By way of a recap, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) makes it possible to convert a voice into digital packets so that it can be sent across the same data networks that deliver the World Wide Web and digital TV.
Most businesses will adopt VoIP within the next few years and public telephony will almost certainly follow eventually. In the meantime, the data packets can be converted back to regular telephone signals in order to call phones on existing public switched telephone networks (PSTNs).
Voice Termination
To get from the caller to the receiver, voice calls must be transferred from network to network. The call is described as “terminated” when it arrives at its intended destination. Wholesale VoIP termination services have become big business, with experts such as IDT directing calls and negotiating the rates between multiple regions and systems.
Digital signal routing is flexible and digital signals are easily linked and processed by software. As a result, internet telephony delivers a host of potential benefits that would never be possible using traditional telephone systems.
Integration of communications
Email, fax, video conferencing and text messaging can all be combined by software to create a complete communications package. Potentially, your voice messages can be delivered as email attachments or SMS messages spoken by a digital voice over phone lines. The flexibility ensures that all messages get through and can be logged.
That, in turn, enables communications to be stored in databases and used to vastly improve customer relations management and tracking.
Mobility
Communications can be set up using your VoIP account anywhere there is access to a computer. If you move office, for example, you just pick up your phone and move – you don’t need to call in a telephone company to install new wiring or set up new accounts. You can take your phone to Bangkok if you want to and still be contacted on your usual local number.
By using wireless VoIP you can make low-cost calls from anywhere you can find a hot spot, such as a hotel room, airport, intercity train, or a beach resort. No one need ever know!
Costs
There’s no need for miles of wiring and weeks of disruption to install a VoIP phone system. In effect, VoIP will provide you with a telephone exchange on your computer from where you can easily divert numbers, leave messages, set up call barring and a host of other options. As a result, your virtual telephone network offers significant cost savings, especially for larger companies.
Easy to install
You don’t need a team of engineers to wire up connection boxes or add new components, and you don’t need your own IT team to troubleshoot problems and keep the system running – all of that is now taken care of for you in the Cloud. New components are easily added by non-experts.
By combining all your communications data into a single system it becomes far more manageable, cost-effective, and a productive resource for your business.
