How Businesses Save $1.5M on Phone Systems

FAQ: How Businesses Save Big on Phone Systems

Q: How can switching from a legacy phone system to hosted VoIP actually save my business money?
A:  When you move from old, on-premise hardware to hosted Voice over IP (VoIP), you get rid of expensive servers, legacy equipment, and a lot of on-site maintenance. One of our largest customers saved $1.5 million a year on their telephone spend just by moving away from legacy hardware, decommissioning servers, and eliminating extra staff time tied up in managing those systems (4:22).

Q: What sizes and types of organizations benefit from hosted VoIP?
A:  We have customers ranging from a single user with just our True Talk app to 11,000 phones across 125 locations for a school system (27:01). Hosted VoIP scales from small businesses and churches all the way up to county governments, city governments, K-12 school systems, community colleges, and financial institutions (27:26).

Q: Can hosted VoIP really help with disaster recovery and remote work?
A: Yes. Instead of hauling a physical phone system to a backup office every time there’s a hurricane or disaster, you just grab a laptop and a headset and work from anywhere with an internet connection (5:05). That’s a huge cost and stress reduction compared to maintaining duplicate offices and hardware (5:16).

Q: What happens to my phone numbers and customer calls when an employee leaves?
A: With our True Talk mobile app, every business call and text goes through your VoIP number, not your employee’s personal cell (7:21). When someone moves on from your company, you keep the number, the SMS history, and the customer relationship. You’re not losing business because customers are still calling a former employee’s personal phone (7:29).

Most organizations with an old phone system tend to say the same thing:

“It just works.” (5:48)

The bill is in the budget. The phones still ring. On the surface, there’s no urgent reason to change anything.

The problem is what happens when it breaks or when you try to grow.

Albert Steed from True IP Solutions shares a real example from a local dentist's office in Wilmington, NC. They were running a Panasonic system tucked away in a closet.

One day, the building was struck by lightning, and all 10 phones in the practice went down. They had to run to the store, buy a single-line phone, and plug it in just to make and receive calls (6:11).

They called True IP Solutions in a panic. Within two days, Albert’s team ported their numbers and moved them to hosted VoIP (6:35). That’s the moment a legacy system stops being “good enough” and becomes a costly liability.

On top of that:

• You’re paying to maintain obsolete hardware and servers.
• You may be relying on a tiny group of people who know how that system works.
• As regulations change—especially for POTS (plain old telephone service)—your monthly costs can explode overnight.

One county government was paying $75/month for a POTS line and decided to ignore the warning email that pricing was going up.

They assumed it might jump to $100.

The next bill? $2,000 for a single phone line (25:38).

That’s the cost of staying on something “because it works.”

How One Organization Saved $1.5 Million a Year

When Albert talks about cost savings with hosted VoIP, he’s not speaking hypothetically.

“One of our largest customers ended up saving a million and a half dollars a year on their telephone spend.” (4:22)

Here’s what changed for them:

• They decommissioned legacy hardware and servers they no longer needed to maintain (4:32).
• They were able to let a few staff members retire early, because the extra workload of maintaining those systems simply disappeared (4:32–4:37).
• Their communications became easier to manage and more flexible, without sacrificing reliability.

That’s the real financial story of hosted VoIP:

• Lower hardware and maintenance costs
• Less time and staff dedicated to “babysitting” phone systems
• More freedom to scale up or down without major capital expenses

For many businesses, those savings are measured not just in dollars but in stress and time reclaimed.

Cloud-Hosted VoIP: Built-In Disaster Recovery and Flexibility

Before True IP Solutions, Albert worked for a fintech company that ran call centers for banks and credit unions (4:48). Their disaster plan looked like this:

• They had a physical phone system in a box in Wilmington.
• If a hurricane was coming, they’d fly it to Atlanta, set up in a separate office, and relocate staff just to keep phones running (4:59–5:11).

When they switched to True IP’s hosted VoIP:

• The entire “second office” could be decommissioned (5:16).
• Employees got “go bags” with a headset and a laptop (5:23).
• In a disaster, people could work from anywhere in the world with an internet connection—hotel, family member’s house, wherever (5:23–5:29).

That’s what hosted VoIP does:

• Your phone system lives in secure data centers, not a closet in your building (3:11, 3:17).
• True IP runs across five data centers in the U.S., with SLAs that guarantee uptime (3:17).
• You connect using a desk phone, mobile app, or web phone, without worrying about the underlying infrastructure (3:23–3:29).

Instead of investing in duplicate offices, extra hardware, and emergency travel, you shift to a more resilient, cloud-based design that just works—anywhere.

Owning Your Customer Communication (Without Owning Their Cell Phones)

One of the most overlooked money leaks in business is the impact of a salesperson leaving.

Albert shares the scenario:

“If you’re a sales agency or a car dealership, do you want customers calling a personal cell phone for your sales agent?” (7:21)

If that salesperson moves to a different agency, all your customers will still call their number. You lose control of the relationship.

With hosted VoIP and the True Talk mobile app:

• You give employees a business number and SMS capability on their phone (7:48). 
• Every call and text goes through your VoIP platform.
• When someone leaves, you still own the number and the communication history.

“Now, every phone call they make, every text message they send, you own it. It’s yours.” (7:48–8:01)

That’s not just about security. It’s about protecting the revenue you’ve already paid to acquire.

Why POTS Replacement Can’t Wait Anymore

POTS—plain old telephone service, the traditional copper phone line—is being sunsetted (31:34–31:46). As regulations shift, carriers don’t want to maintain those networks, and they’re making it very expensive to keep them.

The catch: a lot of critical systems still depend on those lines, including:

• Fire alarms
• Security systems
• Refrigerators and freezers that send alerts
• Panic buttons
• Elevator lines (31:46–31:57)

Instead of ripping everything out and rewiring your building, True IP Solutions uses a POTS replacement device:

• They pull the old copper line off (32:03–32:10).
• Plug those same wires into their platform and case.
• The unit includes a backup battery and backup internet source so you stay compliant for life-safety systems (32:15–32:27).

You keep your existing equipment but avoid runaway POTS costs and compliance issues. That’s another layer of long-term savings and risk reduction.

The “Triple Play”: Voice, Security, and Paging Working Together

True IP Solutions calls their offering the Triple Play (8:18):

1. Voice over IP (Hosted VoIP) – your core phone system.
2. Security and Access Control – badge access, cameras, door prop alarms, active gun detection, and more (8:25–10:37, 23:03).
3. Paging Systems – overhead paging for schools, warehouses, retirement homes, and large facilities (9:06, 30:32–31:23).
   
   

These systems start to work together:

• A video call box at your front door rings a desk phone so staff can see and talk to visitors and buzz them in from a touch screen (9:23–9:40).
• AI tools can monitor camera feeds for gun threats or abnormal badge activity and alert security before something happens (10:23–10:54, 23:09–23:33).

While the Triple Play isn’t only about cost savings, it removes the need to juggle multiple disconnected vendors and systems. That simplification is a big part of how organizations save money and headaches over time.

Choosing a VoIP Partner You Can Actually Reach

Albert is very clear: the technology matters, but the partner matters more.

“We want to be your partner…where you can call us and say, ‘I’ve got this problem, I have this need. How can you help me?’” (32:39–32:52)

What sets True IP Solutions apart:

• 24/7 staffed support with real people (33:14, 15:51).
• Support is always U.S.-based—the only accent you might hear is “a little bit of a country accent” (15:27–15:40).
• Customers even have technicians’ direct VoIP cell numbers for urgent issues (15:57–16:08).
• If a frontline technician can’t fix it, they escalate immediately up the chain so you’re not left wondering when someone will get back to you (33:21–33:33).

In Albert’s words:

“We want to make the solution work so well that after that you really don’t ever have to think about it again.” (32:52–33:03)

That’s the real freedom businesses are buying.

Who True IP Solutions Serves Best

True IP Solutions works with businesses across the country, but their “sweet spot” is:

• K–12 school systems
• Community colleges and charter schools
• City and local governments (27:26–27:44)

They also support:

• Small businesses
• Agricultural organizations
• Larger companies and financial institutions that require SOC and financial auditing compliance (27:49–28:09).

Installations range from single-user setups to thousands of phones across multi-site environments (27:01, 27:09).

Ready to See What Your Business Could Save?

If you’re still running an older phone system because “it just works,” you may be:

• Overpaying for legacy hardware, maintenance, and POTS lines
• Carrying unnecessary risk in disasters
• Losing control of customer communication when employees leave
• Missing out on built-in flexibility your team could use right now

Albert and the team at True IP Solutions are happy to take a look at what you’re doing today and show you what moving to hosted VoIP and POTS replacement could save you—whether that number is $15,000 or $1.5 million a year.

You can get started by visiting trueipsolutions.com, using the contact form, calling their office, or reaching out by email (34:03–34:14).

They’ll meet you where you are—on site, over video via their True Collab platform, or wherever it makes sense for your organization (34:21–34:33).