Small Business Tips - Increase Revenue Through Technology

VoIP Offers Businesses Flexibility and Substantial Savings

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I have had customers ask a lot about VoIP lately, and one thing that continues to come up is the idea of having an internal or external Voice over IP system. Many people think that having VoIP means that you have to be on Voice over IP both internally and externally. When you are looking for a new VoIP solution, try to identify exactly what it is you are looking for. For example:

• VoIP externally and internally
• VoIP externally, but not internally
• VoIP internally, but not externally

Recently, we have been setting up customers on an external VoIP system with AT&T’s IP Flex or Comcast’s VoIP service and setting up a digital service for their internal use or vice versa. This allows for customers to have huge savings through VoIP, especially through bundled packages. On the other side, we have a few customer who have Standard or Non-VoIP lines set up for their external use and they have VoIP internally. This is something that might be done for a larger company where employees are constantly moving around and VoIP allows for changes to be made without re-wiring.

External VoIP Pro’s and Cons

The most widely recognized acceptance of VoIP comes from the cost savings. VoIP can usually offer savings of some kind for all businesses, whether it comes cleaning up your phone bills and starting over or being able to get bundled packages that instantly save you money. The biggest downside of VoIP is the reliability. The quality of calls is getting better and better, but VoIP can go out for days sometimes when the system goes down. If a standard line goes down, usually it can be fixed within a few hours, but with VoIP there have been times when customers have been without an incoming or outgoing phone for days. Of course, this is an extreme example, but it does happen.

Internal VoIP Pro’s and Cons

Ad advantage to having VoIP internally is being able to move phones around without requiring and wire changes. If you are a larger company where employees don’t always have the same desk, VoIP allows them to log into their phone. The biggest complaint we get about internal VoIP is the infrastructure required to set everything up. Each phone must be connected to a CAT5 line set up on your computer network. This can be expensive for those businesses that don’t already have these lines readily available for hook up.

Key Points:

• Understand that you can have VoIP internally and externally or a combination of both. Determine what fits your business best when looking for VoIP solution.
• VoIP can offer substantial cost savings, but beware of reliability.
• Talk to an expert if you have no idea what would suit your business best.

Anthony Pagliaro

The Maynard Group

831.377.3150

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