Kelly Robertson
Whether you’re an individual user or are working in a company, you do want to lower your phone call bills. And that’s where VoIP kicks in, making calls much, much more affordable.
And that’s not all; beyond lower costs, VoIP-based telephony can also be more easily integrated with other (existing) systems. Also, it enables consolidation of other communication and can “handle” faxes, video chats and conference calls… But I’m getting ahead of myself, here are three reasons why you and/or your organization should adopt VoIP and save money along the way:
1. VoIP does not require special equipment
You already have a smartphone and a computer — these two can easily take and make VoIP-based phone calls (think: Skype). For those who want the look and feel of the regular phone, there are converters that can turn many old phones into VoIP devices/clients.
Furthermore, because the technology relies on internet to do its magic, corporations benefit from increased productivity as their employees get to keep the same phone number even when they leave the office — then they use smartphones to make phone calls using the same number. Clients and partners on the other end of the line wouldn’t know the difference.
In order to do so, employees simply start an app and use it like they’re taking or making a regular phone call.
2. VoIP seldom requires special expertise
Except if you work in a large organization that already has the vast PSTN-based infrastructure which needs to be upgraded to VoIP, there is really not much expertise required to introduce VoIP to any organization, let alone individual homes. In fact, compared to old systems, adding VoIP is super-easy with hosted VoIP services making it a smooth experience.
In such a scenario, the company’s admin or any other person with basic tech skills would just have to register all users on the platform and that’s pretty much it. If the internet works — and it usually does — the VoIP-based phone calls will work just as well.
The only problem for big organization is what to do with admins of old non-VoIP systems; they will likely have to be reassigned to other departments where they can provide more value.
3. VoIP makes integration with other systems easier
Inside organizations that use a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, the introduction of a VoIP-based system enables creation of a true Contact Management Center, that further enables companies to take better care of their customers.
In addition to phone calls, said center would also be able to “handle” faxes, conference calls and video chats to ultimately consolidate all communication in one place. That consolidation alone is well worth the effort; add lower ongoing costs to the mix and you realize why everyone is turning to VoIP.
Finally, since it can sing along other software, VoIP can also improve on other workflows such as sales; suddenly, every lead and call is automatically added to the database from where it can analyzed at a later date.
And we have just scratch the surface. VoIP is truly revolutionary and one would have hard time making a case against it. What do you think?
