SUBSCRIBE TO TMCnet
TMCnet - World's Largest Communications and Technology Community

CHANNEL BY TOPICS


QUICK LINKS




VoIP Telephony Helps SMBs Compete

VoIP Gateways Article

VoIP Telephony Helps SMBs Compete

 
January 25, 2017

Share
Tweet
  By Tracey E. Schelmetic, TMCnet Contributor

Companies across the country and the world have turned to voice over IP (VoIP) in an effort to save money. At the same time, they have been gaining a number of benefits that traditional analog telephone service hasn’t been able to provide to them (not without huge cost outlays, anyway). The business benefits of VoIP are so broad today, that cost savings aside, the companies that have not yet transitioned to VoIP are actually missing out on business opportunities.


In a recent article by Beverly Smart of CenturyLink (News - Alert) writing for Forbes, she notes that companies still using analog telephone systems are beginning to pay a steep price in maintenance costs.

“Beyond the price paid for lost business opportunities as the pace of competition increases, consider also the mounting costs of maintenance as legacy systems age and grow ever more obsolete,” she wrote.

There’s also a price to be paid in failing to meet the expectations of customers, who still overwhelmingly reach for the telephone when they need an issue resolved. With each year that passes, traditional telephone systems are becoming less able to meet these expectations.

“When an issue arises, many customers who need to interact with you still reach for the phone,” she wrote. “Your customers are looking for service, not receiving a busy signal or getting voicemail instead of reaching you.”

There’s also the issue of IT costs and the time it takes to manage networks. An enterprise VoIP system puts a company’s phone system on the same digital network as the rest of the business, increasing the efficiency of the data network and eliminating the need to manage two separate networks, something that most smaller businesses don’t have the manpower to do.

Enterprise VoIP for business adds capabilities that smaller companies, in particular, could never achieve with traditional telephony. They can gain access to features such as call forwarding, remote management, mobility and unified communications, helping them to compete with larger companies that enjoy much larger telecom budgets.

“Put simply, VoIP unleashes communication,” wrote Smart. “When a customer calls, digital links can automatically call up stored data such as orders in process and delivery status, etc. This empowers your employees to focus on a customer’s in-the-moment needs, rather than having to promise to get back to them before launching a lengthy investigation into their issue.”

For some companies that have not yet transitioned to VoIP, concerns remain about call quality. In a recent blog post for Telecom Reseller (News - Alert), the VoIP Innovations blogger outlined some ways in which companies using VoIP can overcome issues such as distorted audio, post-dial delay and one-way audio. Often, it’s simply a matter of choosing the right VoIP provider, monitoring for quality and making adjustments in settings.

Increasingly, companies that haven’t yet moved to VoIP will be left behind with obsolete technology, high maintenance cost and an inability to meet mobility, remote administration and customer experience needs. It may be time for your business – small, medium or large – to investigate what enterprise VoIP can do for you. 




Edited by Alicia Young
Home





Technology Marketing Corporation

2 Trap Falls Road Suite 106, Shelton, CT 06484 USA
Ph: +1-203-852-6800, 800-243-6002

General comments: [email protected].
Comments about this site: [email protected].

STAY CURRENT YOUR WAY

© 2024 Technology Marketing Corporation. All rights reserved | Privacy Policy