VoIP: A Phone System Solution for SMBs
A recommended technology solution for SMBs is VoIP (Voice-over-Internet Protocol) technology, which combines voice and data networks onto a single network. It creates a more manageable, cost-efficient, and proficient solution for business communications.
A VoIP system consists of several components. The telephones are the endpoints and can be either IP telephones or soft-phones residing on PCs. The role of an IP telephone is identical to that of a traditional telephone, but an IP telephone connects directly to a LAN (local area network) instead of a traditional telephone connection. The soft-phone is a program that runs on a PC and performs all of the same functions of a telephone using the PCs multimedia speakers and microphone, plus video in some instances.
IP-based (Internet Protocol) phone systems allow a business to extend consistent communication services to employees in all workspaces. Often, IP phones run directly over existing Internet connections; VoIP converts voice to data and sends the voice packets over the network. The most significant benefit from using VoIP is reduced telephone costs. Less expensive to operate than conventional telecom systems, it is estimated that more than 80 percent of companies planning to deploy VoIP expect payback within the first three years. Some companies have even experienced a return on investment within the first year.
In addition to the cost savings, businesses using VoIP experience other benefits including:
Web-based administration
System administration functions are performed on the network typically through a browser-based administration program.
Remote users
If an employee is at a remote office in Los Angeles and a call comes into the headquarters in New York, the call can be directed to the employee in Los Angeles just as if that person were in New York. The use of the corporate communication resources such as voice mail, automated attendant and e-mail are all centralized – simplifying all support and maintenance.
Leveraging the Internet for telephone calls
Employees working remotely can easily stay logged into the office without incurring any additional charges.
Private instant messaging
Instant messaging can be limited to corporate business, eliminating some of the security issues associated with public instant messaging sites. This provides complete control to management.
According to a Gartner survey, companies currently using this technology consider it to be better than traditional telephone systems. And after comparing advanced features, administration, cost of ownership, vendor support, end-user satisfaction, and quality of service, VoIP scored at least 70 percent better than the traditional telephone system.
The voice quality of a VoIP phone call should be at least as good as what the PSTN ((public switched telephone network a.k.a. POTS (plain old telephone service)) can provide. Of course, having enough bandwidth to handle the additional network traffic is required to ensure a high-level of sound quality and reliability, so an analysis of a company’s available bandwidth should be performed first.
VoIP is another highly recommended technology solution SMBs should implement, and we have already seen a spike in demand for this service.
About the Author: David Eisner is the President and CEO of Dataprise, a full-service network and IT support company that provides services growing businesses. Visit http://www.dataprise.com/ for more information.
Photo Credit: Kozumel
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Five Reasons Small Businesses Should Make the Switch to VoIP
I don’t know about you, but I’m not real savvy when it comes to VoIP. Luckily for me (and anyone else confused by VoIP) Brent Thomson, CEO of Jive Communications, offered to write a guest post for us explaining the top 5 reasons businesses should consider VoIP.
Let’s see what we can learn…
What is VoIP Anyway?
Voice over Internet Protocol, more commonly known as VoIP, might seem revolutionary, but it’s really just the natural evolution of communication. Most businesses can already support VoIP thanks to their high-quality and robust broadband Internet connection. These connections are typically capable of transmitting more data than the users really need—much the same way that most personal computers are far more powerful than most users really require.
The bandwidth that has become available in the last few years has enabled small businesses to ditch the traditional telephone provider in favor of one that transmits their voice communication over their existing network infrastructure instead of over a separate set of dedicated telephone wires.
Get More for Less With VoIP
But why make the switch if you’re already getting the services you need? The answer is simple: Get more, for less. Since you’re already paying for the high-speed Internet connection, making the switch to VoIP has never been easier, or been more cost-effective.
Surprisingly for me, selecting VoIP as my first company’s telephone service did not come so easy. In 2005, at my first startup, our 16 employees survived on just two lines connected to a couple of cordless phones. As you can imagine, we got a lot of complaints from our customers that they couldn’t get through to us on the phone since the line was always busy. We realized we needed a real phone system that would give us voicemail, call waiting, transferring between extensions, etc.
Five Reasons You Should Switch
However, to get a system with the number of handsets we needed and the features we wanted was going to carry a one-time cost around $30,000, with ongoing fees added in as well. The solution we found was much different then we imagined: We built our own VoIP system, and included all the features we needed. Along the way, I’ve learned a few things about VoIP that I’d like to share with you now as the top five reasons you should make the switch:
1. SCALABILITY
Adding new lines to your VoIP phone system is as easy as buying a new telephone and telling your provider you have it. Depending on your carrier, there may not even be any additional hardware or “connection” charges. This way, you pay only for capacity you need.
2. FUNCTIONALITY
Many small business VoIP systems are based on software, rather than physical telephony equipment. The advantage of being software-based is that the provider can extend the capabilities of their system without purchasing new hardware. Their reduced cost per feature carries through to the end user and gives the customer some pretty high-end functionality at a fraction of what it used to cost. Some of these features include call queues, conference calling, transfers and forwarding, ring groups, etc.
3. PROFESSIONALISM
When a customer calls your office, you can’t afford to look unprofessional. The right system will help you portray to your clients the professional image you deserve. Using an auto-attendant feature can give callers options (like pressing 1 for sales or two for support) and route calls directly where they need to go. Two people working out of their garage can offer the same level of professionalism and sophistication as a large company with several departments.
4. PORTABILITY
What makes VoIP portable is that your phones will behave identically whether it’s in your office, home, or at a hotel in Tokyo—anywhere you have a high-speed Internet connection. With traditional phone service, your number is tied to a single physical location and moving to another city or state means it’s time to get a new number. However, with VoIP it’s as easy as plugging in your phone wherever you are and the same number will still reach you.
5. PRICE
There are two reasons VoIP is cheaper: First, there’s a healthy level of competition among VoIP carriers. There are no natural monopolies like there are with traditional telephone service. Second, VoIP utilizes your existing Internet connection, which means you no longer pay for access and usage fees on two separate sets of wires.
Once you make the switch and see all of the options available to you with VoIP, rest assured that you would be glad you did it.
ABOUT BRENT THOMSON
Brent Thomson is the CEO of Jive Communications, an enterprise-quality VoIP company that specializes in serving small businesses. Thomson helped develop Jive’s VoIP platform to offer a wide range of features including music on hold, extension dialing, unified messaging and online account management to its customers throughout the United States.
As the chief engineer, he created Jive’s purpose-engineered communications platform from the ground up to be fault-tolerant and extremely scalable without the enormous cost of other telephone switching platforms.
Photo Credit: Seattle Municipal Archives
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