VoIP (Voice over IP) lets you make telephone calls from your computer to a landline or mobile phone. Calls are no longer based on older, traditional telephone lines. VoIP delivers greater functionality at lower costs to businesses. Many business owners report significant cost savings as much as 70% when switching to VoIP.
You can now make phone calls to any landline or mobile device, even if the devices do not support internet protocol. The old-style telephone company, AT&T, and many other companies offer VoIP services, and there are options to use VoIP in the workplace. In addition to using it to make and receive telephone calls, some businesses are beginning to use it as a substitute for conventional telephone lines. Instead of paying for long distance calls with a regular telephone company, VoIP can allow employees to make calls to their work phone from anywhere. This is an attractive alternative to a temporary move or to a new location.
A business communication suite consisting of VoIP phone service and web conferencing is known as a cloud communications platform. There are several providers offering cloud services, and the cost savings is similar to using a conventional VoIP provider, though with fewer added features. The most common type of cloud communications platform is the hosted VoIP provider. A hosted VoIP phone service is offered through a browser to connect to a private network of servers, which contain the necessary software and application programs required to make and receive telephone calls.
To set up a hosted VoIP phone service,
the company setting up the service typically installs an application on the company’s computer network. The application contains a virtual operating system and all the necessary hardware needed to deliver an appropriate VoIP Phone service. This enables the user of the cloud-based unified communications application to simply select a plan that fits his or her needs. Once connected, these individuals can start making telephone calls from virtually any location, using any appropriate hardware.
Some companies have VoIP phone service
but use an internet protocol (IP) phone to connect to the IP phones of employees. An IP phone is an analog telephone that makes calls over an internet connection. The IP phones that are used to make calls to a hosted VoIP service typically do not need an internet connection. Other companies prefer to use an internet phone with a traditional telephone handset so that employees can still make calls to traditional phones. Internet telephony does require a high-speed internet connection.
Businesses may also use a traditional telephone with an attached internet line to make calls to another individual’s telephone. This is sometimes referred to as “cellular” phone service. Individuals may also use voice technology with their existing phone number. They may have a home phone number or a business phone number and change their normal phone number to a voip phone number, in order to be able to make local, as well as international telephone calls.
Many people who use voice technology also use text-messaging applications. Some text message applications are free and can send text messages for free. Other text messaging applications charge a fee and allow text messages to be sent for a charge. Companies who are looking to use voip phone services should look for an SMS text-messaging app. Most of these applications will work with most cell phone plans.
Many companies are already well-established and have established their own IP networks. These companies may decide to upgrade their existing phone systems to hosted PBX systems. Hosted PBX systems offer many benefits.
- A hosted system gives the company the ability to standardize all of the features and applications that it uses so that all employees’ voice and data can be delivered in a consistent manner.
- It also allows the company the ability to manage all of its communication functions centrally so that all call details are managed and recorded.
- Hosted PBX phone systems are more cost effective than traditional landline phone systems.