Hosted VoIP Phone Systems – 7 Advantages of Using VoIP
One of the first tasks for anyone starting a business is ensuring reliable phone access. A lot of work is done on networked computers, but offices still need phones for day-to-day communications.
Older, proprietary phone systems were quite expensive, and they were difficult to reconfigure or scale up or down as business dictated. However, Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, offers phone technology using broadband internet connections, and hosted VoIP phone systems in particular offers many advantages over the old systems. Here are 7 of the biggest advantages of hosted VoIP phone systems.
1. VoIP Is Easier to Install, Configure, and Maintain
IP Phones are simple to install, even for people with limited technical know-how. Rather than having someone come and run phone wiring through your facility, you can set up an IP Phone and be ready to go quickly. Hosted VoIP software makes it easy and inexpensive to add new users, and a convenient web portal makes it easy to move, add, or change the system’s configuration. There is no VoIP hardware to install, you only need IP phones, and you don’t even have to install software.
2. VoIP Scales Up or Down Easily
It’s not always easy to predict how many phones you’ll need over the next year, and if you have a traditional phone system, you have to estimate carefully to avoid spending money on phone lines you won’t use. All this goes away with Hosted Telephone systems. With VoIP for your business, you can add a line as soon as you add a new employee, and when an employee leaves, you can easily reassign or remove the line. You always have the right number of phone lines for your needs.
3. Employees’ Numbers Follow Them Wherever They Go
Are you rearranging or expanding your office space? Hosted VoIP phone systems let users access a convenient web portal to reconfigure the system at any time. Hosted VoIP phone systems are also terrific for businesses that have field workers or workers who travel a lot. Calls can be diverted to anywhere in the world due to cloud-hosted VoIP phone system features.
4. A Range of Call Features Is Supported
All of the traditional call system features you expect are available in hosted VoIP systems, including call hold, call transfer, call hunt, conference calling, find me / follow me, and auto-attendant phone menus. You won’t give up any of your favorite features by choosing hosted VoIP.
5. Even Older Technology Like Fax Is Supported
Virtual faxing (also called IP faxing) is another feature of VoIP phone systems. Even in the age of email and instant communication, there are some instances when faxes are necessary. Without the need for paper or toner, you can send and receive faxes using the email account you already have with a hosted VoIP system.
6. Hosted VoIP Saves Businesses Money
Saving money is one of the most important features of Hosted VoIP phone systems. Legacy systems were expensive. Setup was intrusive, reconfiguring required time and physical system changes, and maintenance and repairs could be quite expensive. But with hosted VoIP systems, you not only save on the costs of installation, calls themselves are significantly less expensive. If your business makes a lot of international calls, hosted VoIP phone systems offer the savings you need to have a great phone system without a huge capital investment.
7. VoIP Integrates With Other Business Systems
Because VoIP calls are internet-based, hosted VoIP systems are easier to integrate with the business applications you use every day. You can do things like place outbound calls through Outlook or other email clients, or bring up a customer record with that customer’s inbound calls. Voice mail accounts are accessible through email for workers who travel, and you can even get voice mail transcription with some hosted VoIP phone systems. This feature transcribes voicemail messages into text and routes them to your email account, so you don’t have to worry about taking notes while conversing.
Credits to: Carlos Lahrssen @ Nexogy.com
With all the advantages of hosted VoIP phone systems, doesn’t it make sense to use hosted VoIP technology with your business? Leading telecommunications providers like IP Telecom know how to offer hosted VoIP phone systems to meet clients’ specific needs, so clients have the communications systems they need with a cost structure that makes sense.