What’s a VoIP call and how does it work?

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As offices become more widely decentralized, companies are looking for ways to maintain high-quality services without additional capital infrastructure costs. For voice services, VoIP is becoming the most convenient and cost-effective approach for an office phone system.

VoIP, or voice over internet protocol, is a great way for many small businesses to establish or extend phone service for their business without investing in new telephone systems. It’s also an efficient way for medium and large businesses to set up more complex phone infrastructure without additional or upgraded copper wire. 

What’s a VoIP call? 

If you’ve ever contacted a friend or a coworker through a program like Skype or Slack, you’ve already made a VoIP call. To the end user, there isn’t any real difference between using a VoIP call, a wireless call, or a traditional telephone call. To get a clear, high-quality VoIP call, you need a high-quality internet connection

How does it work? 

Internet connections work by sending data packets from one destination to another. In a VoIP call, the sound is converted to data on one end, sent via a broadband internet connection, and then converted to sound again on the other end. This is similar to how wireless calls work, but cellular calls go through a carrier’s cellular network for delivery, as opposed to the internet system. 

With an older phone system, there can be some transition concerns for users moving from a traditional business phone to a VoIP-compatible device. But a VoIP phone is designed to be very physically similar to a traditional phone. The dialing keypad is the same, and the base unit usually has buttons for features like call forwarding and call parking. The menu screen on VoIP phones is also usually very intuitive to simplify searching for other users or previous calls.

How does it benefit businesses? 

There are a variety of ways that VoIP can make it easier to operate a business and keep costs low. First, VoIP eliminates the need for companies to manage two separate voice communication services. Generally, businesses have needed to pay for a telephone company to manage their phone system and a separate IT team, with either an in-house or an external managed services team, to handle their network and internet systems. By using VoIP phones, the managed services IT team can also handle the company’s phone needs. Bundling the services together can also save money. 

Secondly, VoIP can be used anywhere someone has a broadband internet connection. Workers can take calls at home, on the go, in a co-working space, or anywhere else, including sales or customer service representatives who are working outside a central office. This also helps businesses avoid paying for excess physical office space. 

VoIP also makes it easier for companies to scale services to business growth or add new features. When companies use traditional telephone systems, they often have to buy entirely new infrastructure in order to add more lines or increase systems. With VoIP, adding more features or lines is usually as simple as speaking to the provider to get more access. 

Who should use VoIP? 

VoIP service is truly beneficial for companies of any size. Small businesses can benefit from the ability to maintain a disparate workforce and take calls anywhere they have broadband access. Medium-sized businesses benefit avoiding investment in entirely new telephony systems when they are ready to expand. 

For help finding the right VoIP system for your company, contact Xpert Technologies. Our xPhone system offers video conferencing, phone systems, and much more. We’re happy to help you find the perfect way to utilize VoIP and support your company’s growth. Contact us today to learn more.