According to Global Market Insights, the voice over internet protocol (VoIP) market is expected to reach $55 billion by 2025. Driven by the cost-effective and flexible nature of VoIP, more companies are making the switch, opting to make calls using broadband internet rather than conventional phone systems.
Curious how VoIP works? We’ll save you the whitepaper, and sum it up like this: VoIP takes your analog voice signals, converts them into digital signals, and then transmits them as data packages through your broadband internet connection. Essentially, it’s all of the practicalities of a phone with all of the ease of the internet.
VoIP lowers your cost by eliminating your need for a separate landline or mobile networks and conventional phone systems. With internet business phone systems, you won’t need to deal with long-distance (or international) calling charges or limitations on talk times.
Why make the switch? We thought you might ask. We’ve compiled a list of the top 10 benefits of switching to an internet business phone system to help you make the right choice for you.
The Right Move for Your Business: An Internet Business Phone System
1. Easy Installation And Integration
Many businesses hesitate to make major technological changes. Any change requires patience, time, testing, and money. Installing, configuring, and maintaining a VoIP, however, is incredibly easy.
In fact, it’s so easy that hosted VoIP and UC are predicted to be the segment with the largest growth in the global VoIP and unified communications market.
Even the less tech-savvy businesses can install a VoIP on their own. While there are technicians available to assist you with installation and setup, you may find you’re able to tackle the project on your own. VoIP phones are essentially plug-and-play, allowing you to get set up and make calls in no time.
Adding new users using hosted VoIP software is a straightforward process. The web-based interface makes it easy for you to move, add, and change systems as needed. The simplicity of the system means you also won’t have to worry about complex routine maintenance. You’ll rarely need professional support when making changes.
VoIP also makes it easy for you to utilize other systems and technologies. Integration with other software can enhance your operations and boost efficiency throughout your company. VoIP integrates a wide variety of business systems including CRM platforms, allowing you to seamlessly introduce VoIP across departments and teams.
In other words, you’ll have all the benefits of an internet business phone system without needing to modify your existing IT infrastructure.
2. Scalability
Another benefit to using an internet business phone system is its scalability.
A traditional phone system is typically difficult to scale, requiring an IT or telephony expert to take care of any changes you may need. As your company grows, you need a solution that can keep pace. Your virtual phone system will scale along with the needs of your business.
This scalability will support your company’s efficiency and productivity efforts. Rather than spending time and money making company-wide changes to your infrastructure, you can simply add users as you onboard them. If you downsize or redistribute staff, you can eliminate lines with the same ease. A VoIP line can follow your users where they go – another point that goes to internet phones over traditional lines!
Related: The Best Phone System for Small Business
3. Reliability
Professional businesses lean heavily on their internal systems to keep things flowing, remain accessible, and perform day-to-day tasks. That means reliability is paramount when selecting the technologies you’ll use.
If you’re assuming that a day without internet means a day without a phone, VoIP has you covered. An internet business phone system is designed with the needs of professionals in mind. If the internet does go down, you can have your calls forwarded to a mobile number or another device.
An internet business phone system means you won’t have to worry about weather issues or power outages impacting your business operations.
4. Effective Communication
Whether your team is big or small, you’ll need to make sure everyone can communicate. With more people working from home, it’s important to have a system that prioritizes communication.
A virtual phone system can be configured to ring at your desk a few times before redirecting to your mobile device, laptop, or tablet if the call goes unanswered. You’ll have the peace of mind knowing that you’re reachable when you’re needed, and you can skip dialing into your voicemail inbox to play catch-up.
5. Flexibility
With an internet business phone system, you don’t need to use your underlying network as part of a specific technology layout. Instead, you can use your existing ethernet, ATM, WiFi, or SONET as the foundation of the VoIP network.
Traditional phone networks require a lot of complexity, often making it difficult for your IT team to make adjustments as needed. The network flexibility of VoIP allows you to create a standardized and pliable system. As a result, you can support a number of communication types and require less equipment management.
6. Additional Features
There are a number of benefits and additional features that come included with your internet business phone system. For example, clients on VoIP systems are able to connect with a variety of devices. By integrating multiple systems into a streamlined workflow, business productivity goes up.
VoIP programs often include:
- Caller ID
- Virtual numbers
- Contact lists
- Voicemail
- Optional integration with third-party systems
You can customize these features to improve your company’s operational efficiency.
For example, you can forward unanswered calls to multiple employees. You can also use voicemail-to-text transcriptions and send these documents via email with ease.
7. Work From Anywhere Access
Companies are increasingly adopting partial or full work-at-home programs. Allowing for remote work saves money by reducing the requirements for office space and lowering utility costs. If your company is considering making – or maintaining – this transition, VoIP can help.
An internet business phone system can ensure your team communicates effectively. Employees can use voice, fax, and data services through their internet connection at home or other workspaces.
Employees can communicate straight from their home offices, coworking spaces, or even abroad. As a result, you don’t have to worry about a drop in communication with your team members, and your employees will be happy to be able to work without adjustment no matter where they are.
Related: Pros and Cons of Office VoIP Systems
8. Simplified Conferences
Traditional phone systems allow you to have conference calls with teams and clients. However, you usually need to pay for an additional service in order to host multiple callers. With an internet business phone system, you can coordinate conference calls with ease.
VoIP removes the need for dedicated phone lines and the restrictions that come with them. Instead, you’ll operate on a converged data network with features that are usually native. With the cost already built-in, you won’t have to worry about paying more for conferencing features.
9. Functionality
As a business in the modern era, you’ll want to have dynamic ways of communicating with coworkers and current (or potential) customers. VoIP supports these different means of communication as it doesn’t limit you to traditional voice-to-voice phone calls.
An internet business phone system will allow you to host video conferences. This is particularly important in an age where contacts both inside and out of the company are far apart. Rather than hoping to connect and build relationships with scheduled phone calls, video conferences allow you to make personal contact no matter the distance.
Save the follow-up emails and the hopes that people have received your links to shared drive folders. Video-conferencing will allow you to share meetings, files, documents, and agendas right from your VoIP system.
10. Cost-Efficiency
Above all else, switching to an internet business phone system will help your company cut costs. These systems are cheaper than conventional phone systems. With the ease of adding and removing lines as needed, you can easily create and maintain a system that suits your business exactly where it is.
Easy VoIP: The 10 Benefits Of An Internet Business Phone System
Switching to a virtual phone system can make life easier for you, your employees, and your clients. VoIP combines the ease of implementation with the painlessness of maintenance, allowing you to adopt and sustain this system without adding undue burden to your teams or infrastructure.
With flexibility and scalability, your VoIP system can be tailor-fit to your business needs. Integration with third-party business systems means you’ll have features and interoperability that will increase productivity and streamline workflows.
Essentially: you’ll save time, money, and hassle while improving communications throughout your organization.
Ready to communicate better? Get a free quote today!