by Richard Barrington
The appeal of VoIP business phone service is easy to understand: what business wouldn't want to save 20-30 percent on its phone bill? Particularly, the move to VoIP business service is especially strong among large organizations, which are looking to capitalize on this service's numerous cost-saving options.
1. Volume. It's a simple equation: multiply the call volume and you multiply the savings from using VoIP office phones. Telephony is a huge expense line on the budget of any large business, so switching to a solution that cuts this expense across the board can add a meaningful number to the bottom line.
2. Multi-site operations. Communicating across multiple locations is one of the things that can cause telephone expenses to swell as an organization grows. VoIP office service can neutralize this cost factor.
3. International operations. For multi-national corporations, VoIP office service eliminates the added cost of calling across borders.
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4.Signal complexity. As an organization grows, so do the sophistication and complexity of its communication methods. VoIP office phones can coordinate voice communications through email and video.
5.Flexibility. Since various types of equipment can be integrated into a VoIP business phone network, adding or subtracting users no longer involves installing or warehousing specific equipment for each user.
6.Comprehensive presence. As an organization seeks to penetrate more geographic markets, VoIP business service can help by providing local phone numbers in those markets, which automatically feed into the centralized system.
7.Cell phone interaction. Some business cards have become a jumble of multiple phone numbers, such as home office, branch, and cell phone. A VoIP business service can switch automatically among multiple devices so that nobody has to give out more than one number.
Finding the Right Solution
One of the key decisions for an organization adopting a VoIP business phone system is whether to install or maintain its own private branch exchange (PBX), or whether to use a hosted PBX phone solution. While a large company is more likely to have the internal resources necessary to support an in-house PBX, a hosted PBX phone system could reduce upfront costs and make future changes more cost-effective.
There are several experienced VoIP office phone providers. Choosing the right one starts with defining what features an organization needs, and whether or not to go with an in-house or hosted PBX. From there, the process is one of finding which provider best matches the desired characteristics.
Sources
BusinessWeek, Spring 2005: Talk Gets Cheaper
Mitel
Nortel
Packet 8
Speakeasy
Vocalocity
Richard Barrington is a freelance writer and novelist who previously spent over twenty years as an investment industry executive.
