7 Ways VoIP Can Make Your Business Easier and More Cost-Effective

Sam O’Brien

By Sam O’Brien

For years, business communications networks have relied on landline phones. Despite the fact that they can be cumbersome to install and maintain, not to mention expensive, they’ve been a necessity due to a lack of viable alternatives.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has changed all this, providing a cheaper and more reliable phone system than the traditional landline-based services. Millions of people enjoy significant savings after switching their company systems to internet-based VoIP — and that number continues to grow each year.

Here are seven of the best reasons for your business to make the switch to VoIP technology.

1. Reduced call costs. It’s one of the most attractive traits of VoIP systems: the cost of call bills is significantly lower than those of landline systems. Monthly contracts are cheaper than those found on analog or ISDN line rentals, and many businesses have seen their external call costs drop significantly after switching to VoIP systems.

What’s more, some providers offer free VoIP-to-VoIP calls. This means internal calls don’t need to cost your company anything. This includes international calls between your remote workers operating from multiple static IP addresses. Companies that have switched systems have reported a 78% reduction in call expenditure compared with ISDN systems.

2. Simpler and cheaper hardware. Standard landline phones have earned themselves a bad reputation for being expensive and time-consuming to install. This is due to high package prices and complicated hardware. In this respect, VoIP offers a breath of fresh air for users.

Certain VoIP packages offer handsets for free, with any extra features being offered at an agreeable price. These are only with select providers, however, so it’s wise to look at different offers before deciding which provider is best for your company.

This hardware not only gives a more agreeable price than landline providers would, but also offers better reliability once the system has been fine-tuned. VoIP users report better call quality and more reliable service than landline systems, and say that the installation of such hardware was easy. VoIP systems run solely off the company’s internet connection, which makes them easy to move around and reconfigure and marks a contrast to the bulky equipment needed to run landline systems.

3. Easier business expansion and management. VoIP presents opportunities for new and growing businesses, as setting up a new user on your network is easy. The handsets that come with VoIP systems are much cheaper and easier to set up than landline packages, and new users are added by using an online portal.

The system can also be controlled by your computer or your phone, meaning you can change your options with ease. Porting over information such as phone numbers to the new system is simple, and easier than on landline systems. Also, with internal management handled via a dashboard, you’re able to oversee the phone system, your personal options and manage users from your phone or your computer.

4. More up-to-date software. With landline phone systems, businesses often find that updating their software is complicated and expensive. And, by the time they have installed it, the software could already be out of date. Installation is simpler on VoIP, although tweaking can be needed for optimal performance.

As it’s a cloud-based system, VoIP software can often be rolled out across the company rather than individually. This being said, providers still offer extensive support systems via online portals or …

… call centers to guide you through installation should you need it.

This technology isn’t just more reliable now, though; its future relevance cannot be understated. With companies like BT announcing it intends to leave traditional ISDN systems behind, VoIP users can rest at ease knowing their equipment and network is being created and hosted by internet providers that are continuing to expand and invest in the technology.

5. Wider selection of useful features. One of the biggest attractions of VoIP systems is the array of features on offer at competitive prices. While many of the same features can be found on landline networks, they often come with high prices and complicated installation.

VoIP features include conference calling, auto-attendant answering systems, voicemail and fax-to-email software, and connection to mobile devices, available at competitive prices. Some of these features come as standard with many providers.

6. Visible professionalism at affordable prices. This applies particularly to smaller businesses and it’s one of the main reasons that VoIP has had so much success over the past decade. With the features that the providers can offer, VoIP networks have provided companies with a chance to project a more professional image to their customers and clients, as well as improving customer service.

Before VoIP, such features had been out of reach as landline prices were a lot higher. But with more reasonable charges from VoIP providers, up-and-coming businesses have been able to access a level of professionalism that was previously unattainable.

7. Time saved means money saved. It’s a culmination of the effects of the previous six points but, quite simply, VoIP systems can save your company time and money. With advanced systems that can deal with more tasks than those of their predecessors, plus the countless additional features that are designed to help your employees in any way possible, these systems will save your workforce valuable time. That applies especially when the systems are coupled with customer relationship management tools to consolidate your calls and emails in one place. All of which means employees will be able to get a lot more work done in the time saved, saving your business money, for less cost than older systems.

After almost a decade of its use, VoIP has built a track record for businesses now and for the future. While the idea of changing your entire communications system may seem costly and daunting, in the long run switching to VoIP will save your company time and money.

Sam O’Brien is the senior website optimization and user experience manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at RingCentral, a global VoIP systems provider. Sam has a passion for innovation and loves exploring ways to collaborate more with dispersed teams. Follow him on LinkedIn or @RingCentral on Twitter.