Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP telephony, is one of the fastest growing areas of business telecoms and the rise of home working in the previous two years has only helped to accelerate the adoption of VoIP technology across organisations of all sizes. In this article, we’re going to look at 9 of the real-world advantages of VoIP for businesses. Before you choose a VoIP platform for your business, check this list and ensure that your platform of choice gives you all 9 of these advantages.
- Cost
VoIP technology can deliver serious cost savings for businesses which take advantage of it. Calls between users on the same VoIP platform are always free, so all internal communications can take place over VoIP to save on call costs. You can still call external landline and mobile numbers from a VoIP platform using an additional piece of technology called an SIP trunk. Many VoIP providers will supply these external call minutes in a bundle at a lower cost than standard phone lines prices. - Call Quality
The quality of calls on VoIP is significantly higher than most landline connections. VoIP customers enjoy crystal clear audio (and video). This is however, conditional on having an internet connection with high speeds, good bandwidth and a reasonable contention ratio. If you have a large business and are considering switching to VoIP, you might want to think about having a leased line broadband connection installed. - Advanced Features
VoIP platforms have lots of additional features built into them. For example, many have auto attendants which help callers to be automatically connected to the right extension without requiring a receptionist to do this for them. Call recording is a standard feature, and as the entire system is digital, call recordings and voicemails can be easily stored or forwarded digitally. - Take Calls Anywhere
Most VoIP software platforms can run on any device, from a laptop to a mobile phone. This means you can install the VoIP app on your phone and make calls to and from your business number while on the go. This eliminates the need for members of your team to carry a separate work mobile. Businesses which operate a bring your own device (BYOD) environment can still have a cohesive telecoms solution across a variety of different devices using VoIP. - Scalability
Because VoIP platforms are virtual, there is no set up cost and the price of adding another user is incremental. As an admin of your VoIP platform, you can simply add or remove users as and when you require it. This makes VoIP a perfect telecoms solution for start-ups and other rapidly growing businesses. - Future Proof
With the impending switch-off of ISDN lines due to take place in 2025 in the UK, it’s important to start looking for replacement business telecoms solutions ahead of time. VoIP represents a future-proof telecoms platform which can easily replace and replicate all the functions of your existing analogue telephone lines while also improving the quality and cost efficiency of your calls. - Multitasking
In addition to traditional phone calls, VoIP allows you to share documents, images and videos without ending the conversation. As a result, you’ll be able to hold more integrated multimedia meetings with clients or employees from all over the world. - More Than Just Voice
VoIP platforms don’t just allow you to make voice calls, many of them also include video calls and text chat to create a truly unified communications environment. These conversations are all grouped under a single interface, just as they would be in a commercial application like WhatsApp. This makes it easier to keep track of your communications with clients or co-workers across various different media. - Connects To Other Software
Many enterprise VoIP platforms can connect to other pieces of software within your organisation’s technology stack. Whether that’s pulling contact information from your Outlook contacts or connecting to CRM systems like Zoho. This can help to streamline your workflow.
These are just some of the reasons that businesses are making the switch to VoIP telecoms. If you are interested in implementing VoIP telephony within your organisation, almost all managed telecoms and managed IT services providers can supply your business with an enterprise-grade VoIP solutions. However, you should make sure that the VoIP solution you choose matches all the criteria listed above. There are several VoIP platforms which operate as nothing more than digital landlines. These are functional, but lack the efficiency and customer service features listed above. 3CX, Microsoft Teams and Gamma’s Horizon platform are all VoIP solutions we would recommend.
