How to Minimize Communication Costs for SMB's Using VoIP
Having a way to communicate with your employees and customers is important for business of all sizes. If you currently own or run a small business, having a business phone line can be quite expensive. This is why a lot of small businesses are turning to a VoIP phone system to meet their needs. There are all different kinds to choose from, which means there are a lot of competitive rates available. To help you understand why switching to a VoIP business phone can be beneficial for your small business, read on.
How a VoIP Phone System Can Save Your Business Money
With the traditional landlines, you’ll find that the rates associated with business lines can be hiked, especially for PBX systems. Now, it all depends on what type of features you would like to have for your employees and customers, such as customized greetings, dial-by-name directories and so on. VoIP systems do offer similar business features that can be attractive to small businesses because of their low prices.
Another way that VoIP phone systems can help save money is that it can be used on mobile devices. Unlike with cell phone providers that charge by the minute, you can use the VoIP system to make and receive calls using your tablet or smartphone with no minute limits. These services come with unlimited minute plans and can be used on any mobile device that is connected to a 3G, 4G or Wi-Fi network. This allows your telecommute workers to operate from anywhere, while still staying connected to your business line. You can even have a toll-free number purchased for your account. Since a lot of the business VoIP services available use an encrypted VPN connection, you won’t have to worry about security risks.
Rather than paying extra for features like voicemail, caller ID, call forwarding, video and voice conferencing and long-distance calling, you can get it all bundled at an affordable price through a VoIP service provider. To further reduce costs, the system is handled by your IT department, so that you don’t have to pay additional money to a third-party technician. This also reduces downtime.
VoIP Systems Are Convenient and Easy to Use
VoIP phone systems use Internet technology to transport video and voice files. The voice of your employees are compressed into packets and then sent through the Web to the destination, and then is uncompressed to sound like a voice once again. Unlike with traditional phone lines, a consistent connection between the two or so parties isn’t required. However, having high speed Internet that is reliable is important for the quality of your voice and video calls. Since everything is done via the Internet, your employees are able to get access from wherever they have an Internet connection. This makes communications in the business more convenient, since you can easily set up a conference call while on the go. When setting up a VoIP system within your small business, make sure to ask about the bandwidth requirements to sustain quality calls and reduce wasted broadband space and time.
Available Features with VoIP Services
There are a variety of VoIP service providers on the market that you can choose from, such as Switch.co, RingCentral and Vonage. The rates and features they offer are similar and the rates are fairly competitive. They offer special packages for small and medium businesses. For instance, with the Vonage service called Small Business Premium Unlimited, the rate is $50 per month and unlimited calling is allowed for local and long-distance calls. This also includes calls made to Puerto Rico, Canada and some European countries. It also allows you to use your phone line to call up to five existing lines. Other features that are included are caller ID, dedicated fax and voicemail. These same features are available through other providers. The great thing about VoIP phone systems is that your number can come along with you wherever you go. You can bring along your hardware or use a mobile device to connect to your business phone line. In a sense, you are bringing your office with you wherever you go, making you and your employees a lot more flexible.
If you have your VoIP system set up to use special hardware from the provider, but don’t want to travel with it, you can opt to transfer your service to your mobile devices. The cost for hardware is typically affordable, between $15 and $100 in most cases. When going mobile, most providers have Android and iOS apps that canbe installed, extending the existing features and even offering exclusive ones to your smartphone or tablet.
When choosing a VoIP phone system for your small business, make sure to compare all of the features and the rates to see what’s worth it and what’s not.
Disclaimer: This article was written by a guest contributor in his/her personal capacity. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of CloudWedge.com
