Does your business have a reliable internet connection? If Yes, you could benefit greatly by switching to a VoIP phone system.
Voice over Internet Protocol, aka VoIP, has been making waves in the business world of late due to the many benefits it offers. According to Statista, US VoIP business lines jumped from 6.2 million to a whopping 41.6 million between 2010 to 2018.
And this begs the question; why is VoIP gaining so much traction?
Unlike the traditional phone system, VoIP technology is cost-effective, more reliable, and adapts to the needs of its users. Below, we’ll provide a brief overview of this technology and highlight the advantages of switching to a VoIP phone system.
What Is VoIP and How Does It Work?
VoIP is short for Voice over Internet Protocol.
As the name suggests, a VoIP phone system utilizes the internet protocol to send and receive calls. This means you no longer have to use an outdated landline.
So, how does it work?
Basically, VoIP replaces wires and phone lines with the internet. Instead of using telephone lines, all communication data is converted into small units called “packets” and sent over the IP network. These packets travel like any other type of data, such as email, over the private/public Internet Protocol (IP) network.
A VoIP server is then used to connect calls to other telephone networks. Upon reaching the recipient, the data packs are pierced back into the original voice data you hear on the phone.
VoIP goes by many names, and you may also hear it referred to as broadband phone service, IP telephony, internet telephony, Cloud PBX, Voice over IP, etc. To avoid confusion, we’ll be referring to all of these offerings under the name “VoIP” in this article.
Advantages of Using a VoIP Phone System
VoIP has slowly become the spine of every growing and flourishing business, owing to the many benefits it brings along. Here are the top advantages of using VoIP.
1. Lower Costs
Compared to the traditional phone system, VoIP is significantly cheaper.
On average, a landline phone system costs businesses $50 per line each month, and this rate comprises domestic and international calls. In contrast, average VoIP costs are around $10 to $30 per user per month.
These low costs are because VoIP utilizes an existing internet connection, meaning you’re only paying for internet usage.
Moreover, VoIP doesn’t need investment in costly hardware that often comes with additional installation and maintenance costs. In fact, you won’t need any extra hardware at all. You can make and receive calls from the devices you already own.
2. Remote Work Friendly
The shift to remote work has been on the rise for the past few years, but everything changed in 2020, thanks to COVID-19. With the state-imposed lockdowns, many companies had no choice but to follow the work-from-home trend.
Today, an estimated 16% of companies in the world are 100% remote.
As the move to remote work intensifies, many companies are looking for communication systems ideal for remote work arrangements. A traditional phone system with a line running directly to your business might not cut it, as it lacks the portability factor.
Thanks to VoIP, you can cut the cord and work from anywhere. Mobility is built into the system, and you’re able to move around as you need. As long as you have a stable internet connection, you can work, send and receive calls from anywhere in the world.
3. Higher Scalability
Scalability is another factor that makes VoIP an ideal choice for businesses looking to expand their operations.
Compared to VoIP, traditional phone systems are more expensive and difficult to scale. Legacy phone systems are limited to either 2 or 30 channels per circuit, making it extremely hard to scale up effectively.
With VoIP, you can easily add more employees to the system when necessary.
A VoIP phone system allows you to add a line as you add a new employee and quickly eliminate lines if you’re downsizing.
4. Highly Reliable
There’s a common VoIP fallacy that if a business finds itself without internet for whatever reason, it would be without a phone as well.
The truth is, VoIP phone systems are highly reliable—with or without the internet.
If an office line goes down due to a poor network, you can always forward calls to mobile phones and other devices. What’s more, most VoIP service providers offer backup options to ensure business continuity, such as top-of-the-line data centers.
5. Increased Productivity
VoIP phone systems boost productivity by eliminating “phone tag”—a phenomenon in which two people try to contact each other by phone, but neither can get a hold of the other.
A phone tag can lead to reduced sales and increased customer frustration and sometimes even impact a business’s reputation online. However, with a VoIP phone system, you’ll never have to worry about phone tags.
You can program VoIP phone numbers to ring on multiple devices instead of going straight to voicemail, reducing the likelihood of phone tag.
6. More Secure
In today’s age of cybersecurity threats, businesses are always at risk of fraudulent phone calls. And phone scams have become a major problem in the US. Data from First Orion shows that scam calls increased from 3.7% in 2017 to a whopping 29.2% in 2018.
The good news; you can protect your business from fraudulent calls by switching to a VoIP telephone system.
VoIP can eradicate these threats through IP technology advancements. This technology has increased identity management and advanced encryption protocols to guarantee data security.
What’s more, when you work with a reliable VoIP service provider, they’ll regularly perform security audits. They can even set up security alerts to warn you and your team of any suspicious activity.
7. Versatility of Features
Aside from making phone calls, VoIP offers additional features that can take your business communication to the next level. These include:
- Voicemail
- Collaboration
- Third-party integrations
- Call recording
- Call forwarding
Businesses can use some of these features to promote teamwork and improve operational efficiency. For example, conference calls allow participants worldwide to join calls at once, promoting collaboration and teamwork among your employees.
Wrapping Up
Many businesses find it hard to make the switch to VoIP for fear of the unknown. They tend to allude to the adage, “If it ain’t broken, why fix it.”
But those who have ditched the traditional phone system in favor of VoIP are seeing a quantum reap in revenue, not to forget the increased productivity and business efficiency. If you haven’t made the switch to VoIP yet, there is no better time than now to do it.
