You’ve probably heard about it, but have you ever wondered why VoIP is better than conventional “land line” technology for your business?


There are a multitude of reasons why switching to VoIP makes a lot of sense. For consumers, the primary driver is cost savings and increasingly, people are opting to rely on mobile devices or mobile VoIP apps rather than landlines. However, business organizations must balance a variety of factors when upgrading to new technology. An enterprise must calculate the total cost of ownership for any new project including the initial, upfront investment as well as ongoing monthly maintenance expenses. Businesses can’t afford to take risks on new technology if it has not been proven or standardized. It is understandable that many organizations would wait before switching over to VoIP completely. With every passing year, the list of VoIP benefits keeps growing along with the pace of VoIP adoption among enterprises. So why should any business consider switching to VoIP?

 

VoIP Is Here to Stay

During the early days of VoIP, there were legitimate concerns regarding the long-term viability of the new technology. Quite a few companies may have dismissed VoIP as just a passing fad or as a system that is only suitable for a few businesses in certain industries. Over the past decade, VoIP has become firmly established in both the enterprise and consumer space. The technology has become standardized and widely implemented across businesses of all sizes and in every type of industry. Businesses that do not switch to VoIP will find it increasingly difficult to maintain their existing analog phone systems and fewer people will be available for maintenance or repairs. It will also become expensive to find compatible parts or companies that are willing to provide new services. If an organization’s PBX system is reaching its end of life, most analysts would recommend switching to VoIP right away rather than getting an analog replacement.

 

VoIP Makes Economic Sense

Another compelling reason for businesses to choose VoIP is the tremendous potential for reducing costs. In a globalized business environment, few organizations can afford to have high communication costs especially when a lot of the calls involve long-distance or international fees. With VoIP, calls between employees generally become free and even international calls only cost a fraction of the rates regularly charged by traditional phone operators. While such cost-cutting measures may not have the necessary a decade ago, even profitable organizations are looking to improve their margins farther to compete effectively with businesses across the world. In a recessionary economic environment, it makes sense for enterprises to make their business processes more efficient and streamlined.

 

VoIP Improves Productivity

Suppose an organization still has a functioning phone system and is highly profitable, maybe they do not see the need to cut costs. Even companies in such situations are increasingly transitioning to VoIP because the technology offers immense benefits in terms of collaboration, productivity and efficiency.
VoIP integrates easily with enterprise or web applications so that employees do not have to switch between multiple devices in their daily workflows. Project teams and departments can take advantage of group inboxes for email and voicemail, so that any available employee can assist clients or partners.
Many employees use work issued or personal mobile devices for business purposes and the use of third-party/native VoIP clients means that employees remain accessible even if they’re not at their desk.

 

VoIP Is Efficient

Since VoIP routes voice calls over the data network that is already being used by the organization to transmit other forms of media, it eliminates the need to maintain two separate networks. For organizations that use hosted VoIP services from third-party vendors, there is not even a need for maintenance contracts since everything is taken care of by the provider. The business does not have to worry about upgrading obsolete systems or tying up financial reserves for capital investment every few years. When any trouble arises, the organization can rely on the provider to identify and fix the problem. Quite often, the problem can be resolved in a few minutes or hours and there is no need to wait for days until a technician shows up at the office. Security patches or software updates can be delivered and installed through the cloud automatically.

 
VoIP Brings New Enterprise Features

Since VoIP is based on the Internet rather than telecommunication standards, innovative new features are incorporated into the technology on a regular basis. Voicemail to email features, IP faxing, multi device ring etc. are necessary features for employees that juggle multiple devices or who work from home/client sites. The days of employees being chained to their desks are long gone and most organizations want to provide more flexibility to their workers in terms of work hours and locations. VoIP is better able to support the new environment and scale quickly as the business grows or shrinks.

 

For most businesses, there is no reason to delay switching to a technology that will influence so many aspects of business for years to come.


If you are thinking about making the switch away from your old phone system to VoIP, Contact Layer 8 Tech Solutions to discuss our Layer 8 Cloud Communication Services and get you started on the path to a better way.

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