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Voip Small Business

By Nadia Jones, Staff Writer voip.com

Published:January 4, 2006

What can voip do for your small business? More cost effective than legacy networks, voip serves up innovative telecom solutions to individual consumers, small businesses, multinational corporations, and entire governments.

Voip Saves Small Businesses

Increasingly, small business owners around the globe are turning to voip for their telecommunication needs. Voip, or Voice Over IP, is a powerful technology that allows companies to streamline their communications systems while enjoying lower costs and increased capabilities.

Voip Provides a Variety of Benefits

Using IP networks to handle voice traffic enables businesses to save up to 40% on international calls. Digital networks also offer productivity boosting features that traditional networks can't. Some of the more popular ones are:

  • Click to Call: Connects online customers to your sales or customer service staff with the click of a button.
  • Web-Based Voicemail: Checks and manages voice messages online.
  • Integrated Conferencing: Uses real-time communication to collaborate with long-distance business partners.
  • Auto-Attendant: Covers larger areas with a smaller workforce by redirecting calls from unattended sites to attended sites.
  • Call Routing: Reduces call center staffing.

Voip is More Efficient

Voip takes analog voice traffic and turns it into compact, digitized packets that can be sent over the internet, instead of using regular phone lines. Packets can take many different paths to reach their final destination. Once there, they are automatically unpacked and converted to crystal clear audio. This is different from standard phone systems, where one call creates a dedicated connection that is used during the entire conversation. Voip generates a non-dedicated connection only long enough to send short bursts of information. This allows for better use of resources.

Voip Uses Broadband Connections

Any IP network can support voip, but best results come from T1 lines or other high speed networks. Cable and DSL, while suitable for consumer use, may not give the voice quality and reliability required by businesses.

Voip Offers Hosted or On-Site Equipment Solutions

There are several options available to businesses that migrate to voip. Hosted solutions are easier to implement and don't involve a large up front investment. Equipment-based plans may offer growing businesses greater flexibility, but they are also more difficult to manage and maintain. Careful consideration should be given to the total cost of ownership.

Choose a voip Provider

Small business owners must carefully evaluate their telecom needs before selecting a Voip provider. Once the company has established its criteria, a minimum of three suitable providers should be compared. Look for a provider that has strong customer service support and a commitment to high voice quality. Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are another important factor so be sure to look for one that is backed up by business-value metrics.

Ultimately, voip gives small businesses access to the same telecom services that multinational corporations use. Combining current technology with scalable systems and unbeatable features, voip is rapidly becoming the preferred small business telecommunication choice.