Telephones are still a must-have tool for businesses of all sizes, but if you are only using the phone to make and take direct dial calls, you’re missing out on some tools that can boost your business productivity.
Voice over Internet Protocol, or VOIP, is a telecommunications technology that brings new features and functions to phone calls. It works by turning a voice call into data. Instead of traveling over the legacy phone network, your calls are transmitted over data networks, just like e-mail you send and the websites you view. When your voice calls become data, a VOIP system can allow you to do more things that you could not do with a traditional phone system.
With VOIP, you can set your business phone number to ring to your mobile phone so you never miss an important call. Unified messaging integrates various forms of communication into a system that can be accessed from various devices. E-mail, texts, voice mails, and even faxes can be accessed from any laptops, tablets, mobile that’s connected to the system.
Unified messaging can also get calls to the user wherever he or she may be. A feature called Find Me Follow Me will send a call to wherever the user is whether it’s the office desk, a hotel room, or off-site visiting with a client or vendor. The ability of your telephony system to find you wherever you are cuts down on “phone tag” and improves productivity. Another function all but eliminates the old-school Rolodex. With this Click to Call feature, you can make a call directly from your Outlook contacts. All of these capabilities are possible because the technology now treats voice as data. With VOIP, these capabilities are available anywhere there is an Internet connection. The modern businessperson is out in the field, not sitting behind the desk. With unified messaging, mobility means that business staff can stay in contact customers, clients, and vendors from any location.
On top of the new technological capabilities that come with VOIP, these systems also offer savings. Because calls are traveling over the Internet, a call from within the company is usually free. A VOIP call placed to a number on the public switched telephone network will still incur charges, but they will be reduced compared to traditional telephony. Telecommunications research firm Light Reading found that VOIP calling can result in savings between 50 and 70 percent compared with traditional phone calls. Those savings are significant considering that for most companies, telecommunications ranks in the top five expenses in the corporate budget. And if a company does business with companies or vendors overseas, VOIP calling represents tremendous savings compared to international long distance calling.
PC World notes that telecom industry researchers expect that by next year, 50 percent of U.S. business exchange lines will be based on Internet protocol. It makes business sense. With VOIP, your system is managed by software. That makes it easy to scale up as you grow within a single location or across multiple locations. VOIP technology can make your business more productive and also save money in the long run. To learn more, contact us.
Visit Clarus Communications here or call us at 855-801-6700 to speak with one of our knowledgeable staff so we can work with you on finding the right service for your business at the most affordable rates. Our goal is to ensure high levels of customer service plus building and maintaining a system that enables your business to run well.