A VoIP phone business system brings many benefits. For the features to work seamlessly with existing applications review this article on what you need.
We’ve all experienced the hassle of buying something only to discover we also need a certain cord, adapter, or type of battery. It’s frustrating. When planning to embrace the benefits of a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone business system, it can help to know what you need to implement the system smoothly.
When you’re moving to VoIP, you convert your phone system to software. With the right service provider, you’ll gain crystal clear voice services as well as business collaboration tools such as video, chat, web conferencing, and screen sharing. At the same time, the VoIP phone business software integrates with your existing application, including Gmail, Salesforce.com, and Skype.
Why VoIP Phone Business Systems?
By converting to a VoIP business phone system, businesses of any size gain several enterprise-level features. These include:
- Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems, “Press 1 if your call is urgent, press 2 when your call is really, really urgent…”
- Call queuing to distribute incoming calls based on what the caller wants, extension dialed, or other criteria.
- Call recording to gauge training efficacy, track compliance, enhance sales scripts, and gain marketing intelligence.
- Web-based portal allowing authorized managers to configure users, schedules, and notifications with a few clicks (from anywhere in the world).
- In-country unlimited usage, local phone numbers, free in-network calling, and a cost-effective, consistent international rate plan across all locations.
VoIP costs less than getting set up with a standard phone provider. Also, with VoIP phone business systems, finances become more predictable as massive CAPEX and maintenance contracts are eliminated. Your VoIP service provider typically takes over maintaining, securing, and updating the technology.
What Your Business Needs for VoIP Setup
Local phone system solutions are not meshing well with modern business needs. The emerging need to integrate mobile devices, enterprise social networking, texting, web video conferencing and more is better met with VoIP systems. But, what do you need to get VoIP up and running at your business?
The answer depends on your current infrastructure. A broadband connection is essential to VoIP. After all, you’re moving all of your communications to Internet protocol. Even home broadband connections can handle several VoIP calls simultaneously. But the ability to place those calls and run other applications at the same time will depend on your bandwidth. So, home office workers or small businesses will want to see if their Internet service provider has a bandwidth cap.
Along with determining broadband bandwidth, you’ll want to ensure that your network’s routers and switches can handle the load. We suggest using routers with configurable Quality of Service settings and assigning VoIP traffic high priority to maximize quality. A stable Internet connection is fundamental. Inconsistent Internet can mean sound breaks up or cuts out entirely.
Plus, once you’ve got the VoIP service set up (whether on-premise or cloud-based), you’ll need VoIP-enabled devices to communicate. VoIP systems usually use session-initiated protocol (SIP) technology to assign addresses to each phone or VoIP software. Your old analog touch-tone phones or fax machines may work on the network through an adapter, but with limited access to the many features accessed via SIP-based VoIP phones.
Depending on the size of your network, you may also want to deploy network monitoring tools to effectively monitor the added VoIP traffic.
Yet, if any of this sounds intimidating, know that your VoIP provider’s engineers are available to gauge your VoIP readiness, help tweak your infrastructure to best suit VoIP, and ensure you enjoy the best possible overall service.
Key Takeaway
Giving businesses of all size access to enterprise-grade functions and features, VoIP phone business systems streamline processes, promote collaboration, and accelerate growth. Partner with Evolve IP today to upgrade to a VoIP experience.
