Evolving with Technology: 5 Unique IP Phone Features You Need for Your Business
If you’re considering moving to a VoIP solution, you’re already behind the power curve. VoIP has long taken over the business world of telephony, and at this point in technology, for any business serious about being competitive it’s rarely considered a question of “If,” but rather “whom.”
With that in mind, there’s the slim possibility you’re not convinced. (Hey, we get it; there are always those few resistant to change, and need cold, hard facts). Here are 5 of the best reasons you should switch to a VoIP solution.
1. Scalability
Simply put, VoIP services are scalable. They grow as you grow, and become more cost efficient as the size of your business increases. Rather than analog lines, which are a fixed price and per minute rate, regardless of the amount, VoIP is very flexible in pricing as well. Adding new services is usually much faster than analog service, and often the infrastructure is already there – it requires only provisioning, which means the installation time is nil. In short, your services grow as you grow, onyour timeline.
2. Quality of Service
BecauseVoIP usesinternet protocols to deliver voice packets, it affords more flexibility inhow to deliver those packets. This allows VoIP the option to offer higher quality voice services. This allows international calls with near-zero voice delay, and a much higher quality voice. HD voice, for instance, is only possible with VoIP. Finally, the quality of service is significantly greater than analog.
3. Call transferring
One of the greatest benefits of VoIP is the ability to quickly, and easily transfer calls from one extension or DID (Direct Inward Dial) to another. Unlike analog lines, this is not limited to geography. You can transfer a call to India with a 4 digit extension – if you’re set up to do so, of course. This is handy in small operations, but it’s positively crucial in larger and multi-site operations for efficient communications.
4. Call Forwarding
Forwarding is a great option that a virtual or hosted PBX can offer, and while it’s not exclusively for VoIP, VoIP forwarding does offer a tremendous amount of benefits over analog lines – beginning with cost. Call forwarding also has simultaneous ring, time of day forwarding, and follow me features. These can literally make the difference between sale and no sale, satisfied customer and unsatisfied customer. It doesn’t matter what industry you work in – you need sales and satisfied customers.
5. Cost
As previously mentioned, some of the greatest benefits of VoIP are cost. The up-front costs of hardware can seem expensive, however, this is short sighted –businesses must have operational hardware with either analog lines or VoIP. At any rate, the medium and long term benefits make this switch very easy – most businesses will save more monthly than they’ve spent on the initial investment within the first 18 months of installation. This helps preserve operational funds for other projects –and increases efficiency.
There are 23 million small businesses in America. They’re not all going to operate the same. Some are Silicon Valley techno-startups, and some are old-fashioned mom-and-pop country gas stores and diners. For the latter, who may not use internet and only have a single line, a VoIP may not be as beneficial as it would to a call center, distributor or a CPA firm. However, for anyone with more than 2-3 lines, or who uses the phone often – VoIP is the way to go.