Above, the buttons in the yellow rectangle are the toggle buttons. VoIP phones allow you to pick between current, incoming and held calls using the toggle buttons.
These buttons rarely appear on landline phones. On landline phones, each "line" corresponds to a phone number. Landline phones can juggle multiple calls among corresponding copper lines, and you switch between these calls with the line buttons in the green rectangle above on the phone.
If you have five lines for your business, that means your phone can take calls from five different phone numbers. VoIP phones, on the other hand, do not have "lines" in the traditional sense.
Depending on your phone model, your phone may be able to handle multiple user accounts simultaneously. This means you can take calls from multiple accounts and different phone numbers on your VoIP phone. Chances are good you're already making VoIP calls any time you place a long-distance call.
Phone companies use VoIP to streamline their networks. By routing thousands of phone calls through a circuit switch and into an IP gateway, they can seriously reduce the bandwidth they're using for the long haul. Once a gateway receives the call on the other side of the call, it's decompressed, reassembled and routed to a local circuit switch.
Although it will take some time, you can be sure that eventually all of the current circuit-switched networks will be replaced with packet-switching technology more on packet switching and circuit switching later. IP telephony makes sense, in terms of both economics and infrastructure requirements.
More and more businesses are installing VoIP systems, and the technology will continue to grow in popularity as it makes its way into our homes. Perhaps the biggest draw to VoIP for the home users that are making the switch are price and flexibility. With VoIP, you can make a call from anywhere you have broadband connectivity. Since the IP phones or ATAs broadcast their info over the Internet, they can be administered by the provider anywhere there's a connection.
So business travellers can take their phones or ATAs with them on trips and always have access to their home phone. Another alternative is the softphone. A softphone is client software that loads the VoIP service onto your desktop or laptop. The Vonage softphone has an interface on your screen that looks like a traditional telephone. With the elimination of unregulated charges and the suite of free features that are included with these plans, it can be quite a savings. Most VoIP companies provide the features that normal phone companies charge extra for when they are added to your service plan.
VoIP includes:. There are also advanced call-filtering options available from some carriers. These features use caller ID information to allow you to make a choice about how calls from a particular number are handled.
You can:. Now that we've looked at VoIP in a general sense let's look more closely at the components that make the system work. To understand how VoIP works and why it's an improvement over the traditional phone system, it helps first to understand how a traditional phone system works.
VoIP can facilitate tasks and deliver features and functionality that might be cumbersome or costly to implement when using traditional PSTN. It depends on your VoIP setup. Most specific VoIP providers let you port your old number over. Some, however, may require a new one. For most VoIP apps and software, you'll need to register and sign in to your account, so a phone number isn't always necessary.
As long as you can sign in on the app, your contacts can call you. VoIP phones generally have dedicated buttons for redial, transfer, conference, hold, mute, voicemail, and speaker phone.
These buttons are set along the side of the number pad. VoIP phones and other business phones use these features almost universally. HD Voice offers at least twice the audio range of landline phone service.
The spread for landline voice quality is 3. In other words, the quality of your calls will be much higher using two VoIP phones than two traditional phones. This reduces clutter on your desk and simplifies inventory management. It can also save you money, as power adapters are often sold separately from the phones. VoIP phones handle calls differently than other business phones.
Above, the buttons in the yellow rectangle are the toggle buttons. With a robust solution and proper implementation, the voice quality of VoIP can be as good or even better than the landline-based calls. VoIP enables businesses to extend their communications system to remote offices and on-the-go workers over SIP-enabled devices.
For remote workers, the office is wherever they make it as long as the Internet connection is available. The deployment of a multi-site VoIP system can not only keep all dispersed branches connected seamlessly but also reduces the spiraling inter-office call costs. Softphones enable employees to make their office extensions mobile with a wide range of call handling features at hand.
Additionally, cloud phone systems make it easy to connect geographically dispersed offices under one phone system and the IT admin can easily manage it from any location. Scalability, as one of the most valuable characteristics for businesses, refers to the ability of a system to handle a growing amount of workload, normally by adding resources to the system, without affecting its overall performance or efficiency.
VoIP is a scalable solution that can grow with your business, especially the cloud-based VoIP service, which offers greater flexibility for businesses with staff growth or reduction. The increase and decrease of phone extensions can be made immediately and businesses only pay for what they need, without purchasing additional hardware equipment or new dedicated lines. It can all be done, practically in real-time.
If you are a seasonal business with fluctuating communications needs or experiencing rapid growth, a hosted model can be a perfect fit for you. VoIP services deliver a number of features that are either not supported by traditional telephone systems or only available for an additional fee.
Many businesses have found it easy to use VoIP and became more competitive with the full suite of built-in features. Some features may help companies meet important safety and security needs, including the ability to connect with emergency services while using internet VoIP.
Below is a list of must-have VoIP features that will boost your business communication efficiency:. When the called party is unavailable, Call Forwarding helps redirect incoming calls to another desired destination, such as the mobile phone number or other telephone numbers. You can also set up different rules for various scenarios. For example, automatically forward phone calls to another extension when you are busy, ring your mobile phone when no one answers calls to your desk phone, and ask callers to leave voice messages when you are on vacation.
Sales personnel and field staff especially no longer need to worry about being away from their desks. When customers call in, pre-recorded greetings will direct them to the most appropriate destination with the minimum waiting time.
With IVR, you are able to automate customer service, provide satisfactory answers timely, leave a good impression on your customers, and build a professional company image.
Include a group of extensions into a ring group so that when a call comes in, all available extensions will ring simultaneously or sequentially up to different ringing strategies you set up. It is very useful in sharing and distributing calls effectively among employees in particular departments. As a result, the overall productivity of your team will be increased and the fastest response to customer calls is guaranteed. It is a smart move to let an incoming call queue up while waiting for an available agent.
Better than being on hold, going to voicemail, or getting a busy tone, the customer is informed that there is currently no available agent to answer the call, and he or she is queueing right now. It reduces the number of missed calls as well as the negative effect of busy signals on customer experience.
By segmenting agents into several queues, you can even provide different service levels for different customer groups. Calling someone else who has the app is free, but calling an actual phone number will usually cost a little. With a smartphone - You can use your smartphone to make voice calls using certain apps. See below for more on how this works. If it plugs into a router, you'll need a compatible router too.
For VoIP with a computer, you'll need… a laptop or desktop computer with an internet connection, the right software, and either a headset or speakers and a microphone.
Headsets are better for clarity and sound quality, but you can get by just fine without. For VoIP with a smartphone, you'll need… a smartphone, connected to Wi-Fi and with your chosen app installed. VoIP on smartphones There are apps that you can use to call other people who have the same app. Pros and cons of VoIP Pros: The main advantage of using a VoIP service is that it can be a lot cheaper than regular landlines, especially for calling overseas.
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