Is Business VoIP Cheaper Than Traditional Telephone Service?

Most small businesses need to watch every penny, as you’ll know if you run or work for one. Unless you’ve got investors with deep pockets, chances are you’re looking for every possible way to get services without having to fork over a lot of cash. For most companies, switching to a business voice over IP (business VoIP) solution is a no-brainer. Long-distance calls on traditional telephony get very expensive, particularly if you need to call internationally. Small businesses are attracted to the promised advanced features a VoIP system can bring them at minimal cost, such as call forwarding and parking, teleconferencing and more. But you may be wondering: WHY is business VoIP less expensive than traditional telephone services?

It's About How Call Traffic is Carried

Traditional calls are carried over telephone wires that are owned and maintained by phone companies. VoIP uses your existing internet connection to carry your phone calls, which eliminates the need for a dedicated landline. For this reason, VoIP calls are far less expensive, and can add up to thousands of dollars in cost savings each month for long-distance and international calls.

Why You Need a Dedicated Business VoIP Solution

Internet providers are always keen to offer customers – including business customers – VoIP service. The truth is that this service isn’t always as cheap as it should be, and it frequently doesn’t come with the kind of business features you might need. Yes, it makes things easier by providing a package that includes both calling and Internet at once price, and it’s helpful to have only one vendor to deal with. But that’s where the advantages end.

Third-party business VoIP solutions were designed with the needs of small businesses in mind, so they can offer a variety of advanced features plus integrations with other business software solutions. These features might include call forwarding, auto-attendant, call analytics and reporting, team collaboration, call recording, voice mail to text, voice mail to email, and more.

Integrations Are Key

Many of today’s dedicated small business solutions, such as Nextiva, also offer integrations with other business software you might be using, such as your customer relationship management (CRM) solutions. And while VoIP service offered by carriers tends to be rather one-size-fits-all, dedicated business VoIP solutions can flex and grow with you, allowing you to add or subtract features as needed to meet your precise telephony needs.

Edited by Maurice Nagle