Less Money. More Flexible. What’s Not to Like?

It will come as no surprise that in the current economic climate VoIP providers specializing in the small and medium business (SMB) market are finding more than ever that, while companies appreciate the features and flexibility the technology affords, the primary motivator for adoption is price.

This is particularly true for companies that are ditching an old analogue public exchange (PBX) in their office and opting for a hosted VoIP solution, where the box handling the digital switching and routing of calls is hosted and maintained in a safe and secure data center. This saves the company the upfront cost of buying a new exchange and will normally come with unlimited calls in North America.

Bundled Savings

For businesses that have been used to paying for calls and calling features, such complimentary inclusions are a welcome relief and offer triple savings, according to Debbie Jo Severin, VP of Marketing at 8×8. “There are three main areas of savings for businesses with VoIP,” she explains.

“There’s the massive upfront cost of not having to buy, install and maintain a PBX (private branch exchange) in the office and then there’s also the large savings of running voice over the same IP network as data, saving on the need to maintain and run two separate networks. There’s also the call savings which come with unlimited North American calls as well as greatly reduced cost of international calls. In addition, there are the bundled features, such as caller I D, call waiting, three way conferencing and ‘find me’ and ‘follow me’ services which companies would normally have to pay for separately.”

Severin notes that switching to a hosted VoIP provider instead of replacing an analogue PBX represents a 90% upfront savings following by a monthly phone bill reduction of around 50% for most companies.

Flexible Locations

Once they have gleaned the savings, the next major benefit most companies find using VoIP is improved flexibility, according to Severin.

“Normally if you moved your office, you’d have to unplug the phones, set up a new network somewhere else and then get new numbers and extensions,” she says.

“With VoIP you would just plug in the phones in the new office and you’d be up and running immediately on your normal numbers. This flexibility is great for companies that support home working because it means employees can plug their phone in wherever they have broadband and they are reachable on their office number. T o the outside world it looks like they are in the office.” This can be great for business continuity if employees can’t get to the office. Back in 2005, companies who used the 8×8 system were able to ensure that they could keep doing business during Hurricane Katrina via people utilizing VoIP technology in temporary locations away from danger.

It is this flexibility which is key in the current economic climate as businesses look to either amalgamate offices or scale up or down a facility with minimum disruption. A t them same time, the promise that a company never needs to miss a call is a very attractive proposition for directors looking to maximize profitability.

“Ultimately VoIP helps you perform better and keep your customers happier, naturally this is good for any business,” comments Larry Barker, CEO of business VoIP provider, Aptela.

“Companies can have their number find them on whatever phone they are on so they never need miss a call again; it’s great for ‘road warriors’ or any staff that need to spend time away from their desk. A car service company which uses our service is assured because it means their staff can be reached when they are away from the airport desk. They probably make an additional twenty to forty rentals per week” Barker adds.

The simplicity and relative low cost of adding or removing an employee from the phone system is another bonus which VoIP offers. This feature accounts for it being popular with companies that serve a seasonal market.

“A great example are tax specialists in the run up to tax day, they need to add a great deal of capacity for a short time. VoIP allows them to do that without having all those extensions sitting around doing nothing for much of the rest of the year,” Barker says. “It’s the same for holiday companies and pool cleaners, with VoIP you can scale up and down to suit your market conditions and you only pay monthly, you’re not tied into extended contracts that force you to guess how big you’re going to be in a year or two’s time.”

Bandwidth

One proviso that reputable business VoIP providers lay in front of a potential customer is that the voice service they receive is only going to be as good as the bandwidth they have available. Companies considering making the switch are best advised to establish whether they have the capacity to handle voice on their existing broadband line (typically a DSL or T1 connection is a prerequisite). If not, a VoIP provider will suggest an upgrade to boost bandwidth to facilitate the transition to optimized service.

“With VoIP you would just plug in the phones…and you’d be up and running immediately… This flexibility is great for companies that support home working because it means employees can plug their phone in wherever they have broadband and they are reachable on their office number. To the outside world it looks like they’re in the office.”