Are you like the many other business leaders who are considering a move to hosted VoIP technology? If so, you are following in the footsteps of the multitude who now swell the ranks of the VoIP marketplace. Just look at these 2014 numbers from Infonetics Research: The global business and residential VoIP services market grew 8 percent in 2013 to $68 billion, and there will be strong worldwide growth in VoIP services revenue through 2018, when it will reach $88 billion.

What are the factors that would indicate your company could benefit from joining this IP telephony trend? There are a few important ones; so, before making a move, protect your company’s investments with due diligence in the following areas:

• Consider your organization’s business requirements: Ask your employees about their telephony and communications needs. Do they want access to their in-office phone features from their mobile devices? Do they need to be able to work from anywhere while seeming to be in the office? Obtain input from key staff members and include this feedback in the list of features you will request from potential vendors.

• Evaluate your enterprise’s technology requirements: Any VoIP system’s quality of service will be dependent upon your internal network, as well as on the connection to the hosted VoIP provider. You must partner with your IT team to evaluate your network to ensure that it is designed to handle voice data. Companies with higher-than-average data requirements must make sure they have enough bandwidth to handle the new system’s data load. What’s more, you must have a failover plan to protect your phone service if your primary circuit goes down.

• Assess the vendor’s capacity to meet your needs: Before you sign on the dotted line, it’s paramount that you are clear about what you’re getting with the solution. For instance, ensure it is fully redundant with your company’s business continuity plan. Ask whether the solution is able to grow with your organization.