More and more businesses are implementing Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology because of its versatility, flexibility and cost effectiveness. With BT recently announcing the end of ISDN and PSTN services from as early as 2020, there has never been a better time to consider a VoIP telephony solution for your business.
With this in mind, below are some of the benefits of VoIP technology. We’ll explain why it could make a lot of sense to you and your business, and why you might want to make the move sooner rather than later.
Benefits of VoIP telephony
Flexibility
Many of the major IT vendors such as Microsoft, 3CX, Google etc. have been working diligently to bring VoIP technology within their product offerings, creating unified communication solutions that can increase the efficiency of businesses like yours. In fact, from 2025, VoIP will be the go-to telephony solution, following the retirement of the PSTN.
A great example of this is Skype for Business. This bundles all methods of communication such as voice, video, web conferencing, instant messaging and emails into a single solution. This unified approach makes it possible for businesses of all shapes and sizes to realise substantial efficiency gains and significant cost savings. However, Skype for Business will soon be retired and replaced by Microsoft Teams. Luckily, we have Teams Talk, a communications solution that combines Teams and VoIP!
VoIP also allows for more flexible working practices to be adopted. An incoming call can simultaneously ring and be answered on a variety of devices including your mobile phone, laptop, tablet or desk phone etc. This means staff can be working from anywhere at anytime and still take that all important customer call, or even redirect it to a colleague with a push of a button. Your customer just rings the usual number and has no idea that the call is being answered on a laptop whilst working from home or sat in McDonald’s (or other similar fast food or coffee chain). This makes your business more productive and accessible, no matter where your staff choose to work from. The list of benefits goes on.
Reduced costs
There are many ways in which VoIP technology offers cost savings to your business:
1. Lower cost per phone call
Making long distance or international phone calls using traditional landlines or mobile phones can be very expensive. Charges are incurred at a per-minute rate and can start adding up very quickly. With VoIP call charges are up to 70% lower, or in some cases even free. If you have multiple office locations or regularly make international calls then VoIP could save you literally thousands of pounds a year.
2. Operational costs
You can use a single connection for data and voice communications, as long as it offers the bandwidth and service levels appropriate for your business needs. This means you can get rid of multiple ISDN/PSTN lines and the associated rental charges, which usually add up to a significant monthly fixed cost.
As most VoIP solutions offer audio or video conferencing capabilities, you have the potential to reduce or eliminate travel costs. Video conferencing can be highly interactive and in many cases just as productive as face-to-face meetings.
3. Infrastructure costs
With VoIP technology your infrastructure costs are greatly reduced. No longer do you need a PBX system nailed to the office wall in reception. Instead the phone system can run on a computer or in the cloud, meaning you have less hardware to worry about and maintain.
Although many of us are wedded to our traditional phone handset, technically this is no longer required. Calls can be made and received on your PC, laptop or smartphone and there are time savings, as well as cost savings, associated by doing this.
Want to find out more about the benefits of VoIP technology?
The benefits of VoIP technology can’t be overstated. Every business strives for lower costs and more revenue, and VoIP solutions offer many ways to cut costs and bring efficiency by unifying all communications onto a single platform. Please get in touch to find out how easily VoIP can be implemented within your business.
