Traditional business phone systems operate much like any home phone, but on a much larger scale of course. Each phone is connected to a phone line. Voice is transmitted through these phone lines throughout the company telephones.
VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. Rather than voice being transmitted via phone lines, it’s transmitted via an internet connection. When VoIP was first being developed it was costly and only the largest companies could afford it. Because of advancements in the technology it’s now better priced than traditional phone service. Not only is it lower price but it is more flexible because of the wide range of services like conference calling, failover, and mobile integration that come with it. As a result, more and more companies are switching to VoIP each year. It’s expected that 65% of all businesses will be using VoIP by the end of 2017.
There are essentially two types of VoIP. On premise VoIP is when the business has the equipment necessary on site. This is also called a PBX system (Private Branch Exchange). With PBX, the company has its own individual phone network that is completely independent. These systems usually cost thousands of dollars to install. The major advantage to a PBX system is that the business has more control over their VoIP service since everything is on site.
Not all businesses can afford on premise VoIP. In fact, the majority of businesses that have a VoIP system use a cloud-based system (or virtual PBX). Virtual PBX is hosted off site. All the business needs are the phones themselves and a strong and reliable internet connection. Everything else needed, is located off site, and is managed by a third party.
Unless your business is located where a strong and reliable internet connection isn’t available (that’s becoming increasingly rare) you should choose VoIP over a traditional phone service because of the lower cost and increased flexibility.
As for choosing between a PBX system and a virtual PBX system, there are a few things to consider. A PBX system is more expensive. Not only does it cost more to install but you’ll also need your own IT people to fix any issues. A business communications leader like Equiinet would take care of all of that for you. We have our own 24/7 customer support team that keeps things running smoothly. Over 50,000 small businesses have chosen a VoIP system like Equiinet’s.
Save money, increase productivity and change the way you communicate.
Contact us for a full demo and see just how Equiinet can help your organization!
