VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is changing how businesses handle communication by using the internet for calls instead of traditional phone lines. It offers major benefits like lower costs, easy scalability, and remote access—but it also has some drawbacks to consider.
In this blog, you will learn how VoIP works, the main advantages, and the potential challenges to help decide if it’s right for your business.
The following are some of the benefits that you can gain by making use of VoIP services.
Advantages of VoIP for Businesses
VoIP has many benefits that makes it a good communication solution for businesses. With the capacity to save you valuable time and money, VoIP optimizes convenience and improves productivity.
Internet-based calling allows for cost association reduction, with many additional features and collaboration capabilities. Here are the major business benefits of opting for VoIP systems:
Cost Effective
VoIP services are highly cost-effective and can benefit enterprises that operate worldwide and need to communicate with employees in various parts of the world.
With VoIP services, long-distance calls will not cost you much money, as you are not using commercial telecommunication lines for communication purposes but the Internet for voice communication.
Furthermore, in VoIP services, even the organizations and enterprises don’t have to depend on additional manpower and types of equipment as well. There is no need to have an independent PBX tie line for each of the employees who are working in the office.
Host of Media Services
There are very few forms of media services which are available in conventional phone services. You still only place calls and send fax messages to its regular telephone services. Unlike basic phone service, VoIP gives you a plethora of media services.
You can talk to your friends and family members living in different parts of the world, video chat with them, instant messages can be sent to them, you can determine whether they are online or not. VoIP technology even gives you the option to send and receive photos and documents which you can not do while easily communicating through conventional phone services.
Portability
When it comes to conventional phone handsets, they are not portable, so it means you cannot carry, or take the phone wherever you want. The line that connects the phone will not allow you to move away from a specific location, and you will have to make your calls while sitting in one place.
VoIP services eliminate these restrictions, enabling you to roam between places while making a hypothetically call, either voice or video. As the VoIP services are fired up over the internet rather than being an actual designated phone line, you to have a functional internet connection (of any type) anywhere; VoIP on your Smartphone is your calling option.
Best of all, VoIP service providers provide businessmen softphones that they can take with them on their travels while utilizing the same virtual number they have been given.
Easy Installation and Maintenance
VoIP installation is not a complex process. Unlike VoIP, the telephone lines can only be set up by a phone company technician. Installing phone lines is quite complex and time consuming while that of VoIP services is easy and fast.
Editing service for VoIP services is not required by a specialist as required in phone lines say for a phone line, a certified technician of the respective phone company has to maintenance work. The VoIP components are primarily software rather than hardware based they are therefore more manageable than the phone lines.
Control over User Interface
User can control the User interface of the VoIP service. This also means that the end users can easily switch the features and options presented to them by the VoIP service provider. A VoIP service usually offers a web GUI (Graphical User Interface) to its users with whom it is operated.
Features such as speed dial, blocking of anonymous calls and setting of online or offline status empower users with a level of control over the service which users do not possess with a conventional phone service.
Scalability
Another factor that contributes to the success of VoIP in commercial settings is its Scalability as you can easily add more components onto your existing network when you upgrade without making major changes in infrastructure.
If you’re looking to expand your operations with phone services, it will require spending on cable lines and a lot of hardware. While phone services use hardware for converting voice into signals so they are not that easily modified, this is not the case with VoIP services who uses software for transforming voice into digital signals and they can be altered much more easily.
Elimination of Geographical Boundaries
VoIP technology you can live free from geographical limitations. With a VoIP service, you aren’t restricted to an area code in a certain region, so you don’t even need to live in the country you subscribe to a number in.
For example, a VoIP service can still allow you to subscribe to a U.S or U.K number even if you are living in Japan. Any of the calls you thus make to the U.S or U.K will be local (for you) and will not cost you much money.
Data Integration
With a few clicks, it is possible to integrate many different services to the existing communication network of VoIP. For example, business can connect their data center with that of the communication software of the VoIP.
Now, when any customer makes a call, the VoIP Caller ID will recognize the caller and retrieve his files from the data center of the company. In this manner, the customer service representative is going to have whatever information about the customer right in front of him(preservation order) while talking to him.
So it can easily be comprehended that the VoIP technology has a lot of advantages to provide to the working-level user and even more beneficial for the enterprises and mega multi-national corporations.
Disadvantages of VoIP
VoIP has many advantages, but you know, not all that glitters is gold. Since it is based on the internet, we can also find some disadvantages that make the quality of the service vary.
Some of the differences from traditional exchanges include, for example, how we handle emergency calls. Here are some of the major disadvantages of VoIP:
Internet Dependency
Since the performance of a VoIP call depends on the speed and reliability of the Internet, weak connections can result in interrupted calls, poor audio quality or service interruptions.
Latency and Jitter
Of course, everything that depends on the internet has its Achilles heel. In this case it is latency and jitter, that is, the delay in data transmission. I’m sure you’ve already experienced it in videoconferences or voice conferences and they are a total nuisance.
Emergency Call Limitations
While you can make emergency calls over VoIP, the service might not always retrieve the accurate location in a rare emergency, and that might prove problematic when the response of emergency services is critical.
Security Concerns
Yes, telephones are also targets for hacking. Of course, those that are IP-based. In this case, they are susceptible to computer hacking, phishing and malware if they are not properly protected, which you can achieve by encrypting data end-to-end and with security protocols, to name a few ways.
VoIP vs Traditional Landline
What is the difference between traditional fixed lines and VoIP? In terms of functionality, none. In terms of effectiveness, while VoIP is based on technology, cost reduction and flexibility, fixed lines depend on physical cables and circuit switching networks which, while they provide a constant service, are more expensive.
Unlike that, VoIP utilizes internet links, making it a less expensive, element rich substitute. Unlike landlines, which function strictly for voice calls to set locations, VoIP allows multimedia communication, remote work, and expansion.
While landlines are reliable during power outages, they are less versatile and can be more expensive than their VoIP counterparts. If you are looking for flexibility, for any modern business, VoIP is usually the way to go.
What You Need to Set Up a VoIP System
Setting up this system is simple, however, some parts will always be necessary to facilitate perfect performance. For example, for stable calls you need broadband.
Then, businesses require VoIP-enabled phones or softphones operating on computers or mobile devices. You’ll also need a VoIP service provider to manage call routing and other features (like voicemail, call forwarding and conferencing).
The performance is boosted by routers, switches, and super quality headsets. It is also important to establish firewalls and encryption for increased security. This allows businesses to set up an effective, low-cost business communications system within the controls in place to facilitate and continue with remote work, as well as international operations.
How to Choose the Right VoIP Provider
As with any selection of service providers, we should look for the best. If we want high-quality communication and a stable and reliable service, we should evaluate certain characteristics, such as call management, videoconferencing, mobile applications and CRM integration.
Evaluate their customer service, uptime guarantee, and service scalability. Choose providers that employ strong security protocols, such as encryption and multi-factor authentication. Pricing is also a consideration — compare plans, and check for hidden fees.
You can also make an informed decision by reading customer reviews and checking the provider’s reputation. With a good VoIP provider, your business communication gets more reliable, it improves productivity, and caters to potential growth in the long run.
Related: VoIP Business Phone Systems – 2 of 2 – Making the Decision
