Seattle, WA (PRWEB) January 16, 2012
original source

More and more business managers are saying goodbye to traditional landline phones and hello to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telecommunications systems these days.

Business leaders have realized VoIP service's many benefits, such as much more affordable domestic and international calling and the elimination of the need for in-house PBX hardware and related maintenance required for traditional telephony systems. In fact, 75% of all international calls are being made over the Internet.

The massive transition to this cost-effective technology is more than a trend; it's a glimpse into the future of business telephony. And, it's a money-making opportunity for VoIP service providers ... if they give customers what they want.

WhichVoIP, a company with expertise in VoIP and telecommunications services, recently surveyed current business VoIP customers about their needs and expectations from service providers.

When asked, "What items are the most important to your VoIP business service purchase decision," the responses were as follows:

Nearly 80% of those surveyed said the price of the service was an important consideration in their decisions to select VoIP instead of a traditional telephony system;

Slightly more than 60% of those surveyed said the value-added features and functionality --- offered with VoIP service at no extra charge --- appealed to them when considering VoIP in their business phone service purchasing decision;

Nearly 60% said "knowledge of sales staff";

Slightly more than 30% said "friendliness of the salesperson."

"This is real data from customers telling us what they would like from providers --- not only in terms of service, but also in terms of the sales process," Mike Bragg, CFO of WhichVoIP, said. "Business VoIP service providers who seek business customers can benefit greatly from the information our survey revealed."

For potential customers who are still skeptical about VoIP and its many useful features, service providers and their sales team should have other selling points ready to share in efforts to close the deal. Here is a couple:

Hosted VoIP phone systems involve a substantial cost savings by enabling a company's workers to make and receive calls via the Internet using a headset and microphone.

The VoIP system also enables calls to be directed to mobile devices, so company employees can conduct business while travelling or otherwise away from the office location.

WhichVoIP is a leading VoIP website that educates its viewers on the diverse offerings available in this developing technology, both to residential and business users, through articles, reviews, and blogs.

More About WhichVoIP

WhichVoIP.com is based in Seattle, Washington and the company consists of experts in the VoIP and telecommunications field. The team members utilize their expertise and knowledge to help consumers understand VoIP technology, and provide comprehensive information to enable consumers to make educated decisions that are appropriate to their needs

By John Moore
original source

Cost savings plus converged network efficiencies make an attractive case for IP telephony, even during a sluggish economy.

The benefits of Voice over Internet Protocol technology have long been known: lower equipment and maintenance costs and, by virtue of combining voice and data over a single network, simplified network management. Nonetheless, large enterprises have been slower to adopt the technology than small businesses.

In 2009, VoIP penetration among U.S. business was 42 percent, according to market research firm In-Stat. Industry experts say there are several reasons for the relatively slow adoption, especially among large businesses.

"Telephony has traditionally been held to a standard of five nines uptime — basically, 10 minutes of downtime per year — as well as having a very high level of voice quality," says Hyoun Park, telecom and unified communications research analyst at Aberdeen Group.

"There have been concerns in telecom departments about the ability to provide both of those metrics through Voice over IP," he says. "In addition, companies also worry about moving from a proprietary voice network that is particular to just carrying voice, to a converged network where voice becomes an application."

Making the Transition to VoIP

Large firms have also succumbed to the misconception that they must totally abandon current phone assets to adopt the new technology. Businesses with large telecom systems have made significant investments, so their turnover rate is likely to be much slower," says Jeff Ridley, director of product management at ShoreTel. And companies typically don't even start looking at VoIP until their circuit-switched Public Branch Exchange (PBX) system becomes cost prohibitive because of repairs and workarounds.

Original source

VoIP is a new form of business communications technology that is gaining popularity. Understanding this service is an essential requirement for anyone considering its implementation in their business, but what is VoIP and how does it work in the business world?

VoIP systems are an increasingly popular choice for businesses, offering them an alternative way to transmit telephone calls. Here is a quick guide of everything you need to know about business VoIP systems:

What is VoIP?

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. VoIP is a system by which verbal calls are transmitted across a computer Internet Protocol (IP) connection instead of over a telephone line. This means that all of the correspondence and data transmitted between a business and a client is done so across one connection.

What is Hosted VoIP?

Hosted VoIP systems are designed to address some of the problems encountered from combining VoIP with PBX (Private Branch Exchange) systems. These systems can incur larger expenses due to the need to install specialist equipment in each branch or office of a business. Hosted VoIP systems use a separate hosting platform in order to eliminate this, transferring the savings onto the customers. This offers a more reliable and easily accessible service, making it easier for business to conduct their daily tasks and correspondences.

What Do You Need for a VoIP System?

VoIP systems will require one Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to be installed. This is a singular phone line which is used to give the office its broadband connection which is then used to enable the VoIP system to work.

Other than that, businesses will just need to have relevant phone handsets installed – something which they are likely to have anyway. Providers of these services will be able to advise businesses on what features and equipment they need in order to make a VoIP system work but these will usually be items already held by most businesses.

What Are The Benefits of VoIP Systems?

VoIP systems have a number of great benefits the main one of which is reduced costs. As they only require one PSTN line businesses will not have to pay for multiple line rentals. This means that they can still deal with a large volume of calls but without encountering large costs.

VoIP systems also help to reduce costs by offering businesses a number of competitive rates on calls and other services. A VoIP provider will often offer incentives in order to give businesses fair and competitive prices for their communication systems. This means that businesses could benefit from free calls between their offices and cheap international calls, or other such offers.

VoIP systems are also incredibly flexible. The amount of handsets in an office can be increased quickly and easily, allowing the VoIP system to grow and expand with the business. This means that the system is scalable and therefore more efficient and cost effective.

Call us for more information about VoIP systems and how it can help your business save money and operate more efficiently. 866-578-5355.

By Andrei Patrick
original source

At this current point in time, the amount of employees that work from home remotely (popularly called as telecommuting) is growing at a rapid pace and this rising trend has had a significant impact on communications technology. Due to this increasingly popular migration, there are so many VoIP solutions that have been designed carefully to measure up to the increasing demands from such customers.

A just released study by research firm, Companies and Markets has revealed that the IP telephony markets in the United States are reaching maturity as they say, according to a press statement. According to the firm, the report forecasts in detail that 20 percent of all business telephony will be hosted by the year 2020, as more consumers continue to realize the multiple benefits and the full potential associated with the IP telephony technology.

Furthermore, the research shows that better VoIP solutions will continue to be implemented by small businesses who have very limited budgets or financing, while larger organizations who have much less worries when it comes to capital or resources are already transitioning to a unified communications environment – some using Microsoft Lync.

Recently, Analyst Rob Enderle commented in a media statement that two of the main obstacles to VoIP hardware becoming more widely integrated in business operations include the many changes that are required for the move as well as in some cases complete opposition to the migration. He added as soon as consumers become better educated or more informed about the countless advantages of VoIP solutions, it is highly possible that "a VoIP revolution will likely take place in the next few years."

Costs associated with Unified Communications and private branch exchange (PBX) systems are dropping like flies, and some PBX companies are starting their own hosted services, potentially restraining market value. Competition has intensified in the hosted telephony market, encouraging better innovation. The report said it is expected that in future, providers will offer flexible, bundled service solutions with enhanced features, specifically designed to customers. Improvements to quality and availability of service will also attract and retain customers.

The report also has an explanation of the market landscape, including market segmentation (IP Centrex; Hosted IP PBX, and hosted UC), trends, models, opportunities, market barriers/drivers for growth, key players and end users. The report also suggests to the reader with strategic recommendations, directed towards end users and service providers.

Learn more about PriorityOne's IP Telephony solutions, features, and benefits. If you have questions or are thinking about switching to a hosted solution call 866-578-5355 for more information. We guarantee savings, reliability, and excellent customer service.

original source

Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) is going to be a key aspect of 4G monetisation, it has been claimed.

According to Wireless 20/20, 4G operators may be able to win a financial advantage over traditional telecoms firms by pushing ahead with the widespread roll-out of wireless VoIP solutions.

The company claimed that network operators could see a huge return on investment if they introduce cloud-based communications applications, however, many operators may want to implement an in-house solution so they have more control over its ultimate direction.

In its Maximising Operator Value from VoIP Services report, Wireless 20/20 noted that 4G operators will also have to introduce a number of value added services if they are to compete with more established industry players.

'Operators deploying VoIP over 4G networks are faced with a critical decision as to whether they should build and manage an in-house VoIP platform or partner with a cloud-based, hosted VoIP solution provider,' Wireless 20/20's principal consultant Haig Sarkissian said.

Alex Ferdman, Telinta's chief executive officer, recently told TMCnet.com that cloud computing has helped fuel the mobile VoIP market and the trend is only set to continue as VoIP becomes the de facto communication tool of the future.

If you have been having recent problems with your phone service or provider, the frustration ends here. PriorityOne can get you up and running again with our effective, reliable, affordable hosted business phone solution. Here's how:

• 27/4 support from local technicians who won't keep you waiting on hold

• Lower cost compared to competitors, saving you up to 50% monthly

• Clear phone connectivity at any time of day

• FREE phones

• Solutions for businesses of all sizes

• Applications and functionality features that improve business communications

You can reach us at 866-578-5355

original source

VoIP or internet phone is a not a new technology. However, there are different types of VoIP providers that offer their services to the internet phone subscribers. Today we will be having a look at all the different available options to see which one is the best for you. Let us go through all the different VoIP phone service types out there.

Free VoIP services

Free VoIP services fall into two different categories. The first ones are the free VoIP services that are offered by the chatting services of big messengers. This type of phone service needs you to have their software installed on both computers from which you want to communicate with each other. This service has been around for many years now and is commonly used by many people. However, you need to have a computer and the software to use it. The other category of VoIP service, which is offered free of cost is just named as a free VoIP service, but instead it is not difficult to determine that under the surface both of these free VoIP services are the same. These services try to attract the phone subscribers by their free offers but they have many different limitations, which make them less ideal to be used as regular phone services. They may be beneficial for a limited type of use but again they also don't deliver in terms of the quality that they promised to their subscribers. Another serious drawback is that the free VoIP services usually work in some countries and you won't be able to use them to make phone calls worldwide.

Dedicated VoIP services

There are different dedicated VoIP services out there. In order to understand what each of these VoIP providers will offer, we will have a look at each, one by one.

By Om Malik
original source

The very idea of what is a phone call is changing, and changing fast. What used to be a fixed phone turned into anywhere calling. Now Facebook, Google and Skype have made calls about video chat, friends and social circles, not phone numbers. It's perhaps time to rethink the very notion of a phone call and what defines the classic phone network.

Tom Evslin, who has spent his entire life in telecom and data services industries, believes it's time for Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to come to grips with the reality that people are choosing cellular or Internet voice over traditional phone systems. He points to a recent report from the National Center for Health Statistics that notes that by 2018, only 6 percent of the U.S. population will be using the public switched telephone network (PSTN), which to non-telecom geeks means: your home phone from the phone company.