VoIP phones work on your business’s broadband internet connection and look and operate like traditional landlines. You can use specialized VoIP phones that plug directly into your office’s Ethernet network or standard telephones connected to a VoIP adapter.
Unlike traditional business phones, VoIP devices don’t require copper wiring to connect to the phone network and must be registered online with your service provider.
Worthwhile
Many businesses can save money by switching to VoIP phone systems. Traditional business phones require specialized hardware and wired phone lines that are costly to install, support and upgrade.
VoIP calls travel over your business broadband Internet connection and are transmitted as data packets. Therefore, these call costs are substantially lower than traditional PSTN and ISDN calls.
Furthermore, VoIP providers often offer unlimited calling with a fixed monthly fee. This is because voice data uses less bandwidth than visiting websites or downloading files. This allows organizations to prioritize calls even when the Internet speed is low. Furthermore, VoIP software lets employees connect from mobile devices and desktops for better flexibility, catering to work-from-home arrangements and global teams. A few VoIP providers also allow account settings to be dynamically downloaded on users’ handsets when they login to the system. Read furthermore to VoIP hardware guide you about VoIP systems.
Satisfaction
VoIP phones offer many convenience-enhancing features compared to traditional landlines, such as unlimited calling and online faxing. Moreover, most providers don’t charge any one-time setup fees. This allows businesses to enjoy instant savings when switching to VoIP.
VoIP phone software or hardware solutions convert analog audio signals into digital voice data routed to the customer’s phone via the internet. This process happens almost instantly, which explains why VoIP sound quality is so great.
Besides, users can access the same business phone features on their mobile devices, which gives them more flexibility to work wherever they are without any hassles. They only need a reliable internet connection with less than 70ms ping and 500 kbps upload speed for optimal performance.
Scalability
VoIP phones use the internet to transmit data rather than the traditional phone company’s trunked lines. This saves you a lot of money on the initial setup and monthly costs.
While a business VoIP phone system looks similar to your normal handsets, the internal hardware is quite different. Instead of an RJ-11 phone connector, it has an ethernet plug which allows it to be powered and connected to your business’s network via an internet connection.
If your business relocates, you don’t need to acquire new phone lines like you would with a traditional handset. Instead, you can have your employees switch to using softphones compatible with your existing communication and collaboration tools. This provides greater flexibility and scalability.
Flexibility
VoIP phone systems allow employees to access business calls from any device that can access the internet. This includes computers, mobile phones (using a free VoIP app), office phones, and even tablets and fax machines (with the help of an ATA).
This is possible because VoIP uses your broadband internet connection to send voice data packets across the network. The data travels through a private IP PBX system or on-site hardware to be converted into an analog signal on the PSTN network.
This allows for exceptional scalability as you add more users to the system, which can be done with a few clicks inside the VoIP account dashboard. However, you must remember that your VoIP system will only function if your internet connection is stable and reliable.
Security
One major drawback of VoIP phones is that they depend on technology, and if the internet or electricity fails for any reason, the virtual business phone number will stop working. While hosted services can reduce this risk to some extent, it is still there and should be considered before implementing a virtual business phone system.
Traditional analog phones can be connected with VoIP to an Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA). This converts analog signals into digital ones and transmits them over the internet using IP technology.
VoIP apps are also available for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. These softphones require a standard phone app, an internet connection, and the corresponding VoIP software solution. They offer increased mobility for employees as they don’t need to install new phone jacks in the wall and can easily switch between the desk and mobile phones.
