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IP: The New Standard in Business Communications

In the US and most of Europe, IP phone services are quickly replacing the remaining circuit-based TDM private branch exchanges (PBXs) that are still in use. IP has become the de facto standard in business communications since it’s cheaper to deploy and use.

The remaining TDM PBXs has become a minority and the cost of its maintenance has been increasing. It’s more expensive now to call support services and have a technician go onsite to repair hard-wired technology than to remotely fix IP PBX software.

The PBX is the most expensive piece of equipment in a business telephone system. With the rapid adoption of IP technology by many businesses, most of the equipment related to business telephone systems have been virtually moved into an IP phone or an IP PBX, otherwise known as a Virtual PBX or a Hosted PBX.

One of the sought-after features of a VoIP-enhanced business solution is the ability to easily expand or configure its functionalities. VoIP-based PBXs can be programmed to route calls according to your needs. It allows features such as extensions, simultaneous ring, or configuring an auto attendant.

But the best attraction of VoIP for businesses is the cheap long distance rates, with fee reductions of up to 75 percent over conventional phone services. Businesses with 20-plus employees in separate locations benefit the most out of IP.

According to retired Marketing Vice-President of Qwest Communications, John Scarborough, “If employees are in different locations, calling one another is as easy as dialing a four-digit extension, and there’s no long-distance fee for domestic calls.” This is due to the fact that business VoIP service is Internet-based technology that views users on the same network as ‘local’, regardless of their physical location.

Aside from cost reductions, mobility of service is also one advantage. With IP, the phone number can move with the user with no costly reconfiguration of circuits required. You just have to unplug the IP phone and re-plug into the new location.

Some IP providers will allow businesses to purchase “virtual” phone numbers with area codes for another city, state or country. For example, calls from a California office can come from outside the US, but be charged as a local call.

IP also allows better inter-connectivity with the company data network. For instance, a business may use the “Click and Call” feature that allows instant access to online support from the company website – with video conferencing; they can even see the called party. Even if employees are at far and separate locations, virtual employee conferences are possible and easy to hold. During such calls, documents can be shared among the participants in a few clicks. Instant messaging is also a given with IP.

Seamless credit card machine authorizations are another benefit of VoIP business phone service with adding more lines as data lines. Scarborough said that the credit card machine line can always be online and provide fast validations. He also said it is also a very cost-effective solution for point-of-sale systems.

For other businesses, the main benefit of IP telephone systems is that it improves employee productivity. With IP, you can dial directly from your Outlook contacts, cutting down on the time required to look up the phone number. IP business solutions also allow truly centralized communications, with voice, email, and faxes managed via a single software interface and an IP phone.

Received calls can be configured to ring simultaneously on both a mobile phone and landline phone before being forwarded to a voice mail, then the voice mail can also be forwarded via email in a sound file. With regards to replying to messages, IP phones enable employees to instantly look up contact information inside the company’s customer database.

Premises or Hosted Phone System

The choice of premises or hosted phone system depends largely on the number of users you have. If your business has less than 15 users, and you don’t want the hassle of hiring a VoIP PBX supervisor, get a hosted PBX. A hosted system costs more on a monthly basis, but all your services are managed and monitored by the provider.

Whether your business makes a lot of inbound and outbound calls or less, there are many IP plans out there that will cater to your needs and you still save money compared to typical phone companies.