VoIP: the New Form of Business Communications

Effective communications is a vital part of any organization. Companies must be connected at all times to:

• Customers, clients, and prospects
• Partners
• Associates and colleagues

However, as the economy continues to be a question mark, many companies are seeking new and more cost effective ways to communicate. Most companies have complex communication systems in place that are taking up a significant part of their operations budget.

To reduce budgets and to find more flexibility within their communications platforms, many companies in Canada are seeking new and innovative ways to remain connected and increase flexibilities in communications.

VoIP has quickly become a valid alternative for organizations. The companies that have played the waiting game with this technology now understand that it is here to stay and they are now implementing it in their organizations.

VoIP, an acronym for voice over internet protocol, is a popular form of internet technology that transmits voice communications over the internet. As VoIP technologies have evolved over the past few years, it has been extended to also include fax, SMS, text, and voice messaging capabilities, all of which are transferred over the internet rather than traditional telecommunications networks.

Voice over internet protocol is also known by a number of alternative names. They include:

• Internet telephony
• IP phone
• Broadband telephony
• Internet phone

There are three primary VoIP tools that are used by organizations in Canada. These tools are:

• VoIP software: A cheaper alternative to traditional telephone services, VoIP software has increase in popularity because of the cost saving associated with conference and video calling.
• IP phones: This tool is widely used by organizations of all sizes. Companies use IP phones to make calls via the internet rather than traditional phone lines.
• Mobile VoIP: Available on most internet based technologies, mobile VoIP is ideal for professionals on the go that need to make calls or send text messages from a WIFI connection.

The transferring from traditional phone providers to VoIP commonly referred to as VoIP migration has become an important aspect of many companies’ communications strategies. Companies see the value of using their existing data network to unify all forms of communication.

There are a number of great benefits to switching to VoIP.

 

1. Lower costs: Unifying all communication on one network significantly reduces communications costs.

 

 

2. Increased efficiency: Companies only have to manage one network rather than multiple networks using different platforms and technologies.

 

 

3. VoIP enables new technologies: VoIP networks are adaptive in nature. They can utilize many different forms on new and emerging technologies.

 

There is a new form and alternative to VOIP. It is called VoPI. VoPI, an acronym for Voice over Private Internet, is a new and innovative service that has built on the foundation of VoIP technologies and has improved on all of its inefficiencies.

VoPI, rather than using a public network, is situated on a private network to host voice communications. This not only improves call quality, it also provides organizations with increased security and flexibility in terms of network configuration and features available.

This is especially important for a company in high competitive markets where trade secrets and business processes is the difference between success and failure. Having a reliable and cost effective network are necessary components of a communications solution.

These improvements in VOIP technologies have taken online communications to the next level. Flexible and cost effective communications solutions are here to stay.