The Top 4 Reasons to Choose a VoIP Phone System

Let’s start our discussion off by first answering a question. What exactly is a VoIP phone system? VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. It is sometimes referred to as IP telephony. It allows you to make your phone calls over your local area network (LAN) or the internet. Your voice is then converted into small packets of data that are then transmitted via your internet connection.

1. Less Expensive
A VoIP system can lower your cost in multiple ways. A typical POTS line will cost on average $40 per month. Most VoIP plans run from $15-$30 per line per month. When it comes to a traditional phone service you also have the added expense of on-premise hardware, like a Private Branch Exchange (PBX). Not only do you have the cost of the hardware, but you are also going to need some IT support to keep it up and running. If you ever want to add features, you may need additional hardware and IT support. With a VoIP system, everything is happening in the cloud so the only hardware you have is the phone itself, and you may not even need that (we will explore this later). For many VoIP systems, all the features are included “out of the box” and the ones that are not, are only a mouse click away. This eliminates the need for very much on-site support.

2. Better Call Quality
The VoIP services of today have surpassed traditional landline services in terms of call quality. As long as you have a fast and reliable internet connection and proper bandwidth, your calls should be clear and without lags or dropouts.

3. Scalability
Scalability is one of the most talked-about advantages of a VoIP system. Since there is not any on-site hardware to manage or upgrade, scaling up or down is as simple as telling your provider you want additional lines or want to remove lines. Most VoIP systems will work with any Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone. These phones are widely available and fairly inexpensive. Many systems also offer a softphone, which is just an app on your smartphone that gives you the same options as your physical desk phone.

4. Feature Rich
The VoIP phone systems today come with other communication services like instant messaging or chats, presence information, voicemail, video conferencing, voicemail forwarded to an email, and softphones, just to name a few. You can be out of the office, yet still communicate internally and externally just as if you were in the office.

We only briefly touched on some of the reasons you would transition to a VoIP phone system and focused, manly on a hosted VoIP system. There are also on-premise VoIP systems that function basically the same, with the addition of some on-site hardware that will need to be installed. If you are curious to see how a hosted or on-premise VoIP phone system could help your office, please reach out to your local Centriworks business manager. We are here to help!
 
— Matthew Coleman /// Centriworks Sales + Marketing Manager

We’re ready to help you work smarter.