Make technology work for you
What makes VoIP so special is what it is able to do for you, for your business, for telecommunications as you know it.
There are the audio and video calls, which are available for either nothing or next to nothing on a number of popular Web sites. But if you choose to rely on those sites and the public Internet to run your business, industry experts say that you will leave yourself susceptible to many of the problems common to insecure data networks, including hackers, spyware, malware and any number of viruses.
A better option might be to install a VoIP network through a larger carrier to ensure that your voice and data will be secure. The cost to install a new network is high — normally between $20,000 and $30,000 for businesses with 50 or so lines, though quotes and actual costs vary case by case — but the savings can add up thanks to the 20 to 30 percent that most industry experts say you can save on your monthly bill. And besides, you will have plenty more tools, the kinds once thought limited to secret agents, to enhance how you do business.
“There are just a slew of new features that existing networks don’t have,” LoFrisco says. “There’s ‘Find Me Follow Me,’ where calls can ring your different assigned handsets simultaneously. There’s integration with other voice applications. And the key is that most of those features can be provisioned and managed at the user level.”
Many of the features provided by larger carriers have been available for more than a decade but at a far higher price. As recently as a couple of years ago, only Fortune 500 companies and the like were able to afford IP features, including unified messaging, where your voice mails are converted to text and arrive seamlessly with your e-mails, and secure access to the company network for employees working anywhere in the world.
Your employees can even work from home with the same equipment, technology and access available to them at the office. Just hand them a VoIP phone, tell them to take it home and plug it in, and they will be able to work and sound as if they are at their desk. This feature is ideal for call centers and companies that offer 24-hour service because it opens the door to hire remote workers. It will also benefit employers who might want to decrease the size of their office and the amount of their rent, but maintain the size of their work force, or smaller companies that want to appear bigger to customers.
“Typically, those are VPN phones that are set up at an employee’s home where they can have all the same features and functionalities that they have at the office,” says Jerry Black, chief operating officer, MVD Communications. “Your clients will never know they’re not sitting in the office, and they’ll have the same access to your database through the phone. That allows you to save money on infrastructure, obviously, because you don’t need as many desks and seats, and it also allows you to spread your base. You can have people in New York and L.A. working, so you can offer service during more hours, and it allows you to hire more employees without them having to physically report to the office.”
