It’s an acronym that stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, which means voice communications using internet data. VoIP is often referred to as IP telephony. It provides more communication features and options for the small business owner to utilize. Businesses that implement VoIP technology will experience many benefits.
The primary benefit is cost. Small businesses can now afford to upgrade from landlines to mobile VoIP services with hosted PBX solutions. There are no long distance charges and no additional hardware costs. The allocation of the bandwidth is managed by the provider and there is no need for equipment upgrades. This results in significant cost savings for small to mid-size businesses.
Another primary benefit is enhanced call center operations. Large companies still have an in-house call center, but some companies have outgrown the capabilities of their current phone system. Hosted PBX solutions offer true scalable, reliable, scalable, and cost-effective phone system with advanced features. Through hosted VoIP services, a company can expand its call center capacity and reduce call traffic. Hosted VoIP service has a high call volume and excellent response time with low overhead.
Hosted VoIP phone service allows an individual or business to install a hosted VoIP system within its own network. This gives the business access to a real telephone number while keeping all the features and benefits of a traditional PSTN service. Calls can be made, transferred, received, routed, and set up just the way a traditional telephone system would. Unlike a conventional PSTN system, voice quality is not compromised due to high call volume.
Providers also provide SIP trunks so that organizations can branch out into different geographic markets. By using hosted VoIP phone systems, an organization can add extensions to increase its geographic reach. The network administrator can select which services to provide and which services to avoid. SIP trunks are managed by the service provider and only specific IP numbers are assigned to each user in the network.
There are two types of hosted VoIP phone service providers
Internet-based calls and PBX. Internet-based services are generally less expensive because they use virtual IP connections and SIP trunks. However, they do not provide the same features as a hosted solution. In order for an organization to select an appropriate hosted VoIP phone service provider, it must evaluate the needs of its employees, equipment and bandwidth.
Different vendors offer SIP trunks at varying prices. A VoIP phone system with a single trunk allows a single phone number to be connected to several numbers. Multiple trunks can also be provided if the phone company needs to accommodate more than a single customer. Most providers also provide SIP trunks free of charge. However, users need to subscribe to the VoIP service in order to receive these benefits.
There are three primary advantages of utilizing a hosted VoIP service over an internet-based PBX. The primary benefit is that there is no long distance charges since voice calls made within the area covered by the VoIP service are free. Another advantage is that the maintenance costs for a sip trunk are lower than traditional PBXs. The final benefit is that SIP based voice communication is much more efficient than traditional methods of voice communication.
SIP-based voice calls are similar to those made using a traditional phone system. This includes features such as call forwarding, voicemail, auto attendant, and conference calling. But with a hosted VoIP phone system, users have access to features not available with a traditional phone system. Users can make unlimited long distance, STD, dial up and broadband calls for free. They also have the option of subscribing to a data plan which enables them to make unlimited downloads of information and data.
Businesses can also utilize VoIP technology to save money.
By switching their existing phone system over to a hosted VoIP service, businesses can eliminate long distance and international fees for their VoIP service. Hosted VoIP also allows businesses to save money on equipment costs as well as long-distance rates. VoIP can also be used by companies who use alternative forms of communication such as email or fax. Some providers even offer hosted VoIP with free software.
- Apart from saving money, entrepreneurs can also use VoIP to enhance productivity.
- With a fully automated VoIP setup, businesses can obtain improved workflow through the use of advanced features such as task management, productivity reporting, and integration with applications.
- Hosted VoIP solutions can also improve business efficiency through automatic connection and communication with other servers through a virtual PBX.
- To learn more about the benefits of a modern phone system with IP telephony, feel free to visit the VoIP Powered website today.