subject: Opting For Voip Greatly Benefits Small Businesses [print this page] Internet telephony or VoIP has been around for quite sometime, but its usage has been limited. Very few businesses embraced the technology in its early form, despite the tempting possibility of paying unimaginably low prices for long-distance calls. The wariness shown then by skeptics was for good reason: the available Internet connections during those days were slow and far from what is ideal for VoIP.
Six years later, small and large businesses are migrating to VoIP technology in droves. Innovations in the technology have made it possible for service providers to offer high quality VoIP service, with the standard features for multiple simultaneous connections, Web conferencing, fax handling, email and voice, as well as non-standard amenities that increase the productivity and flexibility of companies. In short, VoIP has become a convergence tool that simplifies business operations.
Benefits for small businesses
There are many VoIP solutions available that suit the budgets of small companies and start-ups. Some solutions require the purchase and installation of dedicated equipment on the premises, while others offer hosting services wherein VoIP hardware are located offsite and only the interface equipment (PCs, phone extensions, VoIP-enabled handsets) are in the business location. Whatever one chooses, the company will derive the following benefits for going VoIP.
Cheaper local and international calls
This is the most compelling reason for switching to Internet telephony, especially for companies with personnel and clients from all parts of the globe. This includes sales personnel in the field and staff working remotely from homes or branches in other states or countries. Typically, service providers offer free calls between VoIP phones, and fixed rate for local, mobile and international calls that are just a fraction of the prices for wired telephones, giving multi-state or multinational businesses a distinct advantage.
Better customer service and streamlined operations
Among the innovations in VoIP are advanced call distribution (ACD) and integration of customer relationship management (CRM) systems into the network. ACD streamlines call handling by call queuing, call parking (routing an incoming call to a special extension the number of which the receiver will dial to answer the call) and direct inward dialing (bypassing the switchboard and instead connecting directly to the specific office or person, based on the number dialed).
VoIP-CRM integration, on the other hand, leverages the present network infrastructure to add functionalities to increase business capabilities. Tasks like outbound marketing campaigns become easier with CRM features like list management, status reporting, caller ID with instantaneous data retrieval to know at once important customer data, and tracking of calling activities.
The savings on monthly telephone costs and improved productivity are solid reasons for small and medium businesses to take a hard look and consider migrating to VoIP. Leveraging this technology will definitely make small companies with limited resources more competitive during uncertain times. More importantly, adopting VoIP makes a company ready for expansion when the economy picks up.
by: Andrew Wiggin
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