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Communication is at the heart of any successful business, so it is crucial to ensure you have a system that is capable of addressing your needs.
The humble telephone has long been the preferred method of conversing with customers, clients and colleagues for many enterprises, even in the early days of the internet.
There is certainly an argument in favour of voice communications as they allow users to connect in a way that is often not possible with email.
Even with the unrelenting march of the internet and the subsequent online era, there is still a place for the phone in the infrastructure of a modern business.
Reducing costs
Yet it is the technology beyond the handset that seems to have changed, with much of the technological advancements brought about through a growing willingness among many organisations to cut costs and streamline operations.
As well as line rental costs, the charges attached to making long-distance or international calls can be prohibitive to global collaboration and expansion, a substantial barrier in a business world that has never been so globalised.
Because it utilises an internet connection, IP telephony can provide a service capable of delivering the same, or in some cases an even better, level of performance and quality for a fraction of the price of a more traditional system.
And the use of a single cable and backbone infrastructure means that companies can use the same connection to support both voice and data, while installation and maintenance costs are often more straightforward and therefore cheaper to implement.
Scalable
While the lower costs of long-distance communication is often a key factor in aiding the expansion of any business, it is ultimately useless without a system that can be easily expanded.
Many proprietary systems are easy for companies to outgrow, while the installation of extra phone lines and extensions can prove problematic for many enterprises, particularly those that are smaller in stature.
However, there are no such concerns for an IP system as it is computer-based, making it far more capable of handling a large number of lines and extensions without any costly or time-consuming installations.
The ability to expand so quickly means many businesses, no matter what their size, can grow at a faster rate than ever before, making them more competitive and potentially more profitable.
Flexibility
The demands of the modern workplace mean that many businesses have to adopt an increasingly agile approach and IP telephony systems can provide a valuable solution to any such strategy.
Flexible working practices have become part of the fabric of many businesses over the last few years, with strategies such as bring you own device and hot-desking proving to be particularly popular with employers and workers alike, improving morale and productivity.
Unlike traditional systems, IP-based telephony does not require extensions to be patched to a new location, meaning that users can simply take their phone to a new location and plug in.
It works outside of the office too, as users can simply switch on their SIP software phone and answer calls made to their office extension from the comfort of their own home. This means that workers can provide a more effective customer service. The nature of SIP protocol characteristics means calls can be diverted anywhere in the world, giving you the sort of agility that would never be possible with a traditional system.
Plenty of choice in hardware
While implementation of hardware is far more straightforward than that of traditional systems, there is plenty of choice available for business customers, no matter how big or demanding.
Comtec has a number of great hardware solutions that will help your organisation get the most out of your system
