Cutting the Cord
Businesses drop landline phones, costs for Internet, cell phones

By Peter Strozniak

	Businesses drop landline phones, costs for Internet, cell phones

Jay Fishman, owner of Wicked Stitch of the East in Beachwood, is looking to cut the telephone cord for his small business.

"My phone bills are insane," says Fishman, whose company makes embroidery products. "I'm paying about $175 a month for one landline phone and a toll-free number, and I pay for the minutes when I get calls on that line."

The high cost of operating traditional landlines is motivating more business owners like Fishman to cut the cord and use only mobile phones or Internet phone services at the office, store or plant. Internet phone service can yield significant savings and provide more options and features; however, it also has significant drawbacks that can stifle business operations.

For years, consumers have been hanging up on traditional phone lines and saying hello to mobile phones or Internet phone service, otherwise known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). In Ohio, for example, about 40 percent of consumers have cut their home landline phones, reports the Yankee Group, a Boston-based technology research group.

Although it's unknown how many businesses have dropped landlines for VoIP, it's estimated that about 25 percent of small and mid-size businesses expect to adopt VoIP this year, according to the Computer Technology Industry Association's Small and Mid-size Business Technology Adoption Trends Study.

Cutting costs

When it comes time to renew telecommunications services, companies primarily are looking to lower costs, says Jeffrey A. Beller, an information technology and teleconferencing consultant for Skoda Minotti. Switching to a VoIP system can cut a company's telecommunications bill by as much as 25 percent a month, Beller adds.

The Mayfield Village accounting and auditing services firm also operates an Information Technology division that offers voice and data solutions as well as IT networking services for business.

Research firm NextAdvisor.com, which compares and provides reviews of products and services, states that home-based businesses or very small companies in need of only one or two VoIP phone lines can cut their monthly phone bill by as much as 80 percent.

How much money a company saves, however, will depend on the type of VoIP system, various calling features and other options. Some savings come from the bundling of voice, data and Internet over one broadband connection. In addition, Beller notes, phone system prices fall every year.

VoIP business choices

In exchange for a monthly fee, hosted VoIP providers run and maintain calling features, equipment, software, servers and other services to operate a business phone system over a broadband connection. With an Internet protocol, private branch exchange (IP PBX) system, a company houses the server and other equipment at its workplace.

For start-up firms or companies with fewer than 10 employees, signing up with a hosted VoIP provider may be a good fit because initial equipment and setup costs are less, and there are no maintenance fees. Other benefits may include the availability of new calling features, software upgrades and technical support.

If a business has more than 10 employees, however, a workplace-based IP PBX system may be a better option over the long run. Although a company will incur equipment and setup costs, as well as maintenance costs, expect lower monthly costs after the system is paid for. An IP PBX system also will give a business greater flexibility and control over phone capabilities as needs change.

For example, an IP PBX system can provide a business with quick and easy-to-install "on-demand" phone lines. In the telecommunications industry, this feature is called a session Internet protocol (SIP).

Let's say a business wants to start selling products or services in the Atlanta market. SIP enables the set up of local Atlanta phone number quickly and at little cost. When a customer or prospect dials the Atlanta number, the call is forwarded to the business in Northeast Ohio.

"These new phone lines can be very handy when you are going through a busy season, running special projects or campaigns," Beller says. "When your busy season, project or campaign is completed, you can easily shut down the phone lines."

VoIP's drawbacks

It's important to consider VoIP drawbacks as they can hinder business operations. For example, when the power goes out, so does the phone service.

A landline phone continues to work despite a power outage, assuming the phone system doesn't operate on electricity. Because of this, Beller recommends keeping at least one or two landline phones. In the event of a power failure, ask the provider to forward calls to the landline phones.

Additionally, if a company handles many documents, faxing over VoIP usually is not a good option.

Businesses such as law firms, real estate companies, healthcare centers, insurance agencies, accounting firms and other businesses need to transmit large amounts of confidential documents. Because fax machines use a different type of technology, documents can be transmitted securely and confidentially. That level of security, however, cannot be guaranteed by scanning a document on a copier and sending it via an e-mail attachment over a VoIP system.

The same technology that fax machines use to securely transmit documents, however, is used by inexpensive Internet faxing services such as MyFax.com. Moreover, an Internet fax service also sends and receives documents through an e-mail account or a secure server, which means documents can be transmitted to or from a personal computer, a laptop or a smart phone.

"I used to have a dedicated landline fax line for my business for some of my clients," says Fishman of the Wicked Stitch of the East. "Just for that one line, I was paying about $100 a month to send and receive about 20 fax documents every month. When I signed up with MyFax, I am now paying just $10 a month. I've been using MyFax for about a year now, and I've never had any problem with the service, period."

Some businesses, however, will need to maintain a landline because credit card machines, fire and security alarm systems, and dial-up modems may not work over a VoIP system. As VoIP technology continues to improve over time, however, landlines may no longer be needed.

Find national and local VoIP providers by doing a Web search. A few local VoIP providers in Northeast Ohio include Ohio.Net of Cleveland and Teletronics Communications of Strongsville. Companies such as Vonage, Aptela, Nextiva, 8X8, AT&T, RingCentral, SpeakEasy and Vocalocity, to name a few, offer services nationally to small and mid-size companies.

Web sites including www.voipmonitor.net and www.nextadvisor.com provide reviews of VoIP service providers and other helpful information. Further, www.aptela.com has useful information and other features that can help evaluate telecommunications needs and help determine whether VoIP will benefit a business.

Contributing Editor Peter Strozniak is a marketing communications and media consultant. Visit his Web site at making-words-work.com.

By Kay Bryson

Webster's Dictionary defines "dog days" as the period between early July and early September when the hot, sultry weather of summer usually occurs in the northern hemisphere. A second meaning is "a period of stagnation or inactivity."

During the "dog days" of the season in the business world, we think of a more relaxed workplace, i.e. dress-down days and early-dismissal Fridays.

Summer, however, is not the time for lax inactivity regarding indoor air quality maintenance for workplace facilities. Stagnant air can cause a myriad of health and safety issues, resulting in employee illness, expensive clean-up or worse.

Routine maintenance of a facility's air-conditioning system is of utmost importance. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Web site, the majority of the U.S. population spends 90 percent or more of its time indoors.

Indoor air quality has a large potential to affect peoples' health, typically in the form of a building-related illness (BRI). Legionnaires' disease is an example of BRI. It's a form of pneumonia thought to be caused by contaminated water in central air conditioning units. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis, a condition with influenza or pneumonia-like symptoms, also is caused by contaminated units.

Businesses can fill out the Workplace Air-Conditioning Questionnaire to help assess a potential problem at www.ohsrep.org.au/storage/documents/AirconditioningChecklist.rtf.

Sick building syndrome

While BRI is a diagnosable illness identified and attributed directly to airborne building contaminants, "sick building syndrome" (SBS) is used to describe situations in which building occupants experience acute health and comfort effects that appear to be linked to time spent in a building, but no specific illness or cause can be identified. The complaints may be localized in a particular room or zone, or may be widespread throughout the building.

Typical symptoms of SBS are irritated breathing passages, headaches, fatigue, nasal discomfort, nausea and general discomfort. If a number of a building's occupants experience these health effects, which cannot be related to another source, it may be an indication that the air-conditioning system needs a check-up.

Also, the presence of mold can be a tell-tale sign that a problem exists. Exposure to mold can cause allergic reactions, infections, and irritant and toxic effects.

Air conditioners not only cool the air, but also lower humidity and remove dust and dirt by moving the air through the filters. According to www.alpinehomeair.com, when filters become clogged with dirt, the system must work harder, thus wasting energy and making utility bills rise as much as 8 percent or more.

A low level of Freon indicates a leak, which must be repaired before adding more refrigerant. Freon (R-22) is an EPA-controlled substance, deemed hazardous if released into the environment.

Changing air-conditioning filters, checking for and repairing leaks, and keeping the condensing unit drained are important, not only for health reasons, but for cost-effectiveness, as well, according to Andy Wyatt, owner of Wyatt Works of Chardon. Wyatt Works serviced air-conditioning needs in the tri-county area for years before recently focusing on plumbing only.

Julie Weis, area acting director of OSHA, says the agency cannot mandate that a company provide air conditioning or heating to its employees as the agency doesn't have comfort standards. The good news for local employees and a testament to the vigilance of facility owners and managers is it appears preventative measures remain an important component to businesses in the tri-county area. Phone calls to a myriad of local businesses and health agencies produced little indication of a problem.

Clearing the air

OSHA, however, has new standards in the works for other indoor air issues, such as employee exposure to metalworking fluid (MWF) levels. These would be relevant to metal stamping and machine/tool companies.

Weis says the local companies are pretty sophisticated in keeping their operations clean. Nancy Niehus, director of environmental health for the Lake County Health Department, confirms that there have been few complaints on a local level, so they don't have an indoor air pollution program in place.

The U.S. Department of Labor Web site defines MWFs as "a range of oils and other liquids that are used to cool and lubricate metalwork when being machined. When MWFs are used, a primary concern is the presence of contaminants that encourage the growth of bacteria and fungi.

While MWFs are used by most workers safely, problems can develop when good hygiene practices are not followed or when fluids are not properly managed or maintained. The result can be skin irritation, allergic contact dermatitis, irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, and, occasionally, breathing difficulties such as bronchitis and asthma.

The 2008 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses report released last October states that private industry workplace illnesses accounted for slightly more than 5 percent of the 3.7 million injury and illness cases in 2008. Nationally, 6,000 workers are killed on the job every year, 50,000 die from a work-related illness, and 6 million private industry and public sector workers get sick or injured at work, according to www.workplacefairness.org. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the total recordable case injury and illness incidence rate among private industry employers has declined significantly each year since 2003.

Kay Bryson is a Painesville-based freelance writer who has written for the Plain Dealer and many other publications.