VoIP Phones for Your Business
What is VoIP?
VoIP is an acronym for Voice over Internet Protocol. Simply put, it allows you to make and receive phone calls over the internet, without having any telephone lines coming into your office or residence.
VoIP explained
Voice is treated just like data – it is converted into bits and bytes at the source location and transmitted, then reassembled at the destination back to voice. Earlier, broadband was not so common. In the absence of high-speed internet, there were delays in transmission and this often resulted in “I can’t hear you. You are breaking up” experiences. This unfortunately led to a bad name for VoIP, which is not really a new technology. Many have subsequently never given it a second thought. Don’t be surprised if that is the prevailing sentiment if you ask others who have considered VoIP years ago.
However, a lot of things have changed. Internet has become faster, and several have tweaked VoIP so that it is literally as good as a conventional phone line. Nowadays, you can even send and receive faxes over VoIP – they call it FoIP or Fax over Internet Protocol.
Why should you consider VoIP?
It is a matter of cost. There are free VoIP services as well as paid VoIP, but even with the latter, which offers added features such as voicemail and routing calls to your mobile phone, your phone bill is likely to be reduced significantly.
If you were considering installing a business phone/communication system, the cost of a VoIP system, compared to a standard PBX system, is significantly lower, by as much as 80%. There are further savings to be had in calling costs. Even if you have an existing PBX installed at your office, an Analog Telephone Adaptor or ATA can do the trick of converting all your normal landline phones into IP phones. Because they essentially use a technology that is best suited for telephone lines, it is recommended that you use IP phones (which appear similar to normal phones) so as to get the best out of your VoIP system. Employees at remote locations can also be connected over VoIP.
The best part is, nobody has to know you are using VoIP – your phone number is no different than a landline connection. Even if you have an existing phone/fax number, you don’t have to change it (we know this can lead to loss of business) – you can simply ‘port’ it to a VoIP service provider.
Businesses having been vastly improving their profitability by adopting VoIP. Call Owyls at 985-231-6095 to find out how you too can do the same.