VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is the most up-to-date way businesses are managing their telephony systems. Even small home businesses have made use of VoIP solutions recently, as it’s a great way to allow multiple business lines while working at home.
Essentially it means that calls are made over the internet rather than using phone lines, which has a lot of benefits for businesses.
Cost-saving
The main reason that businesses are switching to VoIP solutions is that it is a lot cheaper. Traditional telephone systems require physical telephone lines to function, and if you need more lines, then you have to get more installed.
VoIP solutions use your existing internet connection to function, which is considerably cheaper than using physical telephone lines. You also have a lot more options when it comes to cost, as different VoIP providers will offer different bundles.
Better call quality
You can generally expect VoIP calls to be much higher quality than calls over a standard telephone line. VoIP calls can take up more bandwidth as they require it, whereas calls through a physical line are limited by the line and don’t have the option to take up more space.
Plus, if you are experiencing poor call quality through a VoIP network, there are various things that you can do to resolve the problem yourself:
- Upgrade your ethernet cable. This allows for greater transmission of data and can solve a lot of quality issues.
- Buying a new headset for calls. This can make a surprising amount of difference!
- Upgrade your wireless routers to ones that are designed to handle VoIP calls. These routers will be designed to protect VoIP traffic, which preserves call quality.
If you experience poor call quality with a physical line, you are left with little option other than to call out an engineer.
Additional features
VoIP solutions are software-based, which means that it’s easy to unlock additional functionality simply by upgrading your software. Some additional features that are available for VoIP systems are:
- Voicemail transcriptions – using a computer program to transcribe your voicemail messages for you automatically.
- Auto attendants – this means that callers can automatically be transferred to the correct person or department without the need for a human telephone operator.
- HD voice and audio – allowing much better quality calls.
Flexibility
It’s likely that 25-30% of the workforce will be working from home by the end of 2021, and using a VoIP system means that you can guarantee the same call quality for home workers as you can for those working in the office. It also means that you can easily set people up to work either at home, in the office, or in a mixture of the two.
Future-proofing
VoIP systems mean that it’s just as easy to add fifty new users as it is to add five, so by having a VoIP system if your business does well and increases in size in the future, you’ll be prepared for the additional staff without needing to install phone lines.