When people talk about the benefits of VoIP (Voice Internet Protocol) telecoms, they often focus on the cost savings and the call quality. Obviously, these are both great benefits, but not enough attention is paid to what it is actually like to use VoIP day-to-day and the flexibility it can add to your communications. Today we’re focusing on how VoIP allows you to take your business number with you wherever you are, as well as some other VoIP features and benefits.
The Advantages Of VoIP
Multiple Devices – One Account, One Number
As VoIP technologies are applications rather than specific devices, they can run on a desktop, a laptop, a mobile phone, or can be connected to existing desk phones. If you are a VoIP user, and you have your VoIP app installed on multiple devices, the same account is shared across all those devices. This means that if you open the VoIP app on your desktop or your mobile phone, you’ll have all the same contacts and call history synced between them, but more importantly, you have the same number on all these devices.
Have Two Phones In One
One of the benefits of sharing a VoIP account and VoIP phone number across multiple devices is that by having your VoIP app of choice installed on your mobile, you can always have your business phone line with you, without having to physically carry a second mobile phone around.
Call All Your Devices at Once
Not everyone is at their desk all day long and coming back to realise that you’ve missed the important phone call you had been waiting for can be really annoying. With VoIP, you can have all your devices call at the same time. So, when that call you’ve been waiting for finally comes, your mobile and your laptop will both start “ringing” at the same time as your desk phone. You can answer on whichever device is more convenient for you. This way you never miss a call just because you happened to be away from your desk.
Perfect For Working From Home
Over the past year, many companies found themselves having to transition to working from home over a very short period of time. Businesses which were already using VoIP found this transition much easier as they could continue using the same business numbers that they had used at their office, and all their contacts and customer details were synced automatically from their in-office systems to those on laptops, home computers, and mobile devices.
The Disadvantages Of VoIP
Reliable Internet Required
Because your VoIP telecoms will run over your internet line, you need to have an internet connection you can depend on. If your current internet connection is not reliable, your VoIP won’t be either. However, tis could be the perfect opportunity to improve your internet connection.
At Carden Telecoms, we can provide FTTC, FTTP, and leased line internet connections available. We can help analyse your existing usage and your predicted future usage with VoIP – we can then suggest and install the best business broadband solution for your company.
Latency
Related to your internet connection is your latency. Latency is a measure of the delay on your internet line. High latency is more noticeable when you are on a voice or video call. 150ms is the preferred latency for using VoIP, and anything over 300ms will be noticeable and start to effect your customers’ experience.
Is VoIP Right For Your Business?
Whether a VoIP phone system is the right choice for your business depends on your size, location, what stage of your business’s life cycle you are in, and the features you are looking for from a telecoms system. Voicemail, automated digital receptionists, call recording, hold music, voicemail-to-email,and video calling are all common features that the majority of VoIP platforms provide.
You need to ensure you have adequate upload and download speeds to handle two-way voice calls, and you’ll need an even better connection if you want to use your VoIP platform’s video calling features.
Before you switch to a VoIP, you need to know whether your current internet line can support the VoIP platform of your choice. It is also worth considering that ISDN and PSTN phone lines are beginning to be phased out in the UK, so you will need to switch to a digital alternative sooner rather than later. This makes VoIP a good choice for most businesses if their network can support it.
Ready To Upgrade? Want To Learn More About VoIP?
We hope this has been a useful guide to some of the benefits of having a unified communications system via VoIP. Carden Telecoms have helped businesses of all sizes to modernise and streamline their communications. If you would like to implement VoIP in your workplace, speak to our team today.
