Comeau Computing Tech Magazine 2024
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a technology that was once mistakenly thought of as exclusively for large businesses. But that’s not true. VoIP technology has proven to be very affordable and greatly beneficial for small to medium businesses, too.
It’s understandable that most small businesses who are just starting out would gravitate to standard phones with limits on features in exchange for lower costs. But the technology that’s present nowadays is affordable, modular, and can allow you to leverage audio conferencing, video conferencing, file-sharing, and much more. The benefits of switching to VoIP systems are enabling businesses to save money and do better business. OceanTelecom can help you in this regard as they are helping businesses to communicate effectively with over 25 years of experience.
Here are some other things that you can benefit from when you choose to have this kind of phone system.
1. Lower costs
Epik Networks’ VoIP phone systems utilize an internet connection, as its name suggests, to make calls. Instead of using telephone lines, which are how calls are usually made, data packets are sent through your internet network.
Basically, VoIP is all online. Placing your calls through these systems that utilize your network are way cheaper compared to that of traditional lines when comparing the costs of infrastructure and maintenance. Traditional lines charge you per minute of call time, while VoIP charges will only be billed monthly, depending on your subscription and not on a per-usage basis. You’ll also often see a significant difference in price when placing calls with someone overseas or long distance.
Another consideration would be if you already have your internet connection installed for your business, you won’t need to get a traditional transmission line installed. Instead of getting a phone line, you can take calls over the internet using your office VoIP system. So instead of having an internet connection and an office line installed, you’ll only need to pay for your internet and a VoIP service subscription.
2. On-the-go access
With traditional lines, your mobility is limited. If you have a desk phone for your business, you can’t take that with you, so you won’t be able to answer calls if you’re not in the office. Using a VoIP system completely eradicates this problem. You can take calls in the office, seamlessly transfer the call to your smartphone, and take the office phone with you while traveling or working from home. You never have to miss important business-related calls again. To find out more about business VoIP Providers check this website.
3. Multiple access
Since the shift from working in an office to working from home, most business owners are trying to find ways to still make team collaboration happen. With an office VoIP system, you can allow remote employees to access the office phone system from wherever they are – including all of the collaboration features that are a part of that system like video conferencing. So even if your office is based in Canada, customers and remote workforce from all parts of the world can still have easy communication within your business. This can be made possible with a reliable business VoIP provider like B1 Communications. Best of all, if the VoIP service is a cloud-based service, you can manage remote team access by logging into a central dashboard using any device with an internet connection and web browser.
4. Reliable service
VoIP systems rely on an internet connection to make and receive calls. One common misconception about VoIP is that they won’t work well if there are problems with your internet connection. Although that’s true, modern VoIP services allow you to have fallbacks that keep business running.
If for some reason, you lose network connection at home or in the office, the calls will be forwarded to your mobile phones and other devices instead. You are still guaranteed to receive these calls even if you’re having trouble with your connection. With it, power outages, dead batteries, or poor network connections won’t be a problem anymore.
You can also look for a VoIP service provider with a private fiber optic internet service which provides more bandwidth than you’ll ever need with an SLA that ensures maximum uptime.
5. Easy to install and operate
Although office VoIP systems are technologically advanced forms of communication, it’s pretty very easy for a VoIP provider to install and maintaining the system is made easy, even for non-technical users. So even if you’re not exactly familiar with how gadgets work, IP phones are practically a plug-and-play situation.
The same goes for a hosted VoIP system software; adding new users and making any changes to the system is easy to do. In the long run, you won’t need to put in much effort into making sure that your VoIP hardware and software systems are working just fine. Besides, if you’re going to need any professional help, there are companies that offer after-sales assistance to their clients.
6. Scalability
The use of VoIP systems scales up along with the size of your business. Whether you need more users, additional features, or you need to expand your system to a new building in a different city – a VoIP system gives you the flexibility and scalability to meet demands now and well into the future.
7. Easy to integrate with other business systems
VoIP systems nowadays are much more than just “phones” – they can actually combine several channels of communication such as email or even web chat into a single system.
When it comes to integrating your phone system with existing business systems, nothing beats the power of a VoIP system. VoIP systems can integrate with your email client, CRM, call center software, and more to provide click-to-call functionality and a 360-degree view of customer communications across multiple communication channels.
Bottomline
Switching from a traditional phone line for your office phone to a VoIP system is something that is not only beneficial but can actually provide a significant competitive advantage to businesses. Despite a small learning curve for users, the advantages are well worth the effort.
With a VoIP system in place, you can stay connected anywhere you may be. You’ll save money compared to an on-premise system – because you only pay for features you need, you can save on long-distance, and you don’t have any expensive hardware to maintain. A VoIP system is much more than just calls – it can offer a communications solution that powers the team success of a business.
