What is VOIP and how can it benefit my business?

What is VoIP?

There are many modern forms of communication that exist in the world today such as WhatsApp, Skype, or Facebook Messenger. One thing these platforms have in common is they not only enable you to send messages but also make calls via video or plain audio.

Historically a phone call required a line and a service provider. However, now you can make and receive calls all over the internet, using a technology called Voice Over IP (VoIP). Calls are routed over the internet instead of using traditional phone lines.

Not only is VOIP more affordable than traditional phone service, it offers greater flexibility and freedom to your staff. These are some of the benefits of using VOIP for businesses:

• Most VoIP services include advanced features such as call forwarding, caller ID, call waiting and call routing
• Cost savings for local, long distance and even international calls
• You can share one number with several employees
• You get access to advanced call software. Most VoIP business providers enable you to store customer information and collect analytics automatically, which is a big step up from rotary phones. You can easily track call duration, hold times, wait times, etc.
• You can answer calls right from your computer, VOIP handsets or even mobile phones. With VoIP, you don’t need to have a stationary phone sitting next to you at all times.

While VoIP has several advantages, there are some things you need to consider. First, you need to ensure you have a dependable internet provider and network in place. For larger scale organizations, some advanced network setup such as QOS implementation may be required to preserve the VOIP call quality. Another consideration is business VoIP solutions may require some additional training for your employees – especially if they’re used to working with a standard phone system. With that in mind, let’s talk a bit about when it makes sense to use VoIP for your business.

What Types of Businesses Can Benefit from Using VoIP?

Businesses that deal with a high volume of calls are naturally well-suited for VoIP services. In sales and service organizations, VoIP platform can provide advanced metrics and detailed logs of phone calls, save contact information, create and store recordings, and more. Those are all rather simple features from a technical standpoint, but they can be incredibly useful for a business. Businesses with multiple locations or remote staff can greatly benefit from the VOIP unified communication capabilities, as geographical location can be masked by the integration of the system.

Be sure to contact us if you would like to learn more about what VOIP solutions can do for your organization.