More and more companies are updating their telephone systems to VoIP. The old land line is quickly becoming obsolete as VoIP takes telephone technology to the Internet. Basically this is Voice over Internet Protocol. Phone calls are connected via the Internet instead of the old fashioned WAN lines.
The original telephone system used a series of switches to send the call from one place to another. That one call tied up the whole line until it was complete. Besides being an inefficient way to use resources, the existing telecommunication system is highly taxed and regulated, so it’s expensive. As Internet technology has advanced, the telephone system has become a challenge best suited for today’s connections.
With VoIP, conference calls are becoming the norm and companies are able to connect to a wider group of customers or employees like sales representatives. Having a good program that can handle multimedia effortlessly like Handbrake, Xvid or Virtual Dub enables companies to use and distribute video and sales materials easily and cost effectively.
VoIP technology is a digital packet based system. Several phone calls can be made over one LAN line at the same time, and this is the same connection that the computers are using. The efficiency is astounding and the cost is much less by virtue of needing less line space to send information.
One of the very nice features of VoIP comes to companies with multiple office sites. Instead of making a toll call to another state or country, those calls work like inter-office calls on a four digit extension. Technical staffing is reduced too, because computers and telephones can be handled by one IT department. Under certain configurations a phone can be moved anywhere and keep the same number.
Changing to VoIP seems like it would be cost prohibitive, but companies are always dealing with changing technologies and new computer systems and ways to connect. The next time an organization makes big technology changes VoIp should be included in the transition. What is spent in the onset to get new phones and computers will come back in long term cost savings that improve the bottom line.
