become the new norm to improve productivity. The operating expenses are also kept to a low flat rate to save costs ever since.
This is not the first time Yeastar Unified Communication solutions have been able to power up budget-conscious educational facilities in regards to productivity and cost-savings. In fact, its UC-capable VoIP phone systems for schools can help educational institutions to operate more modernly and efficiently in a number of ways. Below are just a few key advantages.
How UC-capable VoIP Phone Systems Power Up Efficiency and Cost Savings
1. Reduced capital expenditure
Unified communications consolidate a slew of paid tools into a single, all-inclusive platform, reducing the additional capital investment on different 3rd party applications. Traditionally, schools with analog phone systems will need to rely on extra software or services for essential functionality like intercom announcement, conferencing and call recording, which can be costly and hard to maintain. Yet a right UC solution will allow you to do it all.
Yeastar S-Series VoIP PBX claims a strong presence in unified communications and converges all the key functionalities in a single system cost-effectively. It boasts all-inclusive license-free advanced features, free lifetime software update, and free Linkus softphone. The added benefits of instant messaging and file sharing are delivered by Linkus Cloud Service as well. With the robust VoIP system built for schools, the high capital outlay one would expect from adopting new technology is significantly reduced.
For those who prefer hosted VoIP services, a similar highly-flexible cloud-based UC solution is also provided via Yeastar Cloud PBX.
2. Lower ongoing costs
Due to the latest technology of SIP trunking, Yeastar VoIP phone systems allow schools to save money many years down the road. Right out of the gate, SIP Trunking requires no capital investment and has minimal upfront costs. Because SIP trunks are operating using the internet, long-distance, toll-free and international calling rates are much lower, let alone that internal inter-office calls are unlimited and free of charge. In general, the average educational institutions could save between 25-60 percent over phone service by switching to SIP/VoIP.
In addition, Yeastar UC-capable phone systems also allow for significant indirect cost savings due to efficiency gains triggered by intelligent call routing, the ability for staff to communicate better when working remotely, enhanced conferencing, and greater overall workforce collaboration.
3. Bolstered efficiency and faculty collaboration
Yeastar VoIP phone systems for schools can provide educational process efficiency. They cut both the time and labor spent on communications-based tasks and also eliminating the communications-based delays. Thanks to Linkus softphone‘s full enterprise directory and robust presence features, employees can now easily get their colleague’s contact information and know if they are available for a chat, caught in a call, or unavailable altogether, shortening communications turnaround time.
Team communication and collaboration are made easier as well. Whether the university faculty or administrative personnel are in different locations or working remotely, they can easily communicate and collaborate. Sharing lecture notes, exchanging ideas and project discussion become simple with the integration of messaging, group chat, file sharing, presence, and 3rd party CRM platforms on Linkus desktop/mobile softphone for Yeastar phone system.
4. Enhanced IP Paging and broadcast system
If your crisis response requires you to quickly broadcast information throughout the school, Yeastar UC-capable VoIP phone systems for schools can offer phone-based intercom support for authorized staff members. This can allow your team to broadcast instructions quickly to each classroom through Linkus app by dialing the overhead speaker or IP Phones. On top of that, Yeastar S-Series VoIP PBX and Cloud PBX also support integration with third-party paging devices or intercom systems, providing a cost-effective and easy to way build SIP paging solution based on IP technology.
5. Consistent Communication Flow
Yeastar UC-capable phone systems offer plenty of opportunities to improve tutoring. It helps parents, administrators, and students collaborate more effectively. This leads to increased satisfaction for all parties. Here are a few key features to build a consistent communication flow.
a. Holiday hours: when in summer vacation or holidays, Yeastar phone system can be configured with time conditions to route calls appropriately based on date and time and give holiday announcement upon greeting.
b. Mobility: school staff without a designated classroom or workspace can remain reachable by parents or students at all times with Linkus UC softphone installed on their own mobile devices.
c. Conferencing: without expensive conference phone equipment, Linkus for S-Series VoIP PBX and Yeastar Cloud PBX allows users to join or originate an ad-hoc audio conference call that supports up to 9 participants.
d. Ring Groups: schools can use ring groups to efficiently handle calls amongst a team or department.
e. Voicemail-to-Email: having a voicemail-to-email feature can help ensure parents and teachers receive a message regardless of availability.
6. Ease of use and management
Management is also easier with Yeastar UC solution. All settings on the Yeastar S-Series VoIP PBX or Cloud PBX are handled through an intuitive web interface. With simple point-and-click configuration, school administrators can add, remove or change users easily within minutes. There’s no need to hire a telecom expert or to divert extra IT resources for the administration of the system. In addition, the robust auto-provisioning feature of Yeastar phone systems allows you to auto-configure supported IP phones in bulk, greatly saving time in the provisioning process.
Next Steps
Phone systems that are more than seven years old commonly suffer from outdated functionality, limited integration and lack of interoperability with 3rd party software to enable new capabilities. It’s time to consider a school VoIP phone system with robust unified communications capacity that moves your business forward.
Learn more about how a UC solution can be used to fulfill your need here.
