Benefits of Using VoIP Technology
More and more businesses are implementing Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP technology because of its versatility, flexibility and cost effectiveness. With new developments in this technology, the scope of its applications is widening. It is becoming more than just voice communications technology. That is why businesses of all sizes are migrating at an increasing rate. Here is a short list of some of the benefits.
Versatility/Flexibility: There are many VoIP service companies that have been working feverishly to enhance the use of this technology. They are bundling up other communication applications into a single unified communication platform to increase the efficiency for businesses. This means all modes of communication such as voice, fax, video, web conferencing and emails can be utilized, using a single software application. The ability of this application to convert voice into an email or fax into an email can bring a tremendous amount of efficiency to business operations. You don’t need to sign up for a separate service for a telephone or video conference. An incoming phone call can be received on a mobile phone and regular phone simultaneously. That means there are fewer missed important phone calls, and less wasted time on ‘phone-tag.’ An employee can receive an important fax on a laptop while sitting in an Internet café or within range of a Wi-Fi hot spot, and can redirect it to an associate within minutes with a few keystrokes. The list of benefits goes on.
Reduced cost: There are many ways VoIP can lower communications cost thus significantly enhancing the revenue. Here are some of the financial benefits of implementing VoIP.
- Cost per phone call: Making long distance or international phone calls using landlines or mobile phones can be very expensive. Charges incurred at per-minute rate can add up quickly. When you conduct business from multiple locations VoIP applications allow you to make calls from PC to PC that are free if they are within the same network. That could be significant to eliminate long distance charges if two locations are hundreds of miles apart. You can also pay a low monthly flat fee and make an unlimited number of calls, including international calls. This means much less usage of your mobile phone-minutes.
- Operational costs: You don’t need separate networks for data and voice communications. Everything can be done using the data network. Specially designed phones with VoIP technology can be managed right from your desktops. There are a few things at work here. First of all, you have the potential to be eliminating traditional “phone” lines, usually a significant monthly fixed cost, in addition to the per minute usage costs. Paying per minute remains a major issue if you do any international calling, or have offices located in other countries, where per minute rates may not have dropped like those in the US. Another operational cost that goes away are the labor costs involved in moving employees from office to office. Reconfiguring numbers and phones can still require physical changes. Even if they are only software changes, there is a cost to pay the technician who handles these reconfigurations.
- Infrastructure cost: With this technology your infrastructure cost is greatly reduced. For example, you have to pay more for the telephone extensions using traditional PBX and key systems. Using VoIP allows you to run those extensions right from your computers. Dual-mode phones can be used with this technology after making minor configuration changes. That allows the user to switch the use of a dual phone from cellular to a local Wi-Fi environment, reducing the need to carry a regular phone and a cell phone. That means fewer devices to manage.
Summary: After our discussion, the significance of implementation of VoIP can’t be overstated. Every business strives for better revenue. This new technology offers many ways to cut costs and bring efficiency by unifying all modes of communication onto a single platform. Efficiency and lower costs are always synonymous with greater revenue. Get in touch with a Managed Service Provider and ask them how they can bring you on board with this great technology called VoIP.
Two of the topmost concerns that appear in surveys of CIOs are cybercrime and data security. Rightly so. Nothing strikes closer to the heart of any client than the security of their data. No matter how excellent your product or service, if your clients feel their data is at risk, they are likely to go elsewhere. This fact is of special concern to medium and smaller sized businesses for two important reasons. First, smaller firms are the most likely targets of cyberattacks, and second, customers are harsher in their response to data breaches at smaller firms than they are about attacks on large corporations.
Let’s look first at the likelihood of attack. If you are a small business, then you are a strong target for cyber criminals. Last year, 71% of small to medium size businesses were the victims of cyber attacks. We hear on the news about big cyber attacks on large corporations, healthcare conglomerates, as well as government agencies. The trouble with this news coverage is that it creates a distorted view of where cyber attacks are taking place. These attacks are not solely hitting large organizations and being small by no means keeps you immune.
Smaller firms represent a significant portion of those who suffer from cyber attacks. In fact, small firms can be used as conduits to larger organizations. Smaller businesses have become vulnerable because they are often the inroad to larger, better protected entities. They may be sub-contracting as a vendor, supplier or service provider to a larger organization. That is likely what happened in the case of the Target Corporation in 2013, when over 40 million accounts were accessed.
What makes this even more serious is that smaller firms are less likely to be prepared to handle an attack. 31% of small to medium sized businesses do not have a plan of action for responding to IT security breaches, and 22% admit that they lack the expertise to make such a plan.
Research has found that customers affected by security breaches are generally less forgiving of smaller businesses, especially smaller online retailers, than larger companies. As a result, medium and smaller firms not only must contend with absorbing lost revenue and expenses, they also face a greater possibility of never regaining the customer’s trust.
What does all of this mean? Firms need to prove they are on top of their infrastructure’s security, or risk losing customers and not winning contracts with large businesses. CIOs need to keep on top of all the strategies available to protect their infrastructure. CIOs of large firms are deeply aware of this, but smaller businesses remain less likely to focus resources on anything not directly related to revenue production. Too often, this means less IT security investment. However, this is an area where you cannot afford to cut costs because the consequences are too critical for your business’s future.
