What is VoIP? VoIP is short for Voice over Internet Protocol. It’s a category of hardware and software that allows people to use the Internet as a medium for making telephone calls, sending voice data in packets using an IP as opposed to the traditional circuit transmissions of the PSTN.
Why is it on the rise?
As VoIP capabilities improve, high-speed internet has become cheaper and the gap between the services offered has closed. As a result, an increasing number of businesses are moving away from conventional landlines and jumping on the VoIP bandwagon as a good, affordable IT tool that will help your business reduce costs and grow.
What do I need to implement it?
It depends on the size of your business and the infrastructure already in place, but to give you a sense of the starting point, even home broadband connections can handle several VoIP calls simultaneously. However, there would need to be enough bandwidth available for other applications to run at the same time.
But, you see where we’re going…VoIP is not just for big players.
If you’re in the market for change and thinking about making the move, here are the things we recommend thinking about, so you’re going in with your eyes open.
- Broadband connection
Broadband connection is the first thing to consider. More users require more bandwidth, so if you work alone, out of home or if you only have a few employees, bandwidth won’t be an issue.
If you’ve more than a handful of employees, you can test your office’s connection capacity very easily - one of the ways to assess whether your office space is doing the business - and make an informed decision on what you need to manage the volume of call traffic you expect to generate.
- Bandwidth cap
It’s worth thinking about your bandwidth cap, if your internet service provider has one in place. Most VoIP service providers consume around 64kb of data for every second of a call, which should sit well within your limit, but it’s wise to keep an eye on it, just so you know you will never run the risk of exceeding your cap and compromising your service.
- Internal network
Make sure your internal network, including your routers and switches, can handle the load. Most providers suggest using router-configurable Quality of Service settings and assigning VoIP traffic ‘high priority’ to ensure the best possible quality.
- SIP-enabled phones
You’ll need an SIP-enabled phone(s) to make VoIP calls. Most VoIP systems use Session-Initiation Protocol technology to assign each phone or VoIP software client a specific address, allowing calls to be routed to specific lines. Put simply, it allows your calls to find you.
If you want to keep older, analogue touch-tone phones or fax machines, you can plug them into an analogue telephone adapter (ATA), but they won’t be able to use a lot of the advanced features that the SIP-based phones provide, losing many of the service benefits you pay for, so that’s something to think about.
- Cloud-based services
If you subscribe to a cloud-based VoIP service, you should check your phones can communicate over VoIP before you do anything else.
What are the biggest VoIP benefits?
- Reduced cost
As you’d expect, cost-saving is the number one attraction for VoIP. As a service, it requires much less hardware to buy or lease, and in fact, some hosted services require no investment in hardware at all, which is a big plus for any small business watching the bottom line.
Monthly subscription fees are lower and plans are competitive, offering things such as unlimited nationwide calling or free calls to co-workers, and some are contract-free, so there’s no pressure to sign up for extended periods.
- Mobile apps
A number of providers offer mobile apps that let you make and receive calls on the road using your data connection, which is important in today’s working environment when many employees are working from mobile devices. You can also adjust the apps to ring simultaneously with your office phone or act as a stand-alone extension, so it’s flexible for anyone who expects to be in and out of the office.
Some systems are even smart enough to route calls based on specific characteristics, like caller location or time of day.
- Scalability
VoIP is scalable, which means a growing business has no need to invest in new hardware to extend their service, so there’s no major detours from your IT roadmap.
Adding new extensions to a VoIP network is typically as easy as connecting your SIP-enabled phone to the network and adjusting the software settings. And, if you use a phone that’s certified for use with your provider, it might be an even simpler ‘plug and play’ scenario.
- Features and benefits
There are lots of features and benefits and most providers match those offered by more traditional phone companies, such as conference calling, voice mail, internet faxing and caller ID.
Some take it a step further, providing a virtual receptionist service, greeting functionality, call screening and the ability to forward calls to your email or mobile. Even when there’s a fee for these additional services, they tend to cost less than you would pay a traditional phone provider for the same services, though they are still no match for a full-service virtual CIO.
Are there any watch outs?
- Power
Power is the biggest watch out for VoIP, because if your internet service or power supply goes down, so does your phone network. The band-aid offered by hosted services forwards incoming calls to voicemail, which helps, but it’s one reason some businesses retain a basic traditional phone line, as a’ just in case’ measure.
- International call restrictions
As you’d expect, there are some restrictions on international calls and connecting to mobiles and special lines abroad, but that should be made clear upfront. Just check the provider’s terms and conditions on that if making frequent international calls is something your business relies on.
- Network quality
Network quality matters for VoIP calls. It generally rivals a land line or good mobile phone connection, but network quality is worth thinking about as a slow, spotty or crowded network can make for poor audio quality or drop out.
How do I know which provider is right for me?
If you need a helping hand making sure you’re on top of all things VoIP, your IT Service Provider can advise you on which provider offers the best package for your business and put the wheels in motion if you decide to make the switch.
The good news is you can be up and running in days and because you have the option of getting started without a contract, it’s a service you can buy and try without a huge amount of commitment, allowing you to see how the calls compare and if the cost-savings stack up.
If you are still none the wiser, contact us to see how we can help you find and use the best IT for your business needs, and in the meantime, see how IT can play a major role in innovation to help your business grow by downloading our eBook:
