Small businesses are increasingly finding out that Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone systems make more sense than traditional landlines.
In a recent article, it was explained how VoIP phone calls use digital signals rather than analog signals. That means VoIP will use less bandwidth, which translates to 50 to 80 percent less charged to customers. VoIP also offers more advanced features which can prove to be convenient for small businesses. There is also a better voice quality.
Recently, MyVoIPProvider listed 8x8 as one of the top five VoIP providers. 8x8 has been honored by such firms as Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert), Gartner, and Infonetics Research. Users can get remote access to advanced features, such as auto attendant, call conferencing, caller ID, and voicemail. 8x8 (News - Alert) is well-suited for smaller firms, too. For instance, one insurance agent signed up with 8x8. The agent lived in California but had to also run an insurance office in Texas. The agent used the phone service to remain in touch with his Texas customers. The agent also used mobile phones when traveling.
Also listed by MyVoIPProvider among the top providers are Jive, Nextiva, Mitel (News - Alert) AnyWare, and Alliance Phones.
In a related matter, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are important for the hosted services market. The SMB market for major hosted services include: infrastructure-as-a-service, Web presence and Web applications, hosted communication and collaboration, and business applications.
The market recently totaled $45.2 billion worldwide. It is projected that it will increase by 32 percent, according to Parallels. Hosted communications makes up $4.8 billion of the market. Hosted PBX (News - Alert) is likely to see growth, too. “Although hosted PBX is still emerging as a key cloud service in US, opportunities in this space could be substantial for service providers that integrate hosted PBX into their offerings and educate US SMBs about the offering’s business benefits,” the Parallels report said. Hosted PBX is predicted to increase 20 percent over the next few years in the United States, the report adds.
So with the New Year starting soon, it is an ideal time for small businesses to move to VoIP phone service. It will provide them with many benefits.
Edited by Alisen Downey