Businesses all around the world are taking out the figurative scissors and cutting the cord to their telephone land lines in favor of a more cost-efficient alternative that capitalizes on the increased accessibility to high-speed internet connections. Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) has been steadily catching on ever since its advent in early 2004.
While making the switch over to VoIP services is pretty painless, there are a few things to keep in mind to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Know Your Limits
Before even looking into which VoIP phone system service will be best suited for your industry, you will want to make sure that you are fully aware of just how heavy of an increased load your network is capable of taking on. Will adding a VoIP system to the network be the straw the breaks the camel’s back? Consider carrying out a stress test. How does your network handle multiple users streaming videos or music? If you begin to experience lags or interruptions of service, consider increasing your allotted bandwidth so that important calls are not interrupted due to a competition in data usage.
To test your system, run this VoIP stress test to get a better idea of what you can expect.
Call Variety
As business interactions become increasingly global and interaction with individuals in different time zones and different countries becomes the norm, you will need to begin to think about the frequency and the costs these calls will incur your business.
A VoIP system really shines when compared side by side to long distance phone calls made over traditional land lines. Depending on your service provider, you could be looking to save anywhere from a few bucks a months to a much more sizable amount. Let’s take a look at a popular telephone service provider’s rates for the following business hubs of the world.
|
Country |
Costs Per Minute |
| Seoul, South Korea |
$1.99 |
| European Nations |
Average of $2.69 |
| Shanghai, China |
$2.29 |
Compare these rates with VoIP’s flat monthly fee and you can really be looking to cut the costs of your phone expenses by quite a bit.
Have a Back-Up
VoIP telephone services are inherently tied to your business’s ability to connect and stay connected to a broadband network. If you experience an outage of service due to service provider maintenance, natural disaster or poor weather, your VoIP can suffer. In these instances, make sure you have access to another form of telephone service in case it becomes imperative to speak with a client or other individual during a time of outage.
On Site or Off?
One of the largest appeals of a VoIP system is what it can do for your company in terms of savings. Like with most services, most VoIP providers have a couple of fees and startup costs associated with implementing their technologies into your business.
The first decision you will need to make is whether or not you will be hosting the system on site or using a provider’s offsite server. Hosting the service off site and with the provider is the best option for companies who do not have a fully developed IT department or a dedicated staff member to handle any sort of problems that would arise such as network errors, outages or routing new units to the server.
The offsite option utilizes a standard landline or broadband service with the adapter given to you by the provider and some form of subscription service in place. The onsite option does give you a little more flexibility. Onsite VoIP systems are able to link together several phone units to a single line through the equipment that is installed on site and that is then routed through the internet.
Costs of Ownership
For those looking to take a look at total costs versus that of a traditional phone service, let’s take a look at the following data. Remember, costs of services vary depending on your location. The following numbers are simply an average.
Let’s assume we are operating with one office. In this office there are four landlines. Each line will run you about $30 a month so about $120 total and $1,440 annually. If you’re making long distance phone calls on a fairly average basis you can look to be spending about $150 a month across those four lines. So consider the following
- $1,440 annually on local calls
- $1,800 annually on long distance
- Total Costs: $3,240
Now let’s look at a similar setup but instead, using a VoIP service.
- VoIP phones, about $60, one time
- Running a cable, about $100
- Router, about $100
- Monthly fee, about $50 (sometimes a little more sometimes less)
- Total Upfront costs $260
- Monthly Reoccurring costs, about $50
Just glancing at the numbers you can already see that the math is already widely in favor of a VoIP system. Just remember that these numbers are only rough estimates. Should you want to get a more accurate quote, most VoIP providers have plenty of tools on their websites that allow for side to side comparisons of what you have and what they offer.
VoIP’s Portability
There are also a number of mobile apps that allow users to access VoIP services on the go and for those who work from a mobile office. While some business VoIP providers do have mobile apps associated with their service, most popular mobile VoIP services offer a stand-alone service such as Skype, Talkatone, Fring and Line2. Mobile VoIP services have a wide appeal due to their functionality over public WiFi hotspots and the user’s existing data package with their cellular carrier.
Skype’s mobile calling system starts at $2.99 a month for calls in the US and Canada. If you want an exclusive phone number, you are looking to spend about $60 a year. But remember this is only one line.
Talkatone’s app is pretty cheap with about $2 a month or a flat $20 a year. Setup the account with a Gmail account and you’re ready to go. Calling other Gmail users will give you the best quality but the highest criticism of this service is the occasional drop outs and low quality that comes when calling users outside the realm of Gmail accounts.
Other mobile VoIP apps will cost you a similar amount. Read the various reviews associated with each one to see which service will be right for you.
Weigh your options
In the end, don’t forget to budget out how much money you will be saving. With those extra funds available, you will be free to allocate a bit more of your financial resources to other areas in your company that can benefit from a small, but helpful, boost in finances, such as employee incentives or small upgrades to office equipment.
Cindy DiMarini has an extensive background in the world of telephony and digital communication services. After a successful tenure as a network designer, Cindy now devotes her time to raising two rambunctious boys. When life gives her a free moment, she works with Broadview Networks a small business phone system provider.
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