The Next Big Thing in VoIP
VoIP Business Services is converged communications protocols and converging networks which offer hosted IP communication and unified communications protocols on the same network. These services are being deployed to replace traditional PBX systems. Businesses are offered hosted IP conferencing services and various other features including call recording, voice message management, video conferencing, and file sharing, all in a single place. These IP converged communication solutions are being designed by leading companies like RingCentral. VoIP is ideal for small, medium, and large businesses due to its ability to easily integrate and also to run unified communications.
With VoIP, businesses have the opportunity to reduce their IT expenditures and at the same time increase productivity, while minimizing telecommunications expenses. This type of converged communications platform allows for unified communications at lower overall costs. The basic premise of VoIP is to leverage voice, data, and IP communications for optimal functionality at low total cost. The core elements of a VoIP system include voice-based applications, an IP network, converged infrastructure, billing software, and a security gateway. A business phone services provider offers integrated access to business phone services such as extensions, interoffice and circuit switching, and wiring.
One of the most popular features of VoIP business services is the ability to use the Internet to make telephone calls. Unlike traditional analog voice systems, voice over IP uses the Internet, instead of traditional phones, for making phone calls. In fact, you can use an Internet enabled telephone for voice calls and faxes even when there is no Internet connection. Some VoIP service providers include a feature called Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) gateways, which allows the user of the service to make phone calls through the Internet just like he would with a regular phone.
With a VoIP business services provider,
consumers can take advantage of a variety of features that would otherwise be impossible to do if he used a regular phone. Features such as automated attendant, call forwarding, conference calling, and three way calling are some of the advantages that can be enjoyed by consumers. Additionally, these systems often include call transfer services, which allow multiple numbers to be contacted simultaneously.
There are a number of reasons why businesses choose to use hosted IP telephony rather than traditional phone services. Hosted IP telephony is usually faster, has a lower signal latency, and provides increased bandwidth. This is because all of the work is done on the provider’s servers, which means that there is no need for employees to share infrastructure or handle security risks. In addition, hosted IP phones generally have better sound quality and greater frequency than their traditional counterparts. Also, many businesses find that they are more cost effective when hosted IP phones are used as opposed to traditional phones. One disadvantage of using a hosted IP Telephony solution is that it can reduce the productivity of employees who make long distance calls, as they are required to dial multiple times into the same number.
An IP phone system is only useful if you have employees who can make international long distance calls easily. This is why businesses that have employees in other parts of the country have opted to use cloud-based voice systems. The advantage of using cloud-based solutions is that users are assigned IP numbers that they can change easily. As long as the connection remains active, employees will be able to make calls from anywhere in the world at a very high level of quality.
As VoIP continues to grow in popularity,
it is expected that many more organizations will choose to implement a hosted IP telephone system over a traditional phone system. This trend will likely continue for several years as most businesses discover that they can save significant amounts of money on their communications expenses by leveraging the existing technology in conjunction with VoIP. Cloud-based VoIP systems are also becoming more common with many organizations purchasing voice over ip services rather than dedicated systems that use IP phones. These organizations are typically smaller businesses that cannot afford to maintain a full network infrastructure and have failed to benefit from the massive profits that VoIP can generate because they have not invested in its extensive marketing campaign.
- VoIP has the potential to completely alter the way communications take place between companies and their customers.
- Large corporations may not see the need for a hosted VoIP solution until the mass market takes hold of the product.
- Right now there are a few select businesses that have chosen to implement VoIP via a Vonage service.
- These companies include Vonage, AT&T, and Vonage Pro.
- If you are interested in learning more about VoIP and how it can benefit your business, you can visit the VoIP Guide.