Finding Affordable IP Communications Solutions for Businesses

Businesses and individuals have many communication options in today’s marketplace, and choosing the right solution often comes down to price. In the past, traditional phone companies were basically a cartel with tight control of the type of services they made available to their customers. When the Internet came along, however, it obliterated that business model and now many companies offer a wide range of communications solutions with unlimited customizable options and better, more competitive price points.

By turning broadband links into telephones, VoIP and virtual PBX have introduced an alternative to the inflexible and expensive options offered with public switched telephone network (PSTN). Many consumers and businesses believe they’re being overcharged by traditional phone companies for simple voice and messaging services, and they have been flocking in record numbers to over-the-top (OTT) VoIP services to cut their communication costs.

This is costing telecoms billions of dollars, and according to Ovum, telecoms are expected to lose $479 billion of revenue to VoIP OTT operators. Platforms such as WhatsApp, Skype and Viber have fee-based and free options, which many individual consumers use regularly, but businesses have been slow to adopt the wide range of options available with IP phone services.

One of the best available options is a virtual PBX or hosted phone system, which delivers a comprehensive communications solution without having to deal with the complexity of the physical hardware on-premises. Because a virtual PBX is hosted in the cloud, the entire system is connected to the Internet instead of a landline, allowing even the smallest organization to access many call handling features previously limited to large enterprises.

With a hosted PBX system, the organization is able to improve the customer experience, enhance workplace productivity and scale to meet demand at any time without breaking the bank and dealing with the headaches associated of maintaining on-premises hardware.

More than anything, a virtual PBX system offers flexibility to operate the organization anywhere there is an Internet connection so remote workers and multi-location offices can coordinate their operations more effectively instantly. This includes unlimited scalability so new employees and locations can be integrated into this platform at the touch of a button without the long waiting periods of traditional systems.

The lack of awareness and quality of service (QoS) have been some issues businesses have pointed out when it comes to adopting virtual PBX communication solutions. While awareness depends on the business, the QoS in IP communications rivals and often times surpasses that of traditional landline systems because of faster Internet speeds and technological advances. The technology is so reliable, even telecom operators use it for their communications solutions.

However, at the end of the day businesses are interested in how much money this technology will save them. Not having to purchase a physical PBX system is one big hurdle, but when you add the maintenance, line rental, upgrades and costly scalability of traditional system, the virtual platform is a better alternative for now and the future.