Internet, Voice & Communications – Why It Makes Sense to Manage It All in One Place

Sep 21

5 min read

When the internet stops working, almost everything stops with it.

Email. Microsoft 365. Teams. Cloud applications. EFTPOS. Remote access. VoIP phones. File sharing. Customer service.

For most businesses today, internet connectivity isn't simply another utility. It's a critical part of the IT environment.

Yet it's still common for a business to have one company providing its internet, another looking after its phones, someone else managing its IT, and different suppliers responsible for services such as 3CX and domain or hosting renewals.

Everything works reasonably well — until something goes wrong.

Then the first question becomes:

"Who do we call?"

At Sigma IT, we think there's a better way.

We can manage your business internet, voice services and communications alongside your IT environment, giving you one team to call and one team responsible for getting things working.

Your Internet Connection Should Fit Your Business

Not every business needs the same internet connection.

A small office using Microsoft 365 has very different requirements from a company regularly transferring large design files, running cloud applications, supporting dozens of users or operating multiple locations.

That's why we don't believe in simply selling everyone the fastest connection available. We look at how your business actually uses the internet, including:

How many people are using the connection
The cloud applications your business relies on
The amount of data you regularly upload and download
Whether you're using VoIP or 3CX
Whether staff need to work remotely
Large file transfers such as design, CAD or video
Servers or systems requiring external access
Connectivity between multiple offices or locations

From there, we can recommend an internet plan and speed appropriate for your requirements.

And as your business changes, your connectivity can change with it.

When a Static IP Matters

Most people never need to think about their IP address. For some businesses, however, having a static public IP address is important.

A static IP provides your connection with a consistent internet address rather than one that may change. This can be useful for:

Secure remote access
VPN connections
Remote access to servers and business systems
Site-to-site connectivity
Firewall rules and access controls
Certain hosted services
Systems that need to recognise connections from a known IP address

Sigma IT can determine whether your business actually needs a static IP and configure the surrounding network and security appropriately.

It's another example of why internet connectivity and IT shouldn't really be treated as completely separate services.

Business Voice Has Changed

The traditional phone line has largely given way to VoIP — Voice over Internet Protocol.

Instead of requiring conventional phone lines, calls are carried over your internet connection. That opens up far more flexibility in how a business handles its communications.

Depending on your requirements, a modern VoIP solution can provide:

Business phone numbers and number porting
Calling plans to suit different usage levels
Call queues and auto attendants
Call forwarding and voicemail
Conference calling
SIP trunks
Desktop softphones and mobile apps
Remote and mobile working
Integration with platforms such as 3CX

For businesses using 3CX, Sigma IT can also manage the voice services and SIP trunks behind the platform, along with the 3CX environment itself.

That means fewer suppliers and fewer moving parts for you to manage.

One Provider Means One Call

This is where we believe the real benefit lies.

Imagine your phones suddenly stop working. The problem could be:

The internet connection
The firewall
The local network
The VoIP service
The 3CX system
The handset or computer

When these services are supplied and supported by different companies, troubleshooting can quickly become frustrating.

Your ISP says the connection is fine. Your phone provider says it's an IT issue. Your IT provider says it's the carrier.

Meanwhile, your staff still can't make calls.

When Sigma IT manages the internet connection, network and voice environment, you call us.

We can look at the complete picture rather than one small piece of it.

No chasing multiple suppliers
No trying to work out whose problem it is
No getting caught in the middle

Our job is to identify the problem and help get your business connected again.

We Know What's Behind the Connection

There's another advantage to having your IT provider manage your internet service: we already understand your environment.

For our managed clients, that can include:

Your firewall and network
Your Wi-Fi environment
Your Microsoft 365 services
Your computers and devices
Your VoIP and 3CX configuration
Your security and backup environment
Your existing support history

That context can make troubleshooting considerably easier.

Rather than an internet provider simply confirming that a connection is online, we can investigate what's actually happening across the wider IT environment.

Connectivity and Security Go Hand in Hand

Your internet connection is also the gateway between your business and the outside world. That makes security an important part of the conversation.

Providing business internet isn't simply about getting a fibre connection installed. It needs to work alongside the other layers protecting your business, such as:

Properly configured firewalls
Secure business Wi-Fi
Endpoint protection
Microsoft security and identity management
Backup and disaster recovery
Secure remote access
Appropriate network configuration

At Sigma IT, we can look at connectivity as part of the complete IT environment rather than treating it as an isolated service.

More Than Internet and Phones

Communications environments often involve a surprising number of services and renewals:

Internet connections and plans
Business phone numbers
VoIP calling plans
SIP trunks
3CX licensing and renewals
Domains and hosting services
SiteHost renewals
Network equipment
Firewall configuration

For a busy business owner or office manager, keeping track of all of this isn't particularly productive.

Where we're managing these services, Sigma IT can take care of them as part of the wider relationship.

It means fewer suppliers for you to deal with and fewer important renewals or services to keep track of internally.

One Relationship as Your Business Grows

Perhaps you start with a straightforward business fibre connection and a few VoIP users.

Then the business changes. You might:

Employ more people
Open another office
Introduce 3CX
Need a static IP
Upgrade your firewall or network
Add remote workers
Increase your internet speed
Need better connectivity between locations

Because Sigma IT understands both the communications and IT sides of your business, we can adapt the solution as your requirements change.

You don't need to redesign everything every time the business grows.

Why Sigma IT?

We're not interested in simply selling you an internet connection. As Donald Singh from Sigma IT puts it, the important part is understanding how a business actually works and making sure its internet, network, voice and IT systems work together.

Having worked with business technology for many years, Donald has seen how quickly things can become complicated when different providers are responsible for different parts of the same environment.

That's why our approach is to look at the complete picture — recommending an appropriate internet service, helping configure the network around it, providing voice solutions that suit the way your team works and being there when you need support. Most importantly, it means one point of contact:

Then continue with the existing:

Internet problem? Call us.
VoIP problem? Call us.
3CX issue? Call us.
Domain or hosting question? Call us.
Not sure whether it's the network, internet or computer? Call us.

You don't need to diagnose the problem before asking for help.

That's our job.

Let's Talk About Your Connectivity

Whether you're opening a new office, reviewing an existing internet connection, moving away from traditional phone lines, considering 3CX or simply tired of dealing with multiple providers, talk to Sigma IT.

We'll look at what your business actually needs and put together an internet, voice and communications solution to match.

And when you need help, you'll know exactly who to call.

Talk to Sigma IT today about your business internet, voice and communications requirements.