6 Reasons Why Nonprofits Prefer VoIP 1. Reasons WHY. Nonprofits

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Samuel Butler
8 years ago
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1 6 Reasons Why Nonprofits Prefer VoIP 1 6 Reasons Nonprofits WHY Prefer VoIP

2 6 Reasons Why Nonprofits Prefer VoIP 2 What is Voice over Internet Protocol? Did you know you are already using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)? If you assumed that your cell phone functioned only on batteries and magic, you will be surprised to learn that cell phones actually use VoIP technology to wirelessly transmit your voice as data through a network every time you make a phone call. Even your local phone company uses VoIP on the back-end to connect your calls, while your nonprofit is still using the T1 copper wiring and onsite PBX to connect your calls to the phone company itself. Gasp! So why not skip the middleman and allow your organization to start benefitting from the low-cost, high-quality service that is VoIP technology? In this white paper, we will examine how VoIP compares to traditional phone service, minimizes operational costs, improves the daily workflow, and how Tech Impact works exclusively with nonprofits to implement and decrease the upfront costs of converting. Feature Traditional Phones VoIP Phones Price Not only are you paying the phone company for service, you are also paying for the expensive T1 copper infrastructure and onsite PBX that connects you to the phone company. Since VoIP uses the Internet to function, you cut the phone company and the expensive infrastructure out of the mix, resulting in significant savings.. Sound Quality Reliability & Disaster Recovery Multi-Office Voic Remote access Traditional phone infrastructure sends your voice through the copper wiring as electronic signals, which has a limited sound range, compared to today s technology. Landline phones do retain service even during a power outage, however if the infrastructure is damaged for any reason, there is no automatic disaster recovery back-up for phone service. NPOs with multiple remote offices require multiple onsite PBX systems, which doesn t allow for quick inter-organization communication by dialing an extension. Each office also requires a separate number. Access voic on your office phone or remotely. Dial your voic from another phone. VoIP phones transmit your voice as data, resulting in a broader and more accurate sound range, with a crisp quality. Whether your Internet goes down, the power goes out, or your infrastructure is damaged, VoIP phones automatically forward your calls to you. Not only that, but you can physically take a VoIP phone home with you, plug it in, and work from home using your office number! Only one hosted PBX is required to connect all of your offices, initiate inter-office calls by simply dialing the extension (even if the person is at a remote office), and uniform phone numbers across the organization. Not only can you access your voic on your office phone or remotely, you can also have your phone transcribe your voic and send it to you as an . Manage and control your phone through a web portal using a mobile app or your computer. Make and receive calls as if you were actually using your office phone number.

3 6 Reasons Why Nonprofits Prefer VoIP 3 The Impact for Nonprofits 6 Reasons Why Nonprofits Prefer VoIP 1. Significant decrease in cost VoIP is inexpensive, simply because it uses a widely available, affordable technology; the Internet. Transferring voice communication to your existing Internet connection means a consolidated cost in service. Additionally, international calls cost significantly less, and U.S. long-distance calls are free, since the data is being passed over the Internet connection rather than through the phone company. 2. Increased sound quality The copper infrastructure that makes up traditional Private Branch Exchange (PBX) networks deteriorates, often leading to a lower sound quality. With VoIP, many Internet services use Fiber Optic wiring, composed of plastic or glass strands, which is more durable, reliable, and often times faster and clearer than traditional phone lines. 3. Disaster recover Never close down the office for mother-nature s rage ever again. Staff can literally unplug and take their VoIP phone with them and work from home, without losing any of their phone settings. And when the power goes out, VoIP phones automatically forward calls to the user s personal phone. 4. Automatic management of calls Some of the additional features that come with most VoIP services include call screening, auto attendant, smart call forwarding, and sending voic messages to your . When you can connect to the Internet, life just gets easier. 5. Data, data, and more data Since your voice is transmitted as packets of data over your Internet network, this data is also easily manageable. Your phone can keep track of who you ve called, who called you, missed calls, and other data. And as mentioned above, you can control how you receive voice data, including having your voic transcribed and ed to you by your phone. 6. Non-disruptive installation Nonprofits do not need to buy new phones--though some do--to get started with VoIP. Although, VoIP-enabled phones often come with additional features. Instead, adapters can be connected to existing phones, allowing voice communication to be transferred as data over a secure Internet network, rather than as electrical waves through expensive traditional phone wiring. Top 5 Favorite Nonprofit Features Virtual extension - field-based employees or staff members who do not have a physical office space or office phone can still have an office phone number that forwards to their cell or a personal phone. Voic to - voic messages can be transcribed and sent to the employees address to read. Remote office - forwards the employee s calls to their cell phone, or another phone when the power or Internet goes out or the user is unable to be in the office. Multi-office - multiple offices are seamlessly connected through a single hosted PBX, allowing staff members to call one another from any office location by simply dialing the recipient s extension. This also allows your organization to have a single phone number, but unique extensions. Web portal - allows users to manage their phone s features, create a call-forwarding chain, set up an auto-attendant, and manage voic options, among other settings. Staff can also connect to their office phone using a downloadable application version of the web portal on their cell phone. The app also allows employees in the field can also place calls on their cell phone so that the recipient sees the caller s office phone number instead of their cell phone number.

6 Reasons Why Nonprofits Prefer VoIP 4 How We Support Nonprofits About Tech Impact We help nonprofits overcome almost any technology challenge by providing affordable expertise in strategic

Since 2003, we have worked exclusively with nonprofits, both big and small, and understand how tight budgets are when it comes to IT support and upgrading outdated technology.

4 6 Reasons Why Nonprofits Prefer VoIP 4 How We Support Nonprofits About Tech Impact We help nonprofits overcome almost any technology challenge by providing affordable expertise in strategic technology planning, project management, implementation, database and application development. Since 2003, we have worked exclusively with nonprofits, both big and small, and understand how tight budgets are when it comes to IT support and upgrading outdated technology. With support from companies like JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, Deloitte, Microsoft, and SAP America, among others, we are able to fulfill our mission by making the latest technology more accessible to nonprofits, and help each nonprofit we work realize the potential of technology to achieve their mission in return. Integrations Our VoIP Service Offer - nptalk After we assess your nonprofit s needs and current infrastructure, we will work with you to develop a contract with a no-interest payment plan in order to offset the upfront cost of new phones and hardware. nptalk In addition, your nonprofit might also qualify for the $895 setup fee to be waived. Contact us to consult for free and find out if your nonprofit qualifies. Disaster Recovery Work Anywhere OPEN The conversion process is very simple and will result in a significant decrease in the cost of phone service for your nonprofit, while improving communication. 3 Easy Steps to Convert to VoIP 1. Contact Tech Impact so we can assess your needs and work with you to develop a formal plan before ordering the new equipment. We can coordinate a payment plan so that you have little to no upfront costs, and will pay as little as $5 per month with no interest. 2. Next, we will configure your hosted PBX and new phones before shipping them to you for installation. We can also handle the installation if you or your IT staff need assistance. 3. Once the equipment is hooked up and tested, we ll cut your old phone service over to your new VoIP phones. The conversion process is very simple and will result in a significant decrease in the cost of phone service for your nonprofit, while improving communication. Help Desk For more information on our VoIP offering, nptalk, visit Also visit Tech Soup for a discount for your new VoIP lines: %E2%80%93-access-to-discounted-rates--G G

5 6 Reasons Why Nonprofits Prefer VoIP 5 California Office Sobrato Center for Nonprofits 330 Twin Dolphin Drive, Suite 131 Redwood City, CA Delaware Office Community Services Building 100 W. 10th Street, Suite 1004 Wilmington, DE New York Office Centre for Social Innovation New York City 601 West 26th Street #325 New York, NY Pennsylvania Office Tech Impact Global Headquarters 417 N. 8th Street, Suite 203 Philadelphia, PA CONTACT US Toll Free: (In SEPA): (215) Fax: (215) info@techimpact.org

Five Hosted VoIP Features

Five Hosted VoIP Features WHITEPAPER: cost SAVINGS with hosted voice www.megapath.com overview Since the Great Recession of 2007, companies of all sizes have watched their budgets carefully, making it