Six Things to Know When Choosing Business VoIP

Many enterprises coming to the end of their on-premise phone system contracts are considering a switch to business Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). While you may hear of a variety of benefits, including immediate cost savings and scalability, you may also hit a bottleneck in your decision-making when you encounter the wide variety of options and terms to sift through. Here’s your guide to choosing your VoIP solution:

VoIP and SIP: If you’ve been looking at phone options, you’ve probably run into discussions of VoIP and Session Internet Protocol (SIP) trunking. Many enterprises want to know which of these technologies they should choose, but they should not be evaluated as either/or options. VoIP is the transmission of phone calls over an internet connection, while SIP is a set of protocols for initiating, maintaining and terminating a phone call or video call over VoIP. The benefit of choosing SIP with your VoIP is that you’ll be ready to upgrade to Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and its wide array of features at any time you choose.

VoIP versus landline: You may wonder why you shouldn’t just skip business VoIP and renew your contract on your landline phone system. There are many reasons, including lower costs, the ability to support mobility, scalability, the opportunity to integrate with applications, and business agility. Unless your business is located in an area where your internet connection is spotty or decision-makers refuse to invest in a network infrastructure that supports VoIP, there are few downsides to VoIP.

VoIP versus UCaaS: This is another area in which two options are sometimes misunderstood as alternatives to one another. VoIP is the foundation for UCaaS, so what you are actually needing to consider is whether you require the extensive features and communication formats available with UCaaS, or if you simply need voice calls with VoIP. The good news is that with VoIP, you can always upgrade later to UCaaS as your enterprise grows.

Preparing for the switch: Before implementing business VoIP, it’s critical to ensure your network is up for the added traffic that is introduced with transmitting all phone calls through your existing network. There are free online tools that can help you test the speed and performance of your network. You’ll also want to plan for the transition with ample training, and it’s a good idea to identify some key stakeholders that you’ll want involved in the selection of your specific VoIP solution.

Choosing a provider: You’ll want to be sure that your VoIP provider understands your budget and your technology goals, and is able to guarantee their availability through a service level agreement (SLA). Make sure they have a policy in place that satisfies your requirements in terms of redundancy and reliability, and talk specifics about their cyber security approach.

Moving to business VoIP can bring exciting benefits to your organization, but wading through the terms and options can be a bit confusing. For guidance through the entire process, contact us at AMD Technology. From identifying the right provider to walking you through a seamless implementation, we can ensure that your switch to VoIP is a satisfying experience.