What are the advantages of VoIP?
VOIP technology is becoming increasingly attractive to small business owners due to the amount of savings when compared to the traditional telephone line. Business owners who use a VOIP phone system see savings on toll calls as well as a reduction in cost associated with phone line maintenance. VOIP phone systems use the same lines as the office internet connection thus offering a reduced cost with less lines and lower maintenance costs associated with the installation and upkeep.
In recent years, their have been major improvements in the quality of VOIP service. Today's VOIP sound quality is very close to that offered traditional analog lines. A decrease in the delay of voice packets makes the VOIP line have a clearer sound with fewer breaks or echoes. Most VOIP lines offer the same sound quality of the traditional telephone line.
Infotech reported that an estimated 80% of businesses that utilize VOIP phones report that it has met or exceeded their expectations. Many large call centers are using VOIP for their customer service lines. VOIP technology allows the use of voice prompts versus the old push 1 for... thus making for a more customer friendly service call and lower expenses associated with maintaining the call center.
With the increased availability of high speed internet, many call centers are allowing their employees to work from home. Thus saving even more money by freeing up unused office space and dramatically reducing the employee turn over rate in an industry that has historically had a very high turn over.
Switching from a traditional land line to a VOIP system may seem like a savior for small businesses but their are still issues that need to be considered. The main issue that should be addresses is the amount of bandwidth available and if it is sufficient to handle voice packets in order to deliver a quality conversation. Some other issues to consider is the availability of a back up plan for power outages as well as the technical know how to maintain the VOIP system.