Learn more about how VoIP telephone systems could benefit your business
Today’s businesses need a cutting-edge communications system to ensure a seamless collaboration experience between employees. This is especially true for businesses that rely on remote working—a practice that’s likely to stick around.
One technology that makes business communication easier is VoIP telephone systems. Although VoIP technology isn’t new, it’s increasingly popular for voice calls. If you haven’t already considered getting a VoIP telephone system, now could be the time to do so.
But what exactly is VoIP, and how can it improve your business phone system? In this guide, we’ll explain the basics of a business VoIP system, how it compares to conventional telephone systems, and what to consider when choosing a VoIP service for your business.
Here’s what we’re going to touch on:
VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. As the name suggests, it’s a way to make phone calls via the internet instead of a conventional phone line.
A VoIP call compresses the sounds we make into packets of data. These packets travel over the internet to the person we’re talking to; their own hardware decompresses the data, turning it into a coherent audio feed when they receive calls.
VoIP voice calls depend on several different mechanisms of a business VoIP phone system working at the same time. A key technology in VoIP phone systems is SIP or Session Initiation Protocol. This is a key component of VoIP systems that use existing hardware, and allows calls to be made between two internet-connected devices. SIP can also connect larger groups of people, and facilitate activities like file transfer, instant messaging, and video conferencing.
Another crucial component of VoIP calls is RTP or Real-Time Transport Protocol. In simple terms, RTP allows real-time audio-visual data to be exchanged over the internet. This has obvious applications when we need to communicate online, especially since online video conference calls are so popular nowadays.
To use VoIP for your business phone system, there are several things to consider. While VoIP calls can be made using just an app (on a laptop or mobile device), businesses regularly making VoIP calls typically invest in further infrastructure.
Finally, you’ll need to choose a VoIP service provider. This allows you to make calls outside of your own business. The VoIP solutions of these providers (which include the setup of hardware and a phone number) usually require recurring payments.
VoIP phones are an excellent choice for businesses and are used across many different industries. Their popularity has been trending steadily upwards for several years, and are ideal for very specific contexts, such as a call center.
Remote working is a natural fit for VoIP systems, as they allow professionals to work from a wider variety of places than before. Remote working has also grown in popularity for several different reasons, but the improving quality of VoIP (and internet speeds) are significant factors.
However, even if remote working is growing in popularity, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some bumps in the road. As we’ve made clear, VoIP communication depends on a strong internet connection to work properly. For a business with several remote workers (where regular communication is a concern), this is where VoIP can become a stumbling block.
The more remote workers you have, the more variables you have to account for. A business’s own premises can invest in higher internet speeds, but this isn’t necessarily true for remote workers. As such, individual employees may face problems like uneven call quality when trying to work.
For remote workers, the solution may be to reduce certain activities (like streaming video) during work hours. Just be prepared for some teething troubles with remote work environments.
With several VoIP service providers out there, it can be tricky to know what is the best system for your business. Different businesses will have different needs, and there’s no off-the-rack option for businesses to choose from. However, you can focus on two broad areas when looking at phone system providers.
Next, consider this: how pleasant are these VoIP service providers to deal with? This covers things like monthly costs, reliability of services, and customer service levels. You may also want to look at how old the company is, how easily you understand their product offerings, and what other customers make of them.
Within a business context, a voice over IP phone comes with several advantages.
The most obvious difference between VoIP technology and a landline phone is the amount of wiring. Landline phones—as we’ve already covered—need some kind of hard connection to the PBX. In this context, the PBX can be seen as the brains of the outfit, guiding your call to exactly where it needs to go. VoIP phones use the internet to handle the functionality of a PBX system, giving you less hardware to worry about.
Similarly, a traditional phone depends upon existing phone infrastructure and a specific phone network. This is often known as the public switched telephone network (PSTN), although it is also sometimes referred to as the plain old telephone service, or POTS.
A regular phone system connected to the PSTN is restricted to one location, but VoIP technology has greater flexibility around where you can use it.
By depending upon this infrastructure, you also have to think about the costs we discussed before. A long-distance call over a landline is a considerable expense, but a long-distance call over the internet is comparatively cheaper.
Therefore, it makes sense to invest in VoIP phones sooner rather than later, particularly if you’re a small business (or just getting off the ground). Younger professionals will expect the flexibility of such a system, and the continued presence of remote workers also makes VoIP phones a no-brainer.
| Traditional phone system | VoIP phone system |
|---|---|
| Lots of hardware on-site | Most relevant hardware off-site |
| High hardware-related costs | Low hardware-related costs |
| Lines are hard to add | Lines are easy to add |
Although the basic functionality of VoIP phones seems unlikely to change (and big improvements like dedicated mobile apps are already here) we may still benefit from certain advanced features going forwards.
The most obvious improvement seems likely to come via improvements in internet connectivity. Internet quality and coverage are probably going to expand as time goes by, with developments like 5G growing in availability.
If this happens, it’s possible that VoIP phones will bypass conventional Wi-Fi and use 5G as standard. This will, in turn, solve the problems we might experience with VoIP calling over 4G, such as poor call quality.
Another emerging technology that could see significant improvements to VoIP is artificial intelligence. AI is already playing a key role in businesses; it’s helping us analyze data and automate certain business tasks. Among these is dealing with certain customer queries, either through IVR systems or smart call routing.
If (like other technologies) AI continues to improve, it could be very handy when used in conjunction with VoIP phones. On a basic level, AI could handle a wider range of customer queries, reducing pressure on employees. It might also help you to understand how your customer support could be improved, by offering insights about call quality and volume.
Another major change to VoIP may come via the security that surrounds it. Despite measures like encryption, VoIP phones can (at times) suffer from issues such as latency and poor call quality. These can be the result of hostile attacks from outside the business itself. Businesses may also be vulnerable to other threats, like incoming calls masquerading as someone else to access confidential information.
Since these are obviously major strikes against VoIP as a technology, we can (hopefully) expect these security holes to be plugged before too long.
By now, we hope you can see the benefits of a business VoIP phone for business communication. If you’re unsure, we’ve highlighted the key points of our guide below.
As a popular and versatile form of business communications, VoIP telephone systems are worth considering if you haven’t already. While they do require strong internet connections, they’re ideal for flexible working and other emerging workplaces. Many VoIP communications features, too, can come as part of a broader Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) platform.
UCaaS is a great way to avoid headaches in how you communicate. Companies like 8x8 offer flexible, intuitive communication solutions, improving both the employee and customer experiences in the process. Check out our website for information on our communications platform, our broader capabilities, and our various pricing tiers.