VoIP – Futureproof Telephony ideal for our new working world

The global turmoil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has laid bare the inflexibility inherent in traditional telephony. As offices lie empty, traditional phone systems featuring extensive cabling and PBX systems have had to be abandoned in favour of IP-based methods of communication that let teams keep in touch from any location.

Plus, with the demise of the traditional telephone network on the horizon, there really is no reason not to make the switch to an IP-based phone system now.

VoIP is the solution, or rather it’s a range of solutions that use IP networks as a transport medium for voice and video data. While VoIP may be an unfamiliar term to some, almost all of us have experienced VoIP in action through the likes of Facetime, Zoom or Skype.

So what’s so great about VoIP?

Firstly, there are a number of ways to implement VoIP telephony as we’ve mentioned in the previous article. Each method of implementation brings its own set of benefits. Having said that, there are a number of benefits common to all VoIP solutions. Let’s explore these now.

The Business Benefits of VoIP Telephony

VoIP is cheaper. VoIP is cheaper than traditional telephony due to the way data is sent compared to traditional telephony. Traditional telephony uses ‘circuit switching,’ which requires a dedicated channel between two callers to be maintained for the duration of the call – this means dedicated phone lines, which over a long distance is expensive to set up and maintain. VoIP, on the other hand, uses ‘packet switching,’ a method whereby data is routed through the internet in ‘packets’ whenever voice or video data is picked up – the connection isn’t continuous, rather it stops and restarts whenever someone speaks.

This makes VoIP cheaper for 2 reasons:

• Without the need for dedicated channels, far less cabling infrastructure is needed overall. Less infrastructure means less system maintenance and less maintenance means cheaper call charges.
• VoIP only requires an internet connection rather than a dedicated line. This connection could be through WiFi, mobile data or an ethernet cable. This avoids having to install new phone lines installed in your office.

VoIP offers mobility. In a traditional phone system, each line that runs to a business is assigned a phone number – this number is therefore assigned to a fixed physical location. In a VoIP system, there are no such dedicated, physical phone lines and therefore your phone number is not location-specific. This means a VoIP contact number can be carried with you, and used from anywhere with an internet connection.

VoIP is feature-rich and Flexible. VoIP systems often come packed with helpful productivity-boosting features accessed through your PC, laptop, smartphone or a high-tech IP-enabled handset. In addition to the features common to traditional PBX phone systems, VoIP solutions often feature a number of ‘call centre’ style features, ideal for businesses which handle high call volumes. Such features include:

• Intelligent call routing – route inbound calls to the most suitable person or department, first time, every time!
• Call queueing – keep inbound callers assured that they are in a queue and their call will be answered shortly.
• Call recording – record calls for training purposes and to ensure regulatory compliance.
• Call monitoring and statistics – track and review call performance. How many calls were answered today? What was the average call duration?

Other features include things like voicemail to text transcription. Say you’re waiting in the call queue for a while and while you’re waiting you miss several calls from clients. A voicemail to text feature will transcribe voicemails as you receive them and send them to your email inbox. This way you can plan return calls or have another employee call the client back while you wait in the queue, thus making use of the time that would otherwise be wasted.

Voicemail forwarding is another useful feature that lets you forward an important voicemail to other employees just as you would with an important email.

Conference calling capabilities. The ability to hold conference calls isn’t unique to VoIP, you can host them on traditional phone systems but it will usually involve additional charges. Conferencing calling abilities are an integral part of many VoIP phone systems, with many also able to offer video conferencing as well.

Be reachable no matter where you are. Because a VoIP can be used from any location via a number of devices, you’ll be less likely to miss that important call. You can decide which device to route calls to at any given time. For example, you could have calls routed to your mobile from the moment you step out of the office.

It’s resilient. A common misconception about VoIP is that it is less reliable than traditional telephony. While there might be a little truth in this – a power cut could knock out your office’s internet connection – VoIP gives you the ability to forward incoming calls to various devices. This means if you can’t receive calls on your office phone for whatever reason you can have them redirected to your mobile.

VoIP is quick and easy to set up. Deploying a VoIP solution always involves less hardware than a traditional phone system. If you opt for a cloud-hosted phone system you could avoid hardware acquisition costs altogether, saving your business time and money.

We’re Netplatforms.

We’re Net Platforms and we have years of experience in supporting small-medium businesses across London and Essex with such technology challenges. We’ll get to know your business and create the most appropriate solution to meet your technical requirements while being commercially sensible in cost. Why not get in touch with our team today and explore how you can prepare your business for the future of telephony with VoIP technologies. 0207 993 9035 or hello@netplatforms.wmtemp.com.

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Book a no-obligation discovery call with a member of our team today by calling 0207 993 9035 or hello@netplatforms.wmtemp.com