VoIP for the Small Business

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Kory Webster
8 years ago
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1 Reducing your telecommunictions costs VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) offers low cost lterntive to expensive trditionl phone services nd is rpidly becoming the communictions system of choice for smll nd medium-sized businesses striving to reduce their telecommunictions costs. Hosted VoIP services re no longer privilege only vilble to lrge compnies. They re now gining populrity mong smller businesses, influenced by the fct tht VoIP solutions do not require ny dditionl hrdwre investment. TechAdvisory.org SME Reports sponsored by Your Solution to Rising Telecommunictions Costs Full City Tech is your prtner in providing trustworthy Computer Support tht will increse the productivity nd profitbility of your business. With well-plnned Network Services custom-fit to your business, you ll never hve to worry bout technology gin. Our stff of outstnding technicl personnel re committed to providing hnds-on services tht will solve your problems nd help you complete your projects on time nd below budget. We As smll business owner you re under constnt pressure to control costs. If you hve employees working remotely or out in the field then you could lso hve high volume of clls, including long-distnce rtes. As your business grows, your monthly phone bill is likely to increse too. You then need to look for new but effective wys to minimize your telecommunictions costs while mintining the sme level of communiction within your tem. VoIP is revolutionry technology tht provides inexpensive voice communictions nd cn significntly reduce your telecommuniction costs. Moreover, by opting for VoIP you will benefit from vriety of dvnced fetures you wouldn t receive from your regulr service provider. continuously monitor nd mintin our IT mngement so you cn gin the benefits of stress-free technology nd hve the Computer Support tht cn propel your business to higher success tody. 1

They re now gining populrity mong smller businesses, influenced by the fct tht VoIP solutions do not require ny dditionl hrdwre investment. TechAdvisory.

2 Wht is VoIP? Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), lso clled IP telephony, is the...the good news is tht there re plenty of innovtive VoIP compnies redy to help. They rnge from voice-over-brodbnd nd SIP-trunking providers to vendors of IP PBXes tht work with SIP trunks. Though they typiclly ren t big-nme providers with huge support orgniztions, the sophisticted services they offer t lest im to mke the smll businesses tht use them seem bigger. Robert Poe VoIP News technology tht llows you to mke clls vi the Internet insted of over trditionl phone lines. PUBLIC TELEPHONE NETWORK (PSTN) Inter net Office IP Phon e Inter net Connectio n Office Office Types of VoIP Services Free VoIP Services There re mny free VoIP services tht llow you to mke free computerto-computer clls. These services re minly designed for individul use, nd include Skype, Google Hngouts, etc. They provide you with instnt messging tools nd lso llow simple videoconferencing. These free services work well for stying in touch with fmily nd friends. However, they my not provide you with the voice qulity, relibility nd other dvnced services, such s desktop shring, needed for your professionl ongoing business needs. 2

Though they typiclly ren t big-nme providers with huge support orgniztions, the sophisticted services they offer t lest im to mke the smll businesses tht use them seem bigger.

3 Business VoIP Services Specific services intended for business use offer the qulity of services required nd expected by professionls nd consequently re not free. The mjority of business oriented VoIP services offer smll business VoIP plns nd chrge low flt monthly fee for llowing you to mke domestic nd interntionl clls. Skype lso hs pln for business users which llows you to mke unlimited phone clls (to lndline or cell phone) within the U.S.A nd Cnd for relly low flt monthly fee. VoIP service providers offer mny options from which to choose the best pln to suit your individul business requirements. How cn VoIP Sve You Money? VoIP promises mny benefits nd useful fetures over trditionl telephony. The most significnt dvntge is tht it sves your business money by reducing your phone bills through network convergence, nd by dding on useful fetures t no dditionl chrge. Lower costs VoIP phone services re less expensive thn trditionl telephone services, with mny service providers offering you the opportunity to mke unlimited long distnce clls t very low flt monthly fee. If your business mkes substntil volume of sles clls ech month then you will lredy know tht this relly pushes costs up. However, VoIP phone service cn offer you unlimited locl nd long distnce business clls within the United Sttes nd Cnd for flt monthly fee. Interntionl clls re chrged t nominl rte which lso keeps costs lower. 3

Skype lso hs pln for business users which llows you to mke unlimited phone clls (to lndline or cell phone) within the U.S.A nd Cnd for relly low flt monthly fee.

4 ...VoIP phone services re cheper thn trditionl telephone services. If your business is mking frequent long distnce clls, then VoIP cn drmticlly reduce your phone bills s mny VoIP service providers will llow you to mke unlimited long distnce clls t very low flt monthly fee. No Additionl Chrges for Specil Fetures Mny useful fetures re dded free of chrge with VoIP s prt of the pckge. For instnce, services such s dedicted fx line, voicemil, cller ID, cll forwrding, cll witing, nd 3-wy conferencing, re free. Svings on Adds, Moves, nd Chnges As your business grows your workforce my expnd too, with new stff joining nd some employees leving. With trditionl phone system, dding new phone line or chnging n existing line cn be n expensive nd time consuming tsk. It often requires the services of n expert who will then chrge for service cll. VoIP is flexible nd scleble for your growing business needs s dds, moves, nd chnges re strightforwrd to perform. You cn do this yourself vi web-bsed control pnel. VoIP Increses Your Employee Productivity VoIP provides you with severl lrge, enterprise-level communictions cpbilities, such s uto-ttendnt (nswering system) nd find/follow fetures. Until now these cpbilities were expensive nd only vilble through Privte Brnch Exchnge (PBX) telephony systems. However, tody s VoIP solutions open up these dvnced cpbilities to your smll business. For instnce, your compny cn hve ccess to find/follow feture tht permits rerouting of clls utomticlly to employees wherever they re locted. With this cpbility your employees cn choose to hve clls follow them from trditionl desk phone to their cell phone or even to their emil inbox. No Need for Seprte Networks With VoIP, you do not need to mintin seprte networks for voice nd dt. Both networks cn be converged into single network, simplifying overll mngement. 4

monthly fee. No Additionl Chrges for Specil Fetures Mny useful fetures re dded free of chrge with VoIP s prt of the pckge.

5 Hosted VoIP vs. Premises-Bsed Key Benefits of Hosted VoIP Once you hve decided on VoIP you then need to choose between mnging your VoIP system in-house or opting for hosted VoIP services. In premises-bsed model, ll hrdwre relted to the IP phone system resides t your compny site. You purchse, instll, nd mintin ll the equipment, nd you will need in-house expertise to operte the system. Premises-bsed systems re complex to instll nd mintin. In ddition, you need to invest money in equipment. In contrst to premises-bsed system, hosted VoIP solutions involve no upfront costs. All the equipment is mnged off-premises by service provider, nd there is no physicl hrdwre on site to mintin. The service provider mintins nd supports the equipment nd simply offers you the services for flt monthly fee. Smll compnies re quickly dopting the hosted Voice over IP (VoIP) model s it is the more relible nd cost effective solution. You receive services t flt monthly expenses bsed on the number of lines nd fetures. Moreover, hosted VoIP services bring you excellent cll qulity nd vriety of dvnced fetures tht help increse business productivity: Low upfront costs An extensive list of fetures set up nd redy to use No softwre upgrdes required No equipment mintennce expenses Esy dministrtion Professionl instlltion of relible equipment Cost-effective rtes Conclusions nd Recommendtions Until recently, smller compnies hve hd no rel lterntive to expensive conventionl phone systems. Now, s brodbnd Internet ccess hs become universl stndrd, VoIP is becoming cost-effective, feture-rich lterntive nd solution to lower telecommunictions costs. 5

Premises-bsed systems re complex to instll nd mintin. In ddition, you need to invest money in equipment. In contrst to premises-bsed system, hosted VoIP solutions involve no upfront costs.

6 Recommendtions Network ssessment is essentil to implement VoIP solutions effectively. Your network vendor cn do this for you. Microsoft lso offers VoIP products for smll business, such s Microsoft Lync. VoIP phone services re ffected by power outges. Select your hosted VoIP service provider crefully. Ask them bout the bckup system nd whether they provide emergency cll service (Enhnced 911 service or E 911). Also, sk vendors bout the fetures they offer nd select the pln tht best meets your requirements. Try to find vendor who provides roll to fetures. In this cse, power filure in your office will men tht your clls will utomticlly be forwrded to nother specified cell or lndline number. The service provider who offers VoIP services on per-set bsis my prove to be idel s this gurntees predictble monthly expenses. Full City Tech 515 Rockwy Ave Vlley Strem, NY Phone: (516) Emil: info@fullcitytech.com Web: 6

Ask them bout the bckup system nd whether they provide emergency cll service (Enhnced 911 service or E 911).

VoIP for the Small Business

VoIP for the Small Business Reducing your telecommunictions costs Reserch firm IDC 1 hs estimted tht VoIP system cn reduce telephony-relted expenses by 30%. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) hs become vible solution for even the