Several Advantages to Business VoIP Outlined

Business VoIP you’ve certainly heard of by now, it’s making and receiving phone calls over the Internet, instead of normal phone lines. It’s usually far less costly than landline phone costs, so it’s become a great favorite of businesses looking for economical alternatives to landlines, especially SMBs which always have an eye out for that sort of thing.

Nextiva is one of the better providers of the service, and they’ve put together a comprehensive list of some factors businesses considering the switch to VoIP should be watching for. The entire list, too detailed to summarize here, is well worth the time to read. Here are some of highlights:

Reduced phone plan costs. Despite the fact that VoIP is technologically superior to regular and cell phones in so many ways, any business can immediately save on phone service associated costs, with even the most basic business VoIP system. One of the reasons that such dramatic cost savings benefits exist with a VoIP system is that calls previously classified as “local” and “long distance,” are all included in the VoIP plans. Savings vary by company, however most firms report at least a 35 percent reduction in cost, with many reporting as much as an 80 percent overall savings.

No special equipment is ever required. Switching over to VoIP is really one of the easiest transitions that any company can consider. There is no special equipment purchase required to install a VoIP system, nor does it require any special kind of telephone. VoIP can be used by any business with a computer that has a sound card, modem, speakers, a microphone, high speed Internet connection, and the ability to download the applicable software.

VoIP service plans offer flexibility. With a VoIP service, you can use the same phone, in the same way that you always have with your old landline. This holds true for whether you are calling to a location next door, across town, in another state or around the world, or need to call 911 for an emergency. When you make the switch, you can even keep your existing phone number.

Basic VoIP services offer many advantages. The cost for a basic VoIP phone system begins at around $19.95 and the prices usually include extras, for a flat monthly rate. They offer such advantages as the use of an existing phone number, the choice of area code, service from anywhere in the world at no additional charge, unlimited local and long distance calling and the vast majority of services you get with traditional phones, such as call block, voicemail, *69 and all that.

Hosted VoIP services are supported. A more advanced VoIP system to consider is the Hosted PBX VoIP service. This alternative to traditional analog phone systems includes many more advanced features, at a far less cost than even the most basic traditional phone systems.

VoIP encourages scalability. Compared to traditional phone lines, VoIP services enable any company to easily and with minimal additional capital investment, adapt to future changes. Traditional phone systems always require the purchase of additional hardware or modules to handle changes or expansion.

Exceptional business continuity and disaster recovery. VoIP services offer a level of business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities that far exceed that of landline phone services. Traditional telephone systems are not able to ensure that your phone service is always available. With VoIP, even if your physical office location becomes inoperable, VoIP can

provide continual service through another immediate number.

As you can clearly see from this summary, business VoIP is a great choice for organizations looking to improve operations without spending a fortune.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. ITEXPO offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.