The best VoIP systems help small and large companies maintain their business communication with more reliability and cost-effectiveness compared to traditional phone systems. Read more to learn about the unique characteristics of VoIP systems to see how they can be the ideal solution to your company’s communication woes.
What is a VoIP System?
Voice over Internet Protocol, also known as VoIP systems, allows you to make and receive calls via your internet connection. Since its inception, VoIP systems have evolved to resolve all communication needs of modern businesses trying to thrive in this post-pandemic environment with enhanced communication tools and collaboration tools.
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How Does a VoIP System Work?
VoIP systems convert your call from analog to digital using digital data packets that are compressed and transmitted via the internet. The receiver of the call will receive uncompressed data and receive your message.
To make calls using a VoIP system, you will need a SIP-compatible desk phone and a VoIP calling app to make calls over your internet service provider’s connection. This allows your company to eliminate the cost of phone communication when you can use your internet connection for multiple purposes.
Hence, the requirements to maintain an efficient VoIP system include the following:
Network Router
It is important that your VoIP router can handle the network bandwidth required to make clear VoIP system phone calls. Investing in a separate router for your business’s VoIP system may be wise.
Phones and Devices
You may want to look into SIP trunking business phones, softphones, or analog telephones with VoIP adapters to use your VoIP system successfully.
What Can a VoIP System Do?
Let’s explore the different types of VoIP systems available now:
Hosted VoIP systems
Hosted VoIP systems provide unified communication solutions using cloud-based phone systems or cloud PBX services. As the name suggests, Hosted VoIP systems are hosted and managed by a third-party VoIP provider. This is ideal for small businesses that are not looking to make huge investments in their communication infrastructure. The best part about hosted VoIP systems is the automatic updates and upgrades provided by the service providers. Hence, there will not be any downtime when using hosted VoIP systems.
You can subscribe to a VoIP system provider of your choice and deploy a limited plan on a per-user basis. With growing concerns about VoIP system security, you can be assured that hosted VoIP systems will frequently update their security features to ensure VoIP security.
On-Premise VoIP systems
On-premise VoIP systems come with hefty price tags and can be ideal for large enterprises that need constant communication between departments. This is either owned or leased by a business to remain on the main premises and usually comes with a significant cost to install and maintain. However, some companies prefer security assurance when using on-premise VoIP systems instead of putting the security of their VoIP system in the hands of third-party providers.
Hybrid VoIP systems
Hybrid VoIP systems provide the best of both worlds and allow VoIP systems to be used over VoIP systems to be used over cloud services as well as traditional phone networks. This option can be beneficial to businesses that maintain their operations on-site as well as in remote locations to provide improved flexibility in communication.
Why Do Businesses Need VoIP Systems?
VoIP systems are a reliable way to ensure communication with your employees and customers while being incredibly cost-effective. You can provide much more advanced features using VoIP systems than a traditional phone system.
Some of the best features of VoIP systems include the following:
Unlimited calls
You can call any number within your region without any additional carrier charges.
Auto attendant
The correct customer greeting can go a long way when it comes to making a good first impression. The auto attendant feature is also able to direct the calls to the right agents using automated responses.
Call queues
Your agents can attend to callers as they become available using the call queue feature. This way, customers can reach you consistently without getting an annoying busy tone.
Conference lines
You can conduct meetings with multiple teams and team members with conference call capabilities of VoIP systems.
Voicemail-to-email
You can now read your voicemails without having to listen to long messages when using a VoIP system.
Mobile options
Current VoIP systems come with mobile support to ensure that you can stay connected no matter where you are. This can promote team collaboration if your company follows the modern hybrid workplace model or favors remote working.
Collaboration features
With instant messaging and audio and video conferencing capabilities, VoIP systems promote collaboration within different departments within your business.
CRM integrations
A customer relationships management solution is one of the best software to be integrated with VoIP systems. This would improve the efficiency of your customer service teams when the full call history of a customer is available to them using a CRM. The integrated workflow created with a VoIP system and CRM integration will improve the efficiency of your call center staff.
What are the Most Popular VoIP Systems?
RingCentral VoIP Systems
RingCentral VoIP system is a popular unified communications platform that combines calls, video calls, and advanced VoIP system features mentioned above. It comes with affordable monthly subscription plans and has options to upgrade the number of users as your company grows with VoIP. RingCentral can also be integrated with other popular enterprise software solutions.
Nextiva VoIP Systems
Nextiva unified communications provide affordable plans for cloud-based VoIP systems for small and large businesses. This allows for flexibility with the Nextiva VoIP app to provide advanced features such as instant messaging, voice and video calling, cloud syncing, chat rooms, directories, and call controls to promote collaboration between teams on the go.
8x8 VoIP Systems
8x8 is a unified communication service provider and collaboration (UCC) with extended features such as virtual dating, software for contact centers, and virtual offices. 8x8 VoIP systems provide even more flexibility to smaller companies by finding a VoIP system solution within their budget. With virtually no downtime, 8x8 provides exceptional service to your communication needs.
To help select the ideal VoIP system for your business, compare the best VoIP system vendors available on the market that will fit your business’s unique needs.
