How To Choose A VoIP For Business – Guide

Do you know how to choose the right VoIP for your business? This business blog is sure to assist you. 🙂

Team collaboration and video conferencing together with UC (unified communications) solutions need VoIP. Therefore your business ITSP (Internet Telephony Service Provider) must have a VoIP solution with UC and other productivity-rich features in the mix.

This VoIP for Business guide includes the following topics:

• What is VoIP?
• Why VoIP now?
• Why Comms Platforms need VoIP
• VoIP Benefits for Business

What Is VoIP?

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a telephony system that uses the internet to transfer data. It’s replaced ISDN and PSTN. Public Switch Telephone Network is analogue, and the circuit-switched telephone network and Integrated Services Digital Network made PSTNs work digitally. Still, both are now due to be switched off by 2025.

A couple of options are available for your VoIP – either on-premises or cloud-based PBX (private branch exchange). However, using hosted VoIP services is the preferred solution, and it’s cloud-based.

Your business will need VoIP phones or access via mobile devices, computers etc.

Moving to VoIP has been a digital transformation project for communication providers and businesses for many years. You’re probably aware that digital transformation in business is ongoing and to improve productivity and reduce costs.

Companies are choosing public, and private cloud-based apps and systems are over their legacy systems!

For example, contacting a business’s support team via the company Twitter profile is much easier and quicker than sending the helpdesk an email or making a voice call.

Why VoIP now?

Businesses know time is running out. Many countries say they are switching off ISDN and PSTN from 2025.

Plus, VoIP is needed for Unified Communications. VoIP is no longer just voice calls – it transmits data for voice, text, and multimedia, including videos, images, and text.

Developed in 1995, it’s not emerging tech. However, what’s made VoIP vital for businesses is it’s required for UC and team collaboration platforms.

Skype attracted early adopters to it in the early 2000s, and it became popular when video conferencing was added in 2005. Now there are a few competitors in the same space, including Zoom.

Hosted VoIP

Further developments in SIPs (Sessions Initiation Protocols) which is the comms protocol for VoIP and SIP Trunking gave rise to hosted VoIP services and inspired developers to create more collaboration tools.

Why Do Comms Platforms Need VoIP?

VoIP allows multiple internet connections simultaneously. Working from home is a significant contributor to the rise in internet connections.

Remote working requires a professional workstation that may include a desktop, laptop, smartphone and tablet. All devices are likely to be connected to the internet.

Internet connections in the home soon add up when you’ve got smart appliances, speakers, TVs, smartwatches etc. Households have as many as 50 internet connections. Businesses may have thousands of connections.

Unified Communications

Unified communications (UC) says Wikipedia can encompass many forms of communications, including voice, video, text using services such as email, instant messaging, video conferencing.

Plus, UC may not be a single product but provide a single user interface that accesses many different products. Unified communications are what’s needed in business, and it requires VoIP. Therefore choose an ITSP VoIP solution with UC features including:

• team collaboration
• video conferencing
• instant messaging
• company directory

VoIP Benefits For Business

While there is really no other way forward but to move to VoIP, businesses can do so knowing it comes laden with benefits, including:

• Cost reduction – cheaper than earlier telephony systems
• Reliability – more reliable than ISDN, and PSTN
• Clearer transmission – i.e. no need to up the volume to hear the words
• Global reach from one system
• Scalable
• Feature-rich
• Secure use with VPNs

Summing Up

Countries are turning off ISDNs and PSTNs, so the way forward for businesses is VoIP. There are many benefits to making the switch, including clearer transmission and reliability.

Using a VoIP for business provider is a popular option for cost reduction and improving productivity with UC features.

Plus, you can start with what you need now and scale to size as your business needs grow.