How VoIP Technology Benefits Small Businesses

Every business must have excellent communication channels set up to connect with employees and customers. But how well can traditional telephony serve a smaller business or even an enterprise with a high volume of calls? These days VoIP tends to outclass old methods of communication and will likely make it obsolete at some point in the future.

What Is VoIP?

VoIP technology converts sound into digital information to share via an internet connection between two or more devices. It’s often used as part of a software as a service (SaaS) package and enables hybrid workplaces to keep their employees and customers connected regardless of distance.

But is this form of communication better than standard telephony? It may offer more benefits than you think.

Top VoIP Advantages Over Traditional Telephony

VoIP technology has two primary uses in business. It connects employees from different departments whether they’re working from home or in the same office. It also serves as an outbound communication method for sales reps, with or without CRM integration.

Here are some of the top advantages of using a VoIP system.

Reduced Expenses

Traditional phone lines aren’t cheap to set up, especially for large offices. But managing a VoIP communications system is much more affordable.

Many internet calls, whether video or audio, are free. Employees can place calls from VoIP phones or their workstations. In this case, companies may not have to invest in anything more than a reliable VoIP service.

VoIP service providers tend to charge a set fee per user. Small companies don’t have to pay for what they don’t use.

Scalability

Businesses don’t always know how big of a phone line infrastructure they need to accommodate all departments. It can easily lead to overspending during the initial setup. Of course, it’s also possible to end up with an infrastructure that can’t keep up with the company’s communication needs.

But traditional phone lines fail even harder to satisfy during a growth stage. There isn’t enough scalability with a standard telephony system; luckily, VoIP technology can change that.

The hardware required to use VoIP services is cheap and may already exist in the office. Employees can even use their personal devices and a business VoIP app to place and take calls at no expense to them or the company.

As a cloud-based solution, VoIP has endless scalability that doesn’t depend on an office’s physical limitations. There’s no need to install new lines and equipment. Scaling is a simple matter of adding more users to the VoIP service and generating new numbers or IDs.

Increased Productivity

Using traditional phone lines often implies one-on-one conversations. Not all companies use phone conference calls, especially since they may require dedicated meeting rooms and high-end hardware.

But that can take money and time and negatively impact productivity. The VoIP alternative enables people to join in on virtual meetings from anywhere, as long as they have an internet connection.

The vocal clarity is constantly improving and slowly becoming on par with traditional phone audio. Virtual meetings can happen anytime, and people don’t have to rearrange their schedules to connect and exchange information.

Having everyone within reach at all times greatly streamlines workflow and maintains high productivity in physical offices and hybrid workplaces.

Easy Setup

Installing phone lines isn’t easy and almost always requires specialized technicians. Depending on the office design, businesses may need to pay for additional cleanup and repairs after installing a physical telephony infrastructure.

VoIP technology doesn’t have these problems. As software solutions, most of these services require downloading and installing an app on a workstation or mobile device. Some service providers can do this remotely. But some VoIP solutions are so simple and user-friendly that no IT specialists are necessary.

The ease of use and hassle-free office setup are huge advantages.

Encrypted Communications

Another benefit of using VoIP for company calls and customer communications is security. Tapping phone lines is easy to do and difficult to detect. But VoIP calls can be encrypted by using a VPN, built-in app security, and a wide range of other features.

Therefore, companies can ensure no one is listening in on confidential conversations or accessing proprietary information.

Flexibility and Mobility

Many businesses have adopted hybrid workplaces in recent years. But even those that didn’t might still have plenty of employees traveling a lot. In these situations, conducting business on the go can be crucial.

VoIP software enables conferencing, emails, file sharing, and various other forms of communication in one app. Moreover. its flexibility helps mobile employees stay connected with their teams, bosses, customers, etc.

Compete With Bigger Businesses

Companies with large rosters tend to have a longer reach with their audiences. They have enough people to offer a good customer support system. They even have money to invest in high-end communications systems.

Yet VoIP helps bridge the gap between SMEs and larger companies. It’s cost-effective, versatile, and useful in every department. Therefore, every business can have excellent reach and presence, regardless of size and capital.

Pick the Right VoIP Service

Investing in new technology is always a bit scary for businesses, especially when making a significant change. Complementing traditional telephony or replacing it with VoIP software can seem like a big step. It may change some policies and operational guidelines but also benefit a business in many ways.

With the right setup in place, companies will pay less on communication costs, have less infrastructure to worry about, improve their availability and global reach, and enable employees to be more mobile and flexible.

If you want to learn more about your VoIP service options in Bloomington, Minneapolis, and St. Paul, don’t hesitate to contact DTS today.