TMCnews Featured Article

There's a lot to like when it comes to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and the biggest thing has to be the potential for cost savings. Being able to call other states, even other countries in some cases for the cost of an Internet connection is a hard thing not to like. But with a little careful planning and forethought, there are other ways for VoIP to save money for a business.

First, focus on features. Small businesses are discovering that features that were formerly available only to the biggest businesses are now available with VoIP solutions. These features are offering a whole new way to do business, allowing businesses to pick up sales that formerly may have been lost. Selective call forwarding and find-me-follow-me systems are allowing more calls to get answered by just the right people, increasing the chances of making the right contact or even a sale.

Second, take advantage of VoIP's hosted nature. VoIP is commonly a hosted service, and that means that the service is available on a monthly basis, with the ability to scale up and down as needed. Add services in busy times, and take those services out when times get slow. This lets the business run in a leaner fashion, and keeps costs contained.

Third, take advantage of VoIP's mobile nature. The idea of the mobile workforce, a workforce that can operate from home offices and go where it's needed when it's needed, has given a lot of businesses pause. With VoIP, not only can employees all over the world call in as needed, but employees can also call out as well, making all the necessary contacts to keep the business running with a smaller, leaner central facility from which to operate.

Fourth, consider the value of business continuity. When disaster strikes—whether it is a flood, blackout, fire, or an event like the recent Hurricane Sandy—being able to keep a business running on at least some level thanks to the distributed nature of a VoIP connection can be a huge help, and can even mean the difference between a complete shutdown and a partial operation. Half a loaf will always be better than none at all, and being partially running can keep a business going even through disaster.

Fifth, consider using e-mail as a voicemail platform. E-mail is a universal standard for most businesses, and its ability to work with multiple message formats makes it especially valuable. Plus, e-mail often has an extra layer of security working for it, with long-term storage capabilities, making it a superior way to store voicemail messages as well.

Finally, take a look at voice peering. Voice peering is a means by which VoIP is used to forward calls directly to provider networks. Not only does this ratchet up call quality, but it also removes some of the charges that can be involved, by keeping calls out of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) entirely. Long distance and international charges are out of the picture under a voice peering system, and helps to give VoIP one of its biggest potential savings opportunities.

There's a lot of room for saving money when it comes to VoIP, and whether it's opening up the floor to more opportunity or reducing costs, VoIP has a lot of value for businesses of every size. VoIP's room for cost savings just takes some careful thought and a little planning to fully realize, and these days, every dollar saved is well worth it.