The days of the landline are long over, but cell phones aren’t always the most reliable. That’s why, when it comes to minimizing operational downtime, more businesses are considering a shift to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
The major advantage to transitioning to VoIP is that it’s a multimodal form of communication. While landline telephones only make and receive standard voice calls, VoIP solutions offer a platform for conference calls, video, and file transfers among other functions. Paired with the mobility enabled by smartphones and tablets, VoIP minimizes business downtime and worker mobility for maximum efficiency.
VoIP Growth Insights
VoIP initially caught on broadly with the launch of Skype in 2003. Initially, these services were unreliable, marked by lags, dropped calls, and other hiccups, but as internet connections themselves became more reliable, the VoIP market grew with it. Today it’s viewed as an affordable and reliable alternative to phone-to-phone or computer-to-computer communications.
Unlike more restricted communications options, VoIP boasts 99.999% uptime. When landline phones go down, they’re down – and if the local internet goes offline, then you can’t access that avenue of communication. VoIP bridges both, keeping your business in touch with your customers.
Choosing VoIP For Your Business
There are abundant VoIP options available for businesses considering making the switch, but how do you know which one is right for your company? When choosing the best VoIP services for enterprise, there are several key features you should assess. First, you’ll want a program that offers ease of operations. The more intuitive your VoIP program, the more likely you’ll gain broad in-office adoption.
You also want to consider whether or not you need strong international options with your VoIP. Some systems make it pricy to call overseas, while some don’t differentiate. Most importantly, you need to consider overall system scalability. If your VoIP program can’t grow with your business, then it isn’t a sustainable option in the long-term and you should consider a different service provider.
Obviously, while overall VoIP performance is very high, you’ll need to assess individual system performance to avoid excessive downtime. As with any other communications system, you need to have a backup plan. Invest in support like backup battery packs that can run your VoIP base unit. It’s inexpensive insurance for an all-encompassing system.
Updating and Optimizing
The best VoIP systems involve office-wide optimization to ensure top quality performance. That means assessing your current internet connection to ensure sufficient bandwidth availability, replacing outdated network equipment, and considering implementing Power over Ethernet (PoE). New PoE+ protocols allow devices like VoIP to receive power and data/voice over a single line. This is a much more efficient model than the multi-wire format and also segregates your VoIP port, allowing you to budget exactly as much power and bandwidth as necessary for your office.
VoIP is going mainstream for business; it’s time to start transitioning your business so that you don’t fall behind. That may mean a series of infrastructural changes, but in the long-run, it will mean greater consistency for your business. Say goodbye to downtime and hello to clear communication with VoIP.
