Why VoIP phone systems? As you will see, the more pertinent question for lean startups and SMEs is not Why VoIP, but Why Not VoIP? The question is particularly pertinent if you have a small business with a static office running on a traditional phone system for inter-personnel and customer communication.
The costs of traditional telephone systems can be hefty, yet you certainly can’t countenance getting rid of your phones, and you may even believe that you cannot afford to upgrade your system. So you may feel pinioned on the particularly sharp horns of a business dilemma.
While traditional phone costs can indeed be quite alarming for small businesses, not only will making the leap to more modern small business phone systems drastically reduce these running costs, but the transfer will entail the absolute minimum of fuss and cost and entail significantly less outlay than you might imagine.
One solution and an ideal one is a Voice over Internet Protocol VoIP system. Why VoIP? For starters, it gives you enhanced sound quality on your calls, and, whether self-hosted or run through a cloud provider, requires only a broadband connection to activate. In addition, the question of maintenance is minimised almost to non-existence. VoIP also enables remote personnel to connect with the system through their mobiles, and it facilitates scaling, with a host of features that were available previously only to large corporations.
If you are thinking of changing your business phone system, here is a little more detail on the two primary reasons why VoIP is an ideal solution for most small businesses.
Why VoIP? 1: Money Talks
The cost savings associated with VoIP stem from the way that Voice over Internet Protocol VoIP phone systems work.
VoIP unshackles telephone communication from the static, traditional Public Switched Telephone Network and transplants it to the open range of the Internet.
Instantly, the user has the ability to transmit voice and huge volumes of data, such as video and imagery in addition to text, via the Internet.
Whether you choose to host your VoIP phone system in-house or through a service provider on the ‘Cloud’, the hassle for the owner is minimal—particularly in the case of hosted service providers, which can add or subtract lines from your service at the push of a button, depending on your requirements.
The immediate benefits are a quality of call that is much clearer and for a fraction of the cost of traditional landline system calls.
In many cases, an existing business phone system can be connected to a VoIP network, meaning that the only requirement is to purchase new handsets. And whatever outlay may be required at the outset will be more than offset by ongoing cost savings.
Why VoIP? 2: Efficiency & Flexibility
Even in these relatively uncertain economic times, VoIP has prospered. Last year in the US alone, IBISWorld estimated that the VoIP industry’s contribution to the global economy would increase at a rate of 15 percent per year until 2017. A study by Infonetics Research showed that VoIP subscribership grew by approximately 14 percent year on year since 2009, while the Juniper Research company anticipated last year that the number of mobile VoIP users alone would be 1 billion by 2017.
The reason for this is partly the costs, but also the efficiency and flexibility that VoIP offers. It is telling that one of the key areas in this type of phone system has been in the mobile VoIP end. The reason for this is because mobile users can enjoy all of the features and facilities that would have at one time been available only to large multinational corporations.
VoIP just makes so much sense for a lean SME or a startup business, especially one entering a growth phase. If you choose to have a VoIP phone system that is hosted on the cloud by a provider, you do not need to purchase any equipment or even employ staff to install and maintain it. No wiring. No installation. All you require is a broadband connection.
Parting thought… Will it work for all businesses?
In theory, it should… but in reality, VoIP phone systems, for all their flexibility and low costs will depend entirely upon your Internet connection. So if you have a small business located or headquartered in an area with fitfully erratic or weak broadband, the VoIP system will not work. But for all other businesses, it will, and handsomely.