Tag Archive for: VoIP advantages

How Does Hosted VoIP Work

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What is Hosted VoIP?

Communication systems have always, and will always, be crucial components of any successful business, so it’s important that organisations keep in touch with any related tech developments. And, when it comes to phone technology, hosted Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has steadily been gaining traction in the business market for the last decade. However, many businesses are still making do with traditional phone technology and aren’t aware of what hosted VoIP can offer them.

How Does VoIP Work For Business

The first piece of internet phone software was launched in 1995 and allowed early users to transmit voice signals over the internet to anywhere in the world. And, this remains the very foundation of VoIP nearly 25 years later. Naturally, advances in technology have ensured that the quality of these voice signals have increased almost exponentially and, more importantly, the connections that carry them are significantly more stable and provide seamless communication.

Hosted VoIP takes the standard concept of VoIP and packages it as a service provided to businesses. Part of the appeal of hosted VoIP is that all the hardware and the private branch exchange (a telephone switching system) doesn’t need to be housed on site. Instead, this is all housed at a remote location that businesses can connect to. This provides organisations with a fantastic phone system, but without the costly investment of purchasing said equipment and maintaining it on site.

Transitioning to Cloud-based (VoIP) Phones

Traditional landlines are due to be made redundant by the mid-2020s, so it’s vital that your business begins to consider making the transition to cloud-based office phones sooner rather than later. After all, we know that communication is critical in business, so remaining competitive in this area is highly important. Such a major change in technology, though, is surely difficult to integrate, right? Well, actually, it’s a lot simpler that you might imagine.

Planning is, as ever, an essential step, but if it’s done correctly then you can rest assured that your transition should an easy one. One of the major benefits of hosted VoIP is that all the hardware is based off site and this means you can gradually introduce it to your office alongside your existing telephone system. This allows you to keep your communication channels open to reduce the impact of any teething issues. Number porting, of course, is one of the most time consuming aspects of transitioning to a new phone system, so it’s a good idea to make this a priority from the start.

How Much Does VoIP Cost?

As with most hosted services, there are a considerable number of providers vying for your business and they will all offer products with varying features and price ranges. For the most basic package, you should be looking to pay around £20 per month for a service which allows you to work with a limited amount of minutes to use each month. However, for a business that, for example, contains considerably more staff and requires more talk time, it makes sense to go for all-inclusive packages which start at around £50 per month.

Learn More about VoIP for Business

 

VoIP Systems Advantages

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VoIP Communications Systems Advantages

Information has become key to doing business, and communication and collaboration tools are now a vitally important part of company infrastructure.

Advances in communications technology over recent years have made it easier, faster and cheaper to connect with employees and customers than ever before. And this phenomenon is allowing companies to grow at an unprecedented rate.

One of the most important developments is without question VoIP telephony.

Key VoIP advantages

VoIP technology has several key benefits over traditional telecommunications systems including:

  • Cost – VoIP calls are considerably cheaper than tradition phone services, and in many situations call are actually free. Calling from one VoIP system to another comes at no cost, as the call is carried over your existing internet infrastructure, as opposed to a separate phone line. VoIP fees for international calls are also very attractive compared to traditional operators, allowing you to connect more easily with customers in new markets.

 

  • Data and analytics – VoIP systems make it easy to track details about incoming and outgoing calls, such as number and frequency of calls, and call duration. This is really useful for analysing things such as the performance of call centre staff or sales teams. Are they hitting the required number of calls each day and what is the average call duration?

 

  • Integration with other systems – VoIP can be integrated into other business systems, such as CRM, vastly increasing the functionality of both systems. The CRM could then log the number of times each client has been called, or prompt employees to contact customers that have not been contacted for a certain length of time.

 

  • Mobility – As VoIP functions over the internet rather than a fixed telephone line, you can take your phone number with you wherever you go. This is great for employees who work flexibly between the office and home, or who travel frequently.

 

  • Productivity – Many of the features mentioned above translate into better employee productivity, enabling them to get more done in the same period of time. The “click to dial” feature is a great example, saving employees from having to key in individual phone numbers.

For more information on how VoIP could help to transform your business, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Contact Us:  0844 770 0199