Companies often take their phone systems for granted. After all, as long as the phone works when in use and people are able to call the company with ease, there’s nothing else to think about, right? Phone systems have come a long way over the past decade or so, and businesses are faced with a lot more choices. However, the legacy phone systems of the past are no longer the most viable and technologies such as Voice over IP (VoIP) have far surpassed them. Here are just a few of the benefits of using VoIP for your company’s phone service:
Cost Reduction
Traditional legacy phone systems can be expensive, which is one of the reasons why VoIP can be an attractive option for businesses of all sizes. With VoIP systems, cost savings can be realized when purchasing equipment and lines, performing maintenance, and when calculating time costs to use the system. Usage rates are frequently lower than with legacy systems, especially for long distance calls. This is because VoIP systems don’t utilize public switch-based phone networks like legacy systems, rather use either the Internet or private data lines.
Scalability
Another benefit to using VoIP for your phone system is that it is scalable. In the past, businesses who opted to use traditional phone systems had to carefully estimate the number of lines required, since lines typically are sold with a minimum commitment and additions are costly. This problem is mitigated when using VoIP systems, which allow administrators to add or subtract lines and users easily.
Portability
Traditional phone lines were tied geographically to the place where the number was assigned. If a business moved, they frequently would need the phone company to transfer the existing system to their new location. VoIP systems are highly portable; In many cases there is no on-premises equipment other than network-connected handsets, making the process easy.
Feature-Rich
Some believe that VoIP users miss out on some bells and whistles found in traditional phone systems. This is a frequent misconception; Even older features, like fax transmissions, can be supported. Other features present in many VoIP systems include conference calling, call holds, transfers, and auto attendant phone services. These services are also portable, which means that wherever the phone is, these features will also be present.
Integration
Because VoIP frequently runs on a business’ data network alongside other IT infrastructure, it can integrate with other end-user applications like web browsers, messaging systems, and email. When the VoIP system integrates with email, for instance, end users may be able to receive notifications via email when someone tried to call, as well as transcripts of voicemail messages left for them. Other types of integration include “call now” buttons in email, or click-to-call functionality on a website.
