Cutting Communication Costs with Hosted VoIP Services
Contemporary business solutions have begun to focus on areas where time can be saved and costs can be cut. Communication is a large part of business efficiency, mostly because reliable and fast working communication helps a business to function optimally. When a company can operate to full capacity, money is made. Similarly, when time is saved, money is saved. Hosted VoIP services have become an important part of ensuring that a business can function at full capacity whilst cutting communication costs.
Hosted VoIP is a telephony solution favoured by businesses as it uses a high-speed broadband connection to pass voice signals as data across an IP platform. Unlike previous IP telephony systems, contemporary VoIP services offer high sound quality, advanced usability and reliable communication systems.
Saving money with hosted VoIP
Hosted VoIP saves money for businesses for a number of reasons. Firstly, when subscribing to a VoIP service provider, the capital outlays are very minimal. PSTN lines require expensive installations with lines being added to all extensions and a hefty callout fee for the services provided. Hosted VoIP services use a broadband connection to make calls and transfer data, eradicating the need for telephone lines and service fees.
A good VoIP provider will offer a free assistance service, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is especially helpful because if any problems do arise, they can be fixed quickly, aided by someone who is professionally trained in VoIP technology without paying for a technician to visit the business premises.
The majority of IP telephony systems are incredibly easy to use. The user-friendly interface is run using an IP softphone. This is software especially created to use a VoIP system. VoIP is run through a computer system and the IP softphone application will appear as a telephone handset on the computer. Expensive training programmes needed to educate workers about how to use the system are not required as hosted VoIP technology is so simple to use.
IT managers also benefit from the use of a VoIP system because the technology can be managed online quickly and efficiently. Lines can be added and subtracted at will as the systems are fully scalable, a much quicker process than the installations of PSTN lines when extensions are added.
Calls between sites on a hosted VoIP system are free or at a much lower cost than call charges for a PBX or regular phones. This means that employees can remain in contact if working from home or away on business without incurring any extra costs.
Saving costs during phone downtime
PSTN lines and traditional PBX systems have caused major problems for businesses when the unexpected happens. Flooding, power cuts, equipment failures and other unpredictable experiences were to blame for 60% of businesses in the UK experiencing up to a full day's phone disruption. This was discovered in a recent study by a hosted VoIP provider. These periods of downtime caused an average loss of £14,431 per day, per company. This is a huge loss of income and an even greater expense when employees resort to using cellular phones for communication.
Despite the unpredictability of traditional phones due to these factors, many businesses have no 'plan B' to put into practice if their regular phone lines fail. Hosted VoIP is a suitable solution to this problem, because hosted VoIP is run over the internet, cut off PSTN lines are no longer a problem. Similarly, if a power failure occurs, calls can be re-directed off site and even to cellular phones.
A hosted VoIP system can save a company a lot of money. Tariffs are lower using VoIP, which keeps billing costs down. Efficiency and productivity is boosted through hosted VoIP and the advanced features the systems offers. Hosted VoIP services are becoming a necessity for any business competing in global markets but are also perfect for small and emerging businesses.
About the Author:
Inclarity is a UK-based telephony provider offering hosted VoIP services featuring advanced functions such as IP softphones.