A brief introduction to VOIP, what it is and why you should use it.

First of all, let’s explain what VoIP is...

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is the use of the internet to carry your voice traffic.

Until a few years ago, the only option for telephony was an on-premise PBX - meaning that their physical phone system was based on the premises, and would have needed to have someone managing and maintaining the system. These days, more businesses are moving telecoms over to a VoIP provider for a number of reasons. Let’s explore:

1. Reducing Costs

As VoIP works directly over your broadband connection, there is no need to have multiple phone lines within your business. Removing these lines will reduce your monthly bills immediately. Call charges are also generally lower on a VoIP solution. As well as this, operation costs are reduced too - there is no charge to change extension numbers, users and ring groups with IP Telecom.

2. Reduce Risk of Downtime

With a move to VoIP, you’re reducing your risk of downtime significantly, as there are multiple options available to your business. If something happens to your current on-premises PBX, it may take a while to get it back up and running, as well as incurring additional costs.

With IP Telecom, we have a few options to ensure that your calls will be answered:

●     If you have two broadband connections and one fails, we can move your voice traffic over to your secondary broadband connection

●     If you have one broadband connection and that fails, or your electricity fails, we can create a divert to an alternative number, such as a mobile phone

●     We also have softphone options, so if you have these installed on your mobile, we can divert calls straight to the app, using your own data

●     If your company has more than one location, we can always divert calls to a sister location to ensure calls are not missed.

 3. Easier to Manage

Installing a VoIP system is easier than most people think, here at IP Telecom we ensure that all installs are carried out by trained engineers who not only install the hosted PBX, they also train businesses in on our web portal, which lets users reconfigure the system at any time. Hosted VoIP phone systems are also terrific for businesses that have mobile workers as calls can be diverted to anywhere in the world. It is also easy to scale up or down, by adding or removing lines to suit the size of your business. As well as this, moving premises is easier as well. All you need to do is take your hardware and plug it in - it’s really that simple!

 4. Answer Calls Anywhere

As long as you have a connection, you can make and receive calls anywhere in the world! You could be working from home, visiting a client or even running out for a coffee - IP Telecom have a softphone option that can be installed on laptops, tablets and mobile phones, making it easier to work on the go.

5. Highly Flexible

Answering calls anywhere isn’t where the flexibility ends, as there are so many more opportunities with VoIP:

●     Fax and Voicemail to email - you’ll have the ability to get your voicemails and faxes directly to your email address

●     Virtual phone numbers - if needed, you can get a number assigned to a different region/country. For example, if you are an Irish-based company with a customer presence in the UK, you can get a virtual UK based number so customers can contact you easily

●     Phones can be configured to ring at the same time, so your mobile and desk phone can both ring, enabling you to answer whatever is easiest for you

●     Integrate with other business systems - You can place calls through your own CRM with a click-to-dial feature

As you can see,moving your business to VoIP has a multitude of benefits. To learn more, contact us at 01 687 7777, or sales@iptelecom.ie. 

Blog written by Emer Farrell, Sales and Marketing Specialist at IP Telecom.