Suppose your small or medium-sized business is looking for alternatives to traditional phone service or the equally traditional eye-popping phone bill. Also suppose your organization is looking for services such as messaging platforms, video conferencing capabilities, and expanded phone services from anywhere the internet takes them. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) may be the perfect solution for your company. Utilizing a wide range of software integrations, VoIP can help businesses cut costs, improve remote collaboration and cooperation and increase efficiency at the worksite as well as remotely.
What Are VoIP Services?
As a layperson, the world of digital phone services may seem daunting and outside of your wheelhouse but here at Spectra Networks, we can handle the purchasing, installation and support of a VoIP system for your business. To put it simply, VoIP is an internet-based phone service. Instead of getting your costly phone services through a landline brought into your business, VoIP digitizes and routes the conversations through internet lines.The system uses a computer, smartphone, VoIP phone or browsers to make voice calls and transfer information from one location to another. It does all of this through an internet connection. Most VoIP systems offer features that help increase efficiency and productivity such as easy-to-use voice mail, call recording, custom caller ID and voicemail-to-text features.If communication with clients, remote employees, other office locations and vendors is critical to the running of your business, VoIP could be the solution you’ve been looking for.
How Does VoIP Work?
VoIP technology made its debut in the 1990s. The use of broadband internet connections that have evolved significantly since the 1990s means that the VoIP options have only gotten better in that time. It was initially criticized that the voice quality was not as clear as on a landline, but that technology has vastly improved since that time and the sound quality on VoIP is known to be crystal clear. That’s just one of the reasons it is gaining popularity with small and medium-sized businesses. The way VoIP works is through an internet connection rather than through a traditional landline that we commonly think of for phone calls. Often a VoIP connection is a matter of having your Managed Service Provider or IT specialist plug in and go! To get a bit more technical, TechTarget describes the process of using a VoIP as “the service will convert a user's voice from audio signals to digital data, then send that data through the internet. If another user is calling from a regular phone number, the signal is converted back to a telephone signal before it reaches that user.”
What Are The Types of VoIP?
Adding VoIP to your office or home can come in a few different forms including cloud-based, hosted, or on-premises VoIP. Our team can work with you to determine which would be best for your unique office needs and configuration.
Cloud-based VoIP
With a cloud-based VoIP system, everything is hosted through a provider’s cloud-based server network.
Hosted VoIP
This VoIP system uses hardware and software provided. Typically, the user provides the phones, computers and internet connection.
On-Premises VoIP
With this type of system, the user purchases (or leases) the software and server hardware that is installed on the premises. The company’s IT team is responsible for arranging configuration, ongoing servicing, system upgrades, user support, and maintenance.
Things To Consider When Choosing VoIP
When shopping around for a VoIP system that meets the needs of your workforce, it is important to consider a few components as you compare plans and systems. For many businesses, the cost will be top on the list of considerations as they want to stay within budget while still getting the features they want/need most. Be sure to ask what features are included in each plan and what is excluded. Another consideration includes the call quality and uptime. Ask specific questions about uptime guarantees to make sure your calls are maintained throughout your busy workday. As a business owner, keep in mind the ability to access support as this is a learning curve for many within your workforce.
Why Choose VoIP?
One of the main reasons we find companies exploring this technology is that it provides big benefits for small businesses. For many businesses, the high-definition call quality is a major benefit especially when communication is a main component of the organization. Others enjoy the cost benefits, scalability, ease of use and advanced features that keep their growing company productive and efficient. Over the next few weeks, we will explore in detail the benefits of a VoIP system for your organization and how Spectra Networks can help make it happen from sale to installation and technical support in the months and years to come. Visit us later this month as we dive deeper into the benefits and popular features this type of system can provide. To find out more and contact us at Spectra Networks either call us directly at 978-219-9752, visit us at Mills58 on Pulaski Street in Peabody or fill out our contact form.
