Entrepreneurs and investors know how important communication is to the success of any venture. Having proper communication channels with clients, suppliers, partners and staff ensures that every aspect of the business is well met and organized to make sure all processes runs as smoothly as possible. Making certain that all vital information be quickly relayed–whether it be to employees, clients or suppliers-keeps the business from collapsing.

To ensure that proper communication channels are in place, businesses invest in telecommunication systems: telephones, fax machines, PABX systems, cellular phones – for local and if necessary, international communications. However, owning and maintaining such systems may cost a considerable amount of capital, usually an amount that would be too taxing for newly established small to medium sized enterprises. Furthermore, traditional PSTN or Public Switched Telephone Networks have certain limitations that may not keep up with needs, particularly in the highly competitive global market.

What businesses need is a viable alternative solution that can cater to all their telecommunications demands. Business VoIP solutions can fulfill this requirement – and much more. The following is an overview of VoIP solutions for businesses and how they can benefit small to medium and even large enterprises.

An Overview of Business VoIP Features and Benefits

VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol makes use of the Internet to send voice packets over the Internet instead of the traditional PSTN switched telephone lines. Unlike PSTN lines, which are heavily regulated resulting in premium pricing (particularly for international calls), VoIP calls are much cheaper and may only require a fixed minimal monthly fee for all calls regardless of point of origin.

Traditional PBX or Private Branch Exchange systems require sophisticated and highly expensive telecommunications equipment in order to connect all telephone lines in the business to the PSTN network. Business VoIP systems, on the other hand, only require a broadband internet connection to make calls. Plug your phone in with an Ethernet cable and you’re halfway there.

Business VoIP networks offer a wide array of features and functions that would prove useful for business users. These features include voicemail boxes, conference bridges, auto-attendants, call groups, caller ID, call forwarding and much.

What VoIP Can Do for Your Business

Businesses often rely on making multiple phone calls each day to existing and prospective clients. In traditional systems, the number of calls that can be made at the same time will depend on how big the PBX systems is to accommodate all connected telephones, and how fast the operator can switch and route the calls. With hosted VoIP, more telephone lines and calls can be made at the same time and are routed automatically to their intended destinations without the need for additional manpower to facilitate the calls.

The globalization of most industries requires businesses to maintain a presence in different states or even different countries to cater to an international clientele. Maintaining proper communications between these offices would be too costly using traditional phone networks. With hosted VoIP solutions, different offices do not have to invest in separate PBX equipment and international calls can be made at discounted rates.

The added features and functions offered by VoIP for business like video-conferencing, unified messaging, and multimedia applications result in better productivity and increased opportunities for higher revenues. Staff can work from anywhere, telecommute, and keep up vital communication with management on the go. All these attributes make business VoIP solutions a viable telecommunications tool soon to be a vital element for the success of any growing business.

Saiju is a VoIP and business software expert specializing in hosted phone system solutions and hosted IP PBX services.