While voice communications seems simple enough on the surface—pick up a phone, dial, talk—there are actually big differences in the types of phone service that an enterprise decides to adopt. Increasingly, VoIP is making a no-brainer argument for itself in terms of replacing “common” connections.
“Phone (News - Alert) communication has been used since the last century. From the very beginning it’s been used for business communication. And seemingly there is nothing to be improved. But that’s only at first sight,” reads a guide out by RingbyName. “Man’s life has greatly changed with the advent of phone communication. For the first time people can talk, being hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Up-to-date IP-telephony technologies have greatly expanded the possibilities for communication and information transfer, although using them is as simple as using the common phones.”
The first and most obvious VoIP advantage is in cost savings. This is especially true if businesses have offices located in different regions and countries — POTS lines tariffing for international calling can be prohibitive, especially for smaller businesses. RingbyName estimates that VoIP allows the companies to save about 40 percent on local phone services, and about 90 percent on international calls.
IP telephony is also more flexible when it comes to adding functionality. For instance, conference call functionality is often inexpensive and simple with VoIP, limited only by the speed of the supporting Internet connection.
Thirdly, there’s an on-premise advantage. With VoIP, there’s no need to lay out expensive phone lines and buy powerful switches.
“It’ll be enough to have a computer with an Internet connection,” RingbyName said. “Even if the company occupies a little office space, VoIP allows saving up to 90 percent of initial expenses.”
And, a final distinct advantage for VoIP is the fact that service providers can be asked for the detailed statistics, be it monthly data transfer speeds, calling analytics, call management and so on.
“Communication by phone is no longer confined solely to voice communication,” RingbyName said. “At the same time, during the call an additional information flow can be arranged, that will help to gather various information.”
Edited by Rory J. Thompson