Looking back ten years ago, you might probably remember a time when VoIP was something more of a niche and curious concept. The idea behind VoIP was to use the existing internet infrastructure to offer the essential telephony services at a cheaper cost. The idea has been around since the early days of the internet, but in a decade or so ago, it wasn’t really clear whether the concept would be more than just a fad.
Today, the answer to this question has turned out to be rather conclusive. VoIP is not only here to stay, but also has the world’s leading software and hardware developers throwing in their proverbial hats into the ring to advance the technology. From Avaya IP Office to Nortel Symposium and along with countless others, modern VoIP systems have increasingly become more of a staple in the world’s most innovative and successful businesses.
At the same time, there are millions of businesses worldwide that are still questioning whether it’s wise to install VoIP for their operation, and to what extent it could benefit them. Naturally, many businesses assume that the cost of installing VoIP and hassle of switching providers may not be worthwhile. However, VoIP is one of the rare examples of business investments with benefits that remarkably outweigh the disadvantages.
Still not convinced? The following is a rundown of 8 reasons why you need VoIP for your business.
- Calling with VoIP is Much Cheaper
One of the biggest advantages of VoIP systems is that every call is almost guaranteed to cost you less than conventional telephone lines. Most service providers these days offer a wide range of packages, charging monthly rates and awarding free calls across the board. This means that any local, international, and long-distance calls will cost you nothing more than just the monthly subscription rate you agreed at the start, no matter who you’re calling, the frequency of your calls, and how long you call for. This is a brilliant way to help you reduce your operative costs and to keep tabs on your expenses.
- No Need to Maintain a PBX
Conventional telephones lines have a major drawback in that they require continuous maintenance of the PBX, which is mainly unavoidable. Whether it’s expanding the system, installing new features, handling breakdowns, or any other problems, it’s often inconvenient and expensive. VoIP eliminates the need for any form of physical PBX since the virtual PBX you’ll be given ideally exists far away from your business premises. Plus, it can be maintained, managed, enhanced, improved, and expanded virtually from a computer-based dashboard.
- Easy to Adopt
As opposed to popular belief, getting started and used to new VoIP phone system is surprisingly easy. Although it’s typical to expect that most of the advanced or modern telephony systems in the market will be needlessly demanding and complicated, this is not the case with VoIP at all. The people behind making the necessary software and hardware for VoIP systems have made great development in enhancing user-friendliness and accessibility over the course of time. This has made it possible for almost anyone who can handle an analogue system to find the VoIP system much easier and more enjoyable to use.
- Advanced Voicemail Functionality
There are millions of businesses from all around the world that rely heavily on the voicemail service. This is despite the fact that voicemail isn’t the most reliable or convenient messaging method, especially in the traditional context. VoIP, on the other hand, allows for automated forwarding of voice messages directly into your inbox, from where you can listen to each of them from any of your connected devices. Some systems allow having these messages transcribed into text automatically.
- No More Need for a Fax Machine
These days, a rather surprising number of organizations still hold on to their archaic fax machines, even if they only receive important documents via fax 2 or 3 times a year at best. A switch to VoIP is the good excuse to get rid of all those fax machines in your office. The VoIP technology can deliver on every task the fax machine can provide, along with many other things. If your organization relies on fax machines, you are guaranteed to find the flexibility and convenience of VoIP utter godsend.
- Easy to Install and Integrate into the Existing Infrastructure
It’s only natural for you to assume the process of upgrading your existing systems into the newer VoIP systems will be not only difficult but also time-consuming. However, VoIP technology has come a long way and set it up only take a few minutes to plug in the necessary devices and set up the system. All that’s needed is powering on the system as a whole, and connecting it to your internet connection. This means that if you already have a reliable internet connection, you’re halfway there.
- Enables you to Offer Superior Customer Service
A VoIP system is unique in that it’s one of the systems that can step up your office communications to a higher standard in general, enabling your workforce to provide superior service to your customers. As you’re probably aware of, people are not fond of repeatedly being put on hold, being transferred, cut off, or having to jump through various hoops and loops to get through to the person they want to speak to. VoIP makes it exponentially easier to ensure that each of your customers reaches their desired point of contact as efficiently and quickly as possible.
- Advanced Features of your Business
The modern VoIP technology brings your workforce and your business certain advanced functionalities and features that go much further than those that come with the traditional telephone systems. Each of these features has the potential to make a huge difference regarding efficiency and productivity. No matter the size and nature of your business, it’s almost a guarantee that the advanced functionality features of a modern VoIP system will have a beneficial impact on the bottom-line of your business or organisation.
