Month: September 2021

Benefits of Using VoIP Technology

More and more businesses are implementing Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP technology because of its versatility, flexibility and cost-effectiveness. With new developments in this technology, the scope of its applications is widening. It is becoming more than just voice communications technology. That is why businesses of all sizes are migrating at an increasing rate. Here is a short list of some of the benefits.

Versatility/Flexibility: There are many VoIP service companies that have been working feverishly to enhance the use of this technology. They are bundling up other communication applications into a single unified communication platform to increase the efficiency for businesses. This means all modes of communication such as voice, fax, video, web conferencing and emails can be utilized, using a single software application. The ability of this application to convert voice into an email or fax into an email can bring a tremendous amount of efficiency to business operations. You don’t need to sign up for a separate service for a telephone or video conference. An incoming phone call can be received on a mobile phone and regular phone simultaneously. That means there are fewer missed important phone calls, and less wasted time on ‘phone-tag.’ An employee can receive an important fax on a laptop while sitting in an Internet café or within range of a Wi-Fi hot spot, and can redirect it to an associate within minutes with a few keystrokes. The list of benefits goes on.

Reduced cost: There are many ways VoIP can lower communications cost thus significantly enhancing the revenue. Here are some of the financial benefits of implementing VoIP.

1. Cost per phone call: Making long distance or international phone calls using landlines or mobile phones can be very expensive. Charges incurred at per-minute rate can add up quickly. When you conduct business from multiple locations VoIP applications allow you to make calls from PC to PC that are free if they are within the same network. That could be significant to eliminate long distance charges if two locations are hundreds of miles apart. You can also pay a low monthly flat fee and make an unlimited number of calls, including international calls. This means much less usage of your mobile phone-minutes.
2. Operational costs: You don’t need separate networks for data and voice communications. Everything can be done using the data network. Specially designed phones with VoIP technology can be managed right from your desktops. There are a few things at work here. First of all, you have the potential to be eliminating traditional “phone” lines, usually a significant monthly fixed cost, in addition to the per minute usage costs. Paying per minute remains a major issue if you do any international calling, or have offices located in other countries, where per minute rates may not have dropped like those in the US. Another operational cost that goes away are the labor costs involved in moving employees from office to office. Reconfiguring numbers and phones can still require physical changes. Even if they are only software changes, there is a cost to pay the technician who handles these reconfigurations.
3. Infrastructure cost: With this technology your infrastructure cost is greatly reduced. For example, you have to pay more for the telephone extensions using traditional PBX and key systems. Using VoIP allows you to run those extensions right from your computers. Dual-mode phones can be used with this technology after making minor configuration changes. That allows the user to switch the use of a dual phone from cellular to a local Wi-Fi environment, reducing the need to carry a regular phone and a cell phone. That means fewer devices to manage.

Summary: After our discussion, the significance of implementation of VoIP can’t be overstated. Every business strives for better revenue. This new technology offers many ways to cut costs and bring efficiency by unifying all modes of communication onto a single platform. Efficiency and lower costs are always synonymous with greater revenue. Get in touch with a Managed Service Provider and ask them how they can bring you on board with this great technology called VoIP.

BYOD: Why is This Concept So Attractive to Employees?

Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD, to work was an idea a few years ago that is becoming a reality very fast. To use your personal smartphone, tablet or laptop for work seems increasingly natural. Employees are embracing this concept without any serious reservations. As more and more business activity becomes technology driven, to have electronic gadgets right by your side all the time make sense. According to a survey conducted by Logicalis about 75% of employees in high growth markets such as Brazil and Russia and 44% in developed markets bring their own devices to work.

Let’s examine all the factors causing people to want to use their own devices at work.

• Familiarity: This may be the most relevant reason for someone to bring their own tablet or laptop to work. It may be the operating system, web browser, or other apps on their devices that they know so well and feel comfortable using.
• Convenience: Companies have been providing their employees mobile phones for business use for a few decades. Now those employees have to carry two phones, since everyone also has a personal phone. This duality is a nuisance. It is hard enough to care for one mobile phone and now they have to worry about two of them. The reality is that companies expect employees to be in contact 24/7, so company devices can’t just be used at work. They have to be carried home, out to the store, etc. If the employees have a choice they would much rather carry just one phone, their own, enabling them to be reachable by family and friends anytime. Also, it could be cheaper if their company offers to share the cost of using their device for business.
• Productivity: Convenience can also result in better productivity. Having fewer devices means fewer distractions. Fewer distractions equals less wasted time. Saving time is always good for productivity.
• Personal contentment: It makes employees feel good to be able to use their own devices at work. Higher employee morale is very important for any organization. Happier employees are more likely to work hard. A positive environment is also a factor in lower turnover. So, if an employer gives its employees the liberty to bring their own devices to work it may have more satisfied workers.
• Conclusion: People in the workplace are using their own devices so they can accomplish more in less time. It makes them happy to have their personal devices at work, and it makes them feel good about their job if they are allowed to use the devices that they are familiar with.

VoIP: A New Dimension in Communication for SMBs

Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP is about a decade old technology that is gaining popularity among individual subscribers and businesses. In conventional systems, phone calls are made using telephones or handsets that are connected by phone cables. These calls are routed using the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) carrying a signal from one telephone to the other. But instead of connecting telephones to the phone cables through phone jacks in the walls, VoIP uses the internet where phones can be connected to broadband devices, adapters or PCs using broadband. With this system, voice is converted into a digital signal and carried over the Internet. Let’s take a look at all the options that are available to make calls using VoIP.

Make Calls from a PC: Using this platform a call can be placed from your PC. Your computer is connected to the Internet via broadband. A specially designed software app allows you to place and receive phone calls right from your PC. When deployed, this software displays a dial pad. You can dial a number using a mouse or keyboard. You will need a headphone or speaker to hear and a microphone to speak. When your PC is connected to a phone or another PC on the other end, you can talk like you would on a regular phone. The software with video capabilities will let you see each other (you and the recipient of your call) if it is a PC to PC call and both computers are equipped with cameras. In this case you don’t even need a telephone handset.

Make Calls using a regular phone: You can make phone calls with a regular phone using VoIP technology, but for this you will have to have a service, such as Vonage, that provides VoIP access. You can subscribe to their service for a monthly flat fee or a per-minute rate. Your regular phone can be plugged into an adapter which is then connected to a broadband device. Some services will allow you to make calls within their service network only. But there are other services that will let you make calls anywhere. That means you can call local, long distance, international and through mobile devices.

VoIP telephones: There are VoIP service providers that provide special phones. To use these phones you don’t need an adapter. Their telephones are designed to work with your broadband device. You can connect this phone directly into your broadband modem using an Ethernet cable and use the phone like any regular phone.

Companies providing VoIP services are focusing on providing unified communication platforms that will include phone, emails, faxes, videos and voice mail capabilities. Their goal is to deliver these capabilities that can be used by all means of communication including handheld devices.

The Role of MSPs: Managed Service Providers or MSPs can help businesses with the installation of hardware and software, enabling VoIP technology. This will also organize their communication networks by integrating those networks into their IT infrastructure. Now SMBs can eliminate another worry (management of their communication systems) by outsourcing their IT services.