Nothing lasts forever, or so they say. This can be especially true when it comes to small business phone systems. Most experts will tell you that the average life of a business phone system is five to seven years, although this can vary greatly depending on the type of business and what sort of growth they have experienced within that time frame. A company that is rapidly expanding will likely out grow an existing phone system, provided they are unable to expand it sufficiently, within a short amount of time. Likewise, a company that experiences very slow growth and adequately plans ahead for the future may be able to utilize a business phone system for well over a decade.

Unfortunately, despite advancements in production automation that have continued to improve, the reliability and dependability of modern business phone systems is not what it once was. Of course, this varies greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer, but generally speaking, the business phones of old were workhorses that could survive just about any type of abuse and continue to perform well year after year after year. This phenomenon can't be blamed entirely on phone manufacturers, however.

Technological advancements in recent years have forced manufacturers to incorporate fragile components into their products that, for the most part, remain untested in regard to their ability to handle extended years of everyday use and abuse. This often results in products that are unable to function, either completely or partially, within just a few years of being produced. In all likelihood, an LCD display is far more likely to experience a malfunction that results in a useless business phone than part of the internal mechanism of the phone, which has changed very little in the last few decades. All in all, business phone systems are not unlike any other product you might purchase. Buy something super state of the art and you are likely over paying. Buy something too old and you will likely have compatibility problems. It's best to keep two philosophies in mind... newer isn't always better and, you get what you pay for.