If you’re like most business owners, you might not give your phone system much thought. At least not until you or your employees show up to the office one morning and instead of hearing a dial tone, it’s the buzz of a phone system now turned to electronic waste. When you were first getting that system set up, you just relied on whatever solution your phone company representative recommended. After all, who would know better about your phone system than your phone company right?

Unfortunately, most phone companies won’t tell you about VoIP.

What is VoIP

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol and is one of the most significant advances in telephony for businesses. VoIP phone systems are starting to replace traditional phone systems in many offices. VoIP phone systems work with the existing computer network instead of phone wires. These systems can be configured to work on existing phone lines or through an established internet connection.

There are a couple different ways to implement VoIP, but only a few VoIP providers are capable of all forms in order to provide the most appropriate solution.

What does it mean for my business?

Picture this: Your office phone system breaks down on Monday. You call a VoIP service provider and switch over to a VoIP system by Wednesday. You’re now paying less per month than you used to with your old system, and by Friday you’re able to get a head start on the weekend because you can now take calls on the road as if you were at the office.

This is a VoIP reality because the technology inherent in a VoIP system makes it quick to set up. VoIP also automatically includes loads of phone features that you would have to pay extra to have in a traditional phone system.

The top 10 reasons businesses switch to VoIP:

1. Cost savings by lowering your phone bills
2. Let’s businesses still use their old telephone units
3. Includes features like Caller ID, Voicemail, without all the extra costs
4. Voicemail to e-mail or devices
5. Call recording and reporting
6. Integration with CRM systems
7. Able to take calls remotely and call forwarding
8. Performs multiparty conferencing
9. Future proof, better than investing in to an old phone system.
10. Wireless handsets and VoIP over Wi-Fi

Most businesses owners happily pay their phone bills because they don’t realize the opportunity cost to sticking to what they have. Next time, I’ll go in to the various VoIP implementations and how they differ. VoIP phone systems are definitely the way to go, but not all systems are created equal.  In fact, some have hidden draw backs that could be a deal breaker for you.