In the search for ways to save on costs, without sacrificing the tools necessary to deliver excellent customer service, it’s becoming more and more common for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to consider making the switch from traditional phone systems to VoIP solutions.
According to recent findings from analyst firm IDC (News - Alert), there has been an increasing amount of interest by SMBs in VoIP technologies, with VoIP having established a “solid foothold” in 30 percent of the mid-sized SMBs currently using it. With the majority of the industry having already accepted that Session Initiation Protocol (News - Alert) is the norm, SMBs no longer have to worry about the risks of purchasing hardware of software proprietary to a specific provider. Overall, SMBs are more inclined to leverage external VoIP providers rather than splurge on an expensive IP-PBX (News - Alert).
The business case for SMBs to eventually adopt VoIP comes down to several factors: equipment costs, easy setup, reliability and flexibility. First and foremost, setting up a small business VoIP system only entails a broadband connection, subscription of a VoIP service, and a router that can accommodate outbound, packet-based calls to the Internet. Even more, the VoIP service provider – rather than the business itself – is tasked with the duty of bridging these calls from the Internet to their destination, and resolving any connectivity issues that arise.
Meanwhile, a VoIP phone system requires one set of equipment and infrastructure to route simultaneous calls over the same local area network. Moreover, for SMBs with multiple locations, VoIP doesn’t necessitate a traditional communications infrastructure, like a wide area network, to connect staff distributed across several sites.
At the recent ITEXPO (News - Alert) East 2012 in Miami, Fla., Chris Hasenauer, vice president and general manager of Allworx, sat down with TMCnet to discuss how the company, a manufacturer of VoIP phone systems catered to the SMB, is providing enterprise-class functionality through its newly-unveiled 6x12, a scaled-down VoIP solution for small businesses and enterprise locations including bank branches, retail locations, and restaurants. To hear the complete conversation about 6x12 and some other exciting developments from the company, check out the video above.
Edited by Jamie Epstein