There are distinct advantages of using voice over internet protocol (VoIP) for business when compared to traditional phone service. That’s why business usage of VoIP technology increased from 6.2 million to 41.6 million between 2010 and 2018. An increasing number of companies are reaping the benefits of VoIP, but what is driving this growth? What are the advantages of VoIP for business? We have answers.
What is VoIP and How Can it Benefit a Business?
VoIP sends calls through the internet over your wireless connection instead of over copper phone lines. The “IP” in VoIP stands for “internet protocol;” an IP address is how devices connect with each other in the cloud. If your business has an internet connection, you can make calls from your computer by using a business VoIP provider.
Traditional telephones use analog lines to transmit voice signals. It requires hardwiring to connect over the public switched telephone network (PSTN). The PSTN includes an extensive infrastructure of fixed analog telephone lines, fiber optic cables, switching centers, cable systems, satellites, cellular networks, and more. It’s the traditional way of making calls that requires a private branch exchange (PBX) and other equipment in a business.
By contrast, if you have a computer, you can use VoIP. VoIP calls can transmit through your wireless modem to connect to any number. The growth of VoIP has been steady over the past decade. Today, one-third of all U.S. companies use a business VoIP provider.
The popularity of this technology in part stems from:
- Advances in VoIP technology that provides end-users with crystal-clear, reliable service
- The growth of cloud technology services that save businesses big money over on-premises IT infrastructures.
- The increase in remote workers, meaning companies need to have a reliable communication system in place that extends beyond the traditional PBX call routing system.
The biggest benefit of VoIP over traditional telephony is the flexibility to make calls from any digital connection to the cloud. But there are many more benefits of this service. Let’s discuss seven major advantages of VoIP for business.
Advantages of VoIP for Business
- VoIP saves money.Among the best benefits of VoIP for small business (or even large ones) is the cost savings the technology brings; businesses of any size experience the benefits of VoIP every month on their service bill. We’ve seen businesses save up to 50% or more over traditional phone service. The
savings is particularly high if your company places international calls regularly. Here is a short list of the cost benefits of VoIP over traditional telephony:
- Eliminating phone line costs your phone carrier charges each month.
- No hardware required, which saves you big on things like auto-attendant hardware, voicemail servers, and a PBX. With VoIP, everything is in the cloud.
- No maintenance of the PBX equipment. Since the service is in the cloud, all maintenance and security updates are done automatically
- No long distance or interstate fees, plus international calls at half the cost of traditional telephony (or better)
- The flexibility to make calls from any digital device—all you need is the internet.
- No installation costs. Just plug into your existing internet infrastructure. This makes VoIP a particularly great option for your remote and mobile workforce.
- VoIP enables mobility.Speaking of remote, mobile workers, VoIP functionality can extend well beyond the reach of your office. Employees can connect from their cell phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop. This has a hugely positive impact on the mobility of your workforce as well as increasing your workers’ ability to collaborate. Even better, VoIP allows your workers to connect from an office extension or direct line, so that the person talking with them will have no idea you’re working from home or even the beach! (Unless they hear seagulls.)
- VoIP has high call quality.One of the benefits of VoIP is that the call quality of the service has improved along with the speed and reliability of the internet. As long as you have the bandwidth, you will also have clean voice communications across your organization.
- VoIP includes advanced feature offerings.One of the reasons companies are switching from traditional phone service is that your business VoIP provider can offer you extensive advanced phone features for a fraction of the cost. You can transfer calls or use an auto attendant, leave or receive voicemails, forward your line somewhere else, and so much more. You’ll never miss a voicemail because your VoIP platform will record the caller then text or email you to let you know you’ve received a message.
You can even group VoIP lines into call groups, so a caller can ping multiple extensions so that your calls are always answered. Plus, VoIP has powerful data analytics behind the service. Your administrator can access and assess this data from an easy-to-use online hub. This is particularly helpful for sales teams or inbound call centers.
While these are just a few of the feature-related benefits of VoIP, just assume that if your current plain old telephone service (POTS) offers advanced features, your business VoIP provider can probably do the same – and more.
- VoIP is scalable.Like the internet itself, VoIP can add or subtract more users easily. If your business has a legacy PBX and phone lines, you know the difficulties inherent in adding more callers. You literally are limited by the number of physical phone lines and PBX channels in your telephony architecture. Onboarding new employees can therefore be a hassle along with being expensive. We’ve seen companies use workarounds such as sharing phone handsets or desks between workers. Not so with VoIP. The internet is vast and there are no limits as to the number of end-users that reap the benefits of VoIP service. VoIP is designed to grow with your business as much as you need it to.
- VoIP has a good repair record.If you’ve had a problem with traditional phone service lines, you know what a hassle it can be to get them repaired. VoIP can often be restored remotely, with little to no downtime, and quickly. In addition, your business VoIP provider is monitoring this service 24/7/365 to ensure its reliability.
- VoIP is interoperable, integrating with your other tools.You need a phone or IT technician to integrate your traditional phone service with the other internet-based tools you use. As an internet technology, VoIP doesn’t have the same issues with interoperability that the PSTN does. That’s because PSTN is an older analog service, not a digital technology at its core.
VoIP was born in the cloud, and, as such, uses powerful application program interfaces (APIs) to connect with other cloud software tools. Imagine receiving calls and having them entered into your customer relationship management (CRM) platform. Imagine routing voicemails to emails, or initiating calls from a variety of different programs so that everything flows seamlessly. That’s the power of VoIP.
If you’re ready for a trial run of VoIP, talk with our team. Click here to get a quote and enjoy the advantages of VoIP for business.
