Jul
25
2011
The rapidly increasing availability of high speed internet services has done wonders for the quality and reliability of VoIP. UK businesses are now about to obtain carrier-quality VoIP based business telephone systems without having to worry about a large up-front investment.
Thanks to the wonders of VoIP, UK businesses can now enjoy low cost international calls, and free VoIP-to-VoIP calls, along with conference calling and remote collaboration tools, all in one suite of easy to use business telephone systems.
Most people are already familiar with the consumer VoIP services offered in the UK. Even traditional carriers such as BT have a VoIP service, and then there are specialists such as Skype that focus exclusively on VoIP. There are other companies that offer more specialist business telephone systems. Those companies include Cisco, Vonage, and Gradwell.
The benefits of online business telephone systems
The benefits of VoIP are not just related to the cost of the service. The big draw, for many, when it comes to using VoIP is the flexibility and power of this communication tool.
With VoIP, a UK based company can present an international image. If you have clients in Los Angeles, then you can make use of VoIP to get a Los Angeles number for your business, making it easier for your clients to reach you.
Another benefit of VoIP is the ease of extension. If you need an extra number, or a fax machine, or some more call forwarding features, it's usually easy enough to add these features with a few mouse clicks. This is a far cry from the hassle and expense of adding new physical lines.
VoIP servers are as future-proof as it's possible to get. There are innovations happening in the VoIP world, just as there are in the world of standard carrier telephony, but these innovations are happening on the hardware layer and the network layer, and are the responsibility of the VoIP provider. For example, the MPLS standard is evolving each year, and with each evolution new hardware (or firmware updates for old hardware) is released that supports the improved MPLS standard. MPLS compatible routers, switches, and gateways enable VoIP providers to offer stable, reliable, and lag-free telephony services.
VoIP offers more than just calling - you can use VoIP for video chat, remote collaboration, text communication, and file sharing too. This makes your VoIP investment far more valuable than it first appears, as it offers a full suite of business tools for one fee.
For a small business in the UK, an investment in VoIP is a wise one. The VoIP services in the UK are rapidly improving, and are already inexpensive compared to traditional carrier-based business telephone systems. As a small company, you are well placed to explore the latest technologies - not having as much invested in older systems and infrastructure, and not needing to worry about existing processes, or co-operating with other branches to ensure a smooth transition. Take advantage of your mobility as a company to get ahead now, and you will reap the rewards for many years to come.
James Harper wrote this post on behalf of Maintel, the VoIP UK specialists for business telephone systems. James enjoys writing about ways in which businesses can take advantage of modern technologies.