I have been in telecommunications for over 10 years, and with experience I can say that nothing has changed this field more than the internet. Today, voice over internet protocol or VoIP is the most talked about subject among my customers and the salespeople selling telecommunications services. As a consultant I am often asked by business owners, “Should I go voice over IP?” For my customers asking this question let me briefly and in layman’s terms answer this here and now. Maybe.
There are certain aspects of VoIP that are very attractive depending on the client I am consulting with. Let me give you a few things to ponder about your own business to decide if VoIP might be a savvy strategy for your company or a waste of money.
First of all what does the typical VoIP plan look like? Most of the VoIP companies are going to charge you a per phone monthly cost of between $20 and $50 per month. Inside of that cost is usually bundled all your features and long distance. You still need to purchase the VoIP handset which can range from $80 to $700 with the average phone being $250 one time charge. On top of that you need an internet service provider for your phones to work–DSL, Cable, internet T1, etc.
Add up all the costs to go VoIP. You will quickly figure out that only in certain cases does VoIP truly make sense. What are those scenarios? Let me share with you a few of the most common questions I ask to determine if VoIP will benefit you:
1. Do you have multiple locations? Many of my larger customers that have multiple locations enjoy VoIP solutions because with VoIP you can connect all your offices as if they are on one network. For example, my company, Telcom National, has offices in different parts of Utah, Arizona, as well as Colorado. In the past we communicated by calling each other’s desk phones and paid for long distance charges for those calls. Today, with VoIP, we are all extensions on the same network as if we are all in the same office! I am extension 101 in Arizona, for example, and one of my remote workers is extension 103 in Montana. We can communicate with each other by dialing each other’s extensions or even hitting intercom. This gives our company a sense of unity where before we felt separated all on separate systems.
2. Do you make a lot of long distance? Long distance has gotten so cheap. I can get most of my customers long distance plans as low as one cent per minute and sometimes less, but I do have customers that still spend quite a bit on long distance. With these heavy users we may consider going VoIP because with most VoIP plans long distance is absolutely free. I have had customers go from spending thousands of dollars a month to a few hundred just by switching to a good VoIP plan. The truth is, though, most customers do not make enough long distance to warrant going VoIP for long distance alone.
3. Are you in multiple markets or do you want to be? One of the neatest things about VoIP is how you can deliver phone numbers from many markets on one circuit. Let me give you an example. I have a customer who has one location but wants a national presence. Out of this one location with only 12 VoIP phones, they have phone numbers ringing in their office from every country in the United States as well as from many parts of the world. On VoIP this is very simple and costs next to nothing so this can be a huge benefit. You might have many market expansion lines that you pay the phone company for monthly–these cost next to nothing on VoIP so this can be a huge cost savings for you.
4. Do you have many mobile workers? Most of our company’s workforce is mobile meaning our employees are rarely in the office. The nice part about VoIP is being able to go mobile from either a laptop client (software built into your laptop that imitates your desk phone at work), or having a VoIP phone at home or your remote office. In any of these situations you are still able to make calls from your desk phone despite not being in the office. For me personally, this is a great benefit. If I am in California visiting my American Red Cross customer, as long as I have an internet connection I can still make and take my calls as if I was on my desk phone at the office. My voice mails go to my emails as well! I absolutely love the flexibility that VoIP provides me.
These above reasons are the TOP reasons to consider VoIP today, but I have run into many other reasons to go VoIP that I thought you might find interesting as well as comical:
1. To get away from the phone company. I have actually had customers that wanted to ditch their carrier so badly they went to VoIP despite not needing it, in my professional opinion.
2. To get lines when everyone else told them they couldn’t. I can not tell you how many customers have tried to get a pack of 20 lines from the phone company only to be told “there are no facilities”. In some cases the phone company has been able to rectify their facilities issues but in other cases my customers can wait months to get a phone. I have earned many VoIP customers “on accident” because of this reason alone.
3. Because VoIP is cool. I have had so many customers order VoIP from me even after I have told them, “I do not think you should go VoIP…there is no reason”. The most common response from these customers has been, “Yes, but it is so cool”. I think this is a foolish reason to go VoIP but I would never stop a customer from trying to look cool, right? I have to admit, VoIP does some pretty cool stuff, but you still want to treat going to VoIP like any other decision and look at your Return on Investment (ROI).
After I wrote such an article you can probably assume I am a big proponent of VoIP and really believe it is the way to go for many businesses. If you believe that you would be completely wrong.
Less than 5% of my sales are VoIP, and there are many reasons for this. The biggest reason is most people do not fit the above characteristics to warrant going to VoIP. And even if they do I still do not feel VoIP is always the best choice. I am convinced that the safest and most reliable way to make a call is NOT over the internet, yet with true voice over IP that is what we are relying on…calls being made over the internet. The public internet is a horrible entity to rely on, and most companies can not afford redundant circuits to make VoIP more reliable (in some cases we can have a back up if the internet fails so calls can still be made).
So as a consultant in the telecommunications field I feel it is my job to steer most of my customers away from VoIP because of its unreliability and sometimes because of the cost. If you are looking into going VoIP or wondering what all the hype with VoIP is, I hope that my brief article helped you clarify that a little.
Author: Justin Bentley
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Electric Pressure Cooker
- POLISH INBOUND PHONE NUMBERS IN VOIPDISCOUNT
- Sustenanble Energy for Mission Project Assistance
- Protect Our Rights to Unlimited Internet Access
Related Posts -
How a VOIP Hybrid PBX System Can Improve Your Business Communications Today's business owners need to completely understand their current phone system before deciding if VOIP is right for them. Businesses that use older phone system technology may not appreciate how much money they're spending on long distance and phone company fees. VOIP and VOIP hybrid PBX systems have had...... -
Long Distance Charges and Expensive Phone Systems Are a Thing the Past for Many Companies Companies that have switched to VoIP phone services have already seen savings in long distance charges, many, in the thousands of dollars per year. For companies that also make extensive conference calls, VoIP makes even more sense and can be combined with conferencing options such as document sharing. So why...... -
How VOIP Can Help You to Save Money in Your Business How VOIP Can Help You to Save Money in Your BusinessVoice Over IP telecommunications, more commonly referred to as VOIP, allows users to make and receive telephone calls over a broadband internet connection. Already there are several well-known VOIP service providers, and individuals from all over the world subscribe...... -
VoIP Business Solution - Saving Your Company Money For a business VoIP plan, the cost currently is somewhere less than $50. Businesses are allowed to make calls to anyone in the USA and Canada at anytime on their home, business and cell phone free of charge.While this probably won't be of much concern when you're calling a...... -
VOIP Questions and Answers Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, has grown in popularity recently and with that rise in popularity has come a number of common misconceptions and confusion. Global Value Conncet ( http://globalvalueconnect.com ) has complied this simple guide to address some of these most common questions and concerns. What is VoIP......
Related Websites -
27 Ways To Save Money On Your Utility Bills. In about 3 weeks, I am moving away from New Mexico to Denver, CO. I will be leaving behind a house that provided virtually free AC and heat (being a passive solar home), pretty cheap "high-speed" internet (for New Mexico), incredibly low taxes and assorted other things that come along...... -
The Most Significant Part Of Your Business Many businesses have greatly benefitted from the internet . The internet is a very useful medium in businesses as well as for customers. The internet helps to increase the quality of the business . Business has got good scope due the internet and because of this communication has become much...... -
How You Can Make Your Cell Phone Use More Eco-Friendly. Sure, you can recycle your cell phone at the end of it's life (which most people probably do far before it reaches it), but did you know you could get cell phone service from companies that either donate some or all of their profits to charity? Of course, you might...... -
Home Network Security [/caption] Home Computer security 1. What is computer security? Computer security is the process of preventing and detecting unauthorized use of your computer. Prevention measures help you to stop unauthorized users (also known as "intruders") from accessing any part of your computer system. Detection helps you to determine whether or...... -
The More Advanced Side of Using Press Releases the more Techi Things OK, so now you know from my prior post that youhave to write press releases to become a trusted Expert. You know that they're good for business, your blog, or whatever it is that you are attempting to do. But how exactly do you go about it? And in this......
Related posts:


[...] Continued here: Why Should I Go VOIP? [...]