From IT to IP: what an IT support company like us is doing in the phone business.
Quite simply, it makes sense. Where would you be without a reliable communication network? Where could you be with an even better one? What impact would it have on reaching your goals if you made it easier for customers to contact you, and for your staff to collaborate more effectively and efficiently? Wouldn’t it be nice if, on top of streamlined communications, you also reduced your telephone expenses? By the way, did you know that Bell Canada expects to migrate its entire network to an IP based infrastructure by 2006? Voice over IP is more than the latest technology. It is becoming the new standard.
At ITD, our core business is taking care of your network so you can focus on your business. With VoIP, we just add phones. If it goes on your network, we can help you find solutions, put them together, and keep it all running. As your IT Department, we are there to help you align your technologies, whether VoIP phone or IT, with your critical business needs. After all, if the technologies are converging, why not take advantage of the opportunity to reduce your overall management costs?
Why change what may not be broken?
If your sales staff asked that question the next time you raised quota, what would you think? The most significant reasons to consider implementing a VoIP phone system have to do with how the technology can potentially help boost your top line (sales), while improving your bottom line (streamlining processes to reduce expenses). Whether you need to change an aging phone system right now or not, implementing a new VoIP system will result in almost immediate savings, improve communication- and provide the right base to prepare you for the future. What's more, VoIP is a truly affordable option for small businesses.
VoIP can help drive your sales by making you more accessible to your clients and increasing your market presence through virtual local area numbers. On the operational side, VoIP systems can help streamline internal communication, and even improve services through efficiencies gained with IP/telephony integration.
Since we implemented our own VoIP system at The IT Department, integrated with our service Help Desk, we've experienced these benefits first hand. We're excited about being able to design, implement and support a complete, 'turn-key' solution for your office too.
VoIP Overview: When your phone is more than just a phone.
VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol essentially combines two technological areas which have been considered quite separate -- until now! Rather than transmitting voice over traditional copper lines (analog phone lines), VoIP packages voice as digital data, and transfers it over data networks. In other words, voice is treated in much the same way as visual information and can be transmitted over any high-speed internet connection. In fact, the US board regulating radio and telecommunications has ruled that VoIP is essentially the same as email.
As a telephone system, VoIP technology can be used functionally the same way as traditional phone lines, while by-passing the actual phone line network and its associated billing. Long distance calling using VoIP can be significantly cheaper- for now. VoIP has therefore become a source of controversial debate, especially within the CRTC (Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission).
While much of the recent excitement over VoIP has to do with potential long distance cost savings, the real benefits come from the functions VoIP technology makes much more accessible and affordable, particularly for small to medium-sized businesses.
For example, a VoIP phone system will perform many functions normally associated with much more expensive, traditional PBX (Private Branch Exchange) systems. One example is Conference Bridging. With traditional phone systems normally found in SMB’s, conferencing from your desk is usually limited to 2 or 3 people. A conference requiring more attendees is often accommodated by buying the services of companies such as Bell, who provide a call-in number and password for participation. With VoIP, you can set up your own conference without having to pre-arrange with outside phone companies, or pay them for the conference ‘space’.
Conference Bridging is only one of the many functions which help small to medium-sized companies do business over a distance more effectively, and more efficiently. Others include ‘follow me’ options and unified messaging which not only increase accessibility, but also business efficiency.
If you'd like us to help you navigate your options, find a solution that ensures you get the best flexibility and reliability you can, and assess the ROI of implementing VoIP, then please contact us or fill out this form .
Read about a successful Voice over IP implementation for one of our customers with eight locations in Ontario.
