VoIP Is The Future Of Business Telephony

Whilst it is difficult to argue that the landline desk phone has gone the way of the dinosaur, the old PBX (private branch exchange) technology is increasingly becoming a relic of the past, joining the office ashtray and typewriter.

Businesses instead are turning to VoIP powered telephony, which basically transmits phone conversations digitally over an internet connection. It is  anticipated that by 2013 over 80 per cent of businesses will be using VoIP

VoIP is ideal for companies that have extensive telephone traffic where many calls are place across multiple people in various locations. Using the technology helps reduce the cost of long distance and conference calls.

Many VoIP services extend beyond voice to encompass instant messaging, virtual meetings, and videoconferencing.

Businesses which already have either a local or wide area network have already done the heavy lifting for implementing a VoIP solution. Once the LAN or WAN is in place all that needs to be insured is that there is sufficient bandwidth.

The kind of VoIP system required really depends on the size of the business and the number of locations. An individual working from home will not need much more than a consumer service such as Vonage VoIP. Vonage also provides business or enterprise level VoIP solutions.

Companies with multiple employees who need individual phone lines have the option of choosing either a hosted or on site VoIP service.

Frost & Sullivan a market research firm estimates that hosted VoIP solutions will grow by as much as a third in the coming five years, with on site solutions slated to increase by 12 per cent during the same time frame.

A hosted solution typically leaves the technology aspect to another company. Such services allow smaller businesses appear to be much bigger by offering PBX style features which include individual phone numbers for employees, call transfers, toll free numbers, and integration with email and faxing. The only requirements are to download the software, and to buy or lease IP phones.

Contrastingly on site VoIP offers all the features provided by a hosted service as well as the option of customization. For such solutions however companies are required to handle all the hardware requirements and calls, and will need to have the services of an IT professional.

Hosted services can lack the customization required, and can become expensive because they charge fees for adding features or users, plus should the vendor go bankrupt, clients could well be left out of pocket.

Clearly the drawback with an on site solution is the headache of managing technology equipment in house, and the large up front investment required.

Therefore before making the switch to VoIP, businesses should carefully examine the number, compare what is being current spent per used on the phone service, and the projected spend using VoIP provider. Businesses should also go through the fine print of the contract and be aware of any hidden fees. They should also do a costing of any hardware investment and maintenance, and include the cost of additional bandwidth if that required.

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