If you run a business, it’s nearly impossible that you haven’t heard of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) phone systems. You may have heard excellent reviews about it from other business owners, and then the next day, you hear the exact opposite from someone else. Why such a disparity in opinions and experience?
Today we will analyze the pros and cons of VoIP and help you determine if you should switch from your traditional landline system to a new, technologically advanced system.
Let’s get started!
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) allows you to place telephone calls using a broadband internet connection instead of a traditional copper wire analog telephone system.
As the internet has changed the world forever and allowed communication to accelerate rapidly, VoIP has become a popular choice for businesses looking to increase their telephone and communication capabilities and grow their business.
You must have specific requirements for VoIP to work correctly in a business setting, but the most important factor is whether or not you have a good internet connection. On top of this, you need to make sure that you have enough bandwidth to support your VoIP phone system, or else it won’t work correctly, and you will have issues with call quality.
If you have a good internet connection, you must have the basic bandwidth to support the VoIP phone system. A common VoIP call protocol requires approximately 64kbps. Using the G711 voice codec, you can have about 12 calls for every 1 Mbps bandwidth.
That means that if your company has about 120 calls happening simultaneously, you’ll need 10Mbp of service.
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There are many advantages of upgrading your existing analog telephone system to VoIP. Below is a list of the main benefits of using VoIP.
There are many other pros to upgrading to VoIP. You will be the one who determines which ones are most important to you and your business. Choosing to go with a VoIP phone system can only help your business in the long run.
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Even with the advances in telecommunications, VoIP has its disadvantages, and you should be aware of these before you rush out to set up a new system. Below are some cons of using VoIP for your business phone system.
First of all, if you don’t have an internet connection, you can’t have a fancy VoIP system. But let’s assume you operate in today’s modern society and you indeed have an internet connection. The question now becomes- how reliable is that internet connection?
The reason you need to understand the speed and reliability of your connection is that without it, you could be experiencing a lot of issues with quality and dropped calls.
Because the internet can’t be perfect 100% of the time, you can experience lag times in the phone system and while you are talking with customers. Phone calls can get garbled, and hard to understand if the bandwidth can handle the number of phone lines being used.
Installing a new VoIP phone system can get slightly complicated if you’re moving from an analog phone system. You will need to have a trained technician do the installation for you because specifically structured cabling needs to be set up correctly to make sure you get reliable communication for both in-office and remote use.
If you look at the pros and cons above, you can clearly see that VoIP is a fantastic way to increase productivity and up your game regarding customer service satisfaction and call center activity.
Only you will be able to ultimately decide if a VoIP phone system will work for your business. If you know you have the proper requirements and bandwidth to manage the upgrade and still get the high-quality that VoIP phone systems provide, then make sure to request a demo with a reliable VoIP provider so they can walk you through the features that are provided.
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Hopefully, this post has helped you in learning some of the advantages and disadvantages of using VoIP versus a traditional landline. Only you can make the right decision for your business, so make sure to do your research ahead of time.
For more information and help determine the right system for you, visit SE Telecom and request a demo today.