By now, you are likely aware of the massive transition that many businesses are making with the decision to switch from traditional telephony to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) business phone systems. VoIP sends phone signals through the Internet instead of through the Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN), and although it has existed since the mid-90s, only in recent years has broadband Internet been fast and ubiquitous enough to support the widespread usage of VoIP telephony. Of course, there are two sides to any decision, and often switching to a VoIP phone system is not the best call for a business even if they are generally cheaper and more powerful phone systems. So what situations create the best climates for and against VoIP phones?
One of the most common limiting factors for IP telephony is Internet speed. VoIP calls are able to transmit a sound quality that is far superior to what is available over traditional phone systems, but only through high-speed broadband Internet connections. If the Internet isn't fast enough, calls will experience gradually worse phone quality as speed declines. An unreliable Internet connection also makes things difficult, as it will lead to the increased frequency of phone outages.
Fortunately, most VoIP Providers offer a free speed test on their websites, which gauge your business's Internet connection and will tell you if it will support VoIP. If supported, VoIP phone systems are almost always the best way to go due to the many advantages offered by the technology. According to a recent piece on Business 2 Community, VoIP phone systems are the best choice for almost all businesses.
For example VoIP phone systems offer superb flexibility, since they can be used across multiple offices in multiple locations. Many calling features which come included with a VoIP system increase productivity as well, like voicemail to email transcription and call forwarding. And of course, best of all, VoIP phone systems often cost up to 50 percent less than traditional phone systems do. Quite simply, VoIP offers businesses a phone system that is cheaper, higher quality and far more powerful.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson