BUSINESS
THOMAS GILMAN Strategic-Partner Schooley Mitchell thomas . gilman @ schooleymitchell . com | www . schooleymitchell . com / tgilman
UPDATING YOUR PHONE SYSTEM TO VOIP FOR LESS COST , MORE FEATURES
For those interested in reducing the cost of their phone system , please consider VoIP ( Voice over Internet Protocol ) for telephone service . In reality , it ’ s the biggest advancement in telephony since Bell came up with the idea of people talking to each other from a distance using wires and handsets . The internet enables instant communication to virtually anywhere on the planet . Most people are totally connected , so it ’ s not surprising that the Internet is also becoming the method of choice for telephone communication . There are huge advantages , with cost savings at the top of the list . but VoIP was not immediately embraced when it was introduced , because the QoS ( Quality of Service ) didn ’ t match up to the reliability of POTS ( Plain Old Telephone Service ). We were introduced to new jargon such as ‘ jitter ’ and ‘ latency ’. These terms became synonymous with poor quality , making VoIP something to avoid until technology found ways to overcome these problems .
When we speak to a VoIP phone ( also simplified to an “ IP ” phone ), our voice travels over the Internet in packets . These packets are reunited at the receiver ’ s end . Sometimes packets get lost and then the speech is reconstructed without those packets . Conversations become clipped and you have to ask the people to repeat themselves . These initial problems have been dealt with , although they have not entirely been eliminated . Research from Integrated Research reports in a recent study that 78 % of large companies are deploying IP telephony ; IP-based video conferencing was of immediate interest for 70 % of those surveyed and shows a “ clear willingness to exploit the enhanced
capabilities that IP telephony provides over traditional telephony ”. Only 1 % of overall deployments were considered to have failed – over half during the “ beta testing ” phase . Those who have been holding back should know that many large and small companies alike have converted to VoIP , as have many residential consumers . This is not only for cost savings , but innovative features available with VoIP .
VoIP phones work the same whether you ’ re at home , at the airport , or sitting on your back deck … as long as they have an Internet connection . So , sure you can save money with a VoIP phone system and have features like the following that are generally included with VoIP systems . - Voice recording , monitoring - Voice conversion to Email or Text - Advanced Call Management including forwarding , routing , anonymous call rejection . - Auto Attendant - Conference / Video calls - Call Analytics
Cell phones / smart phones can work seamlessly with VoIP systems so you have the best of both worlds . Typically using the VoIP system ( and its features ) is just another app on your cell phone . It can even be on a different phone number , keeping personal calls separate from work calls .
Understandably , there can be reluctance to change your phone system . However , the advancements of the last few years make VoIP a choice whose time has come for those wanting to save money and implement helpful features .
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