The ubiquity of VoIP is making businesses large and small consider not just if, but when they should make the switch. But it’s more than just a case of unplugging one phone and plugging in another, and that’s where The Communications Alliance comes in.
The Australia-based Alliance was formed “to provide a unified voice for the Australian communications industry and to lead it into the next generation of converging networks, technologies and services,” the group explains on its website.
To that end, it recently came out with a booklet titled, “So you want a VoIP Service?” In it, the Alliance offers advice for anyone considering moving from a traditional PSTN telephone setup to one which uses Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), whether it will be in-house or as a hosted PBX (News - Alert).
As reported by Claudette Pope on WhaTech.com, the booklet takes readers through “The seven steps to VoIP” with chapters such as Why do you want a VoIP phone service?; things to consider; ensuring that your broadband is up to it; deciding on a VoIP service provider; connecting it all up; using your VoIP service; and customer service and your rights.
Pope notes that each section has valuable information to consider and suggests questions to ask when talking to providers, including such points as how much data you could possibly use in a month, helping potential users decide which plan would be suitable for their needs.
It should be noted that the booklet has been written for the Australian market, outlining just what is possible and available in Australia, but much of the info is broadly applicable elsewhere as well.
“VoIP is a sensible business choice, particularly for small to medium businesses that want to implement more sophisticated communications options,” Pope notes. “Combine this with a hosted PBX environment and a whole new world awaits.
Edited by Kyle Piscioniere