Introduction

Since their inception, telephones have played an essential part in the corporate world. Apart from bringing the world closer and making communication significantly easier, telephones have allowed businesses to communicate faster, both externally and internally, thereby revolutionizing the corporate landscape.
In the era of the internet, many businesses often overlook the importance of a functioning telephone-system, which a number of your clients can use to reach out to you any time. That’s an oversight that can cost a company a lot of business. The era of phones is far from over.
Even though having a phone system is undoubtedly essential for businesses, you don’t have to have a traditional landline. In fact, it’s highly recommended that instead of investing in the archaic, costly, and limited telephone networks of the past, you opt for a VOIP system.

VOIP – Voice Over IP

Voice over IP (VOIP) or IP telephony is a system that leverages an internet connection for voice communication that mimics a traditional telephone system. It’s very different from the various voice chat software and apps available, as it uses phone numbers like traditional telephones used to have. And anyone with the number can reach out to your business.
Businesses with an active phone number are seen as more credible and approachable. But relying on traditional technology, with its severe limitations, is usually not worth the investment. This is a gap that VOIP fills. It’s a powerful combination of old familiarity and new technology. Since almost every business has a stable internet connection nowadays, choosing a VOIP system instead of a traditional one is a financially efficient and technologically feasible choice.
It’s not just for new businesses either that are looking to establish their first telephone system. Companies that already have a traditional phone system in service can also benefit from the switch.

How VOIP Helps You Modernize Your Business

In 2004, almost 90% of households had a landline-based telephone in the US. The percentage for businesses would likely be significantly higher. And in 2019, a mere fifteen years later, that number dropped to 40%.
Old phones are a dying breed, and VOIP is the future. And there are several ways how VOIP can help you modernize your business.

1. Cost-Efficient

One of the most highlighted advantages of using VOIP is its cost. It typically costs a mere fraction of the traditional landlines to both install and operate a VOIP system. There are no extensive overhead costs or limitations associated with VOIP. You don’t need to invest a lot in hardware and run separate cables. Even if you opt for a pay-as-you-go VOIP system, your cost per minute for a call is significantly lower than that of a phone line.
For modern and agile businesses, any area where cost-control can be exercised is a boon for the business. Unlike traditional business models where many operational costs were ignored, modern businesses (especially small businesses with limited resources) can improve their profitability by fine-tuning control of their running costs. And this is one of the things that a VOIP system lets you do significantly better than a traditional system.

2. Flexibility and Remote Connectivity

Modern workplaces, especially after the pandemic, are increasingly towards a remote working model (partially and fully). In a situation like this, a traditional phone system becomes more of a liability than an asset. Let’s say you have a business number that needs to be live 24/7, whether for customer support or new leads.
So even if you have to close down the workplace, you might need one person to attend the phone at any given time. You may replace it with a mobile number on your website, but both existing and potential clients who rely upon your old number will not be able to reach out to your business. You will alienate existing clients and lose potential business.
But if you have a VOIP system, it can go remote with you. Nobody needs to be tied to a desk to receive the calls your business is getting. You can simply program your VOIP system to redirect the calls to the relevant individual’s mobile phone.

3. Seamless Technological Integration

Do you know how easier life can be if, as soon as you receive the call from an existing client, you can see their profile, bio-data, and all the relevant information you have about them? It will save both time and customer’s irritation, and you will be able to help them out much more effectively.
This is far easier to do with a VOIP than a traditional phone system. Landline phones have a hard time integrating with existing technology, while VOIPs can be integrated into more complex and existing systems effortlessly.

4. A Wealth of Features

VOIP systems come with a wealth of features. You can tag individual calls, easily prioritize specific numbers over others, switch important calls directly up the hierarchy, and several other things. While some of these can be accommodated using a traditional phone system, it’s usually tough and prone to failures.
Nowadays, businesses face a lot of competition, and one of the most prominent ways to stand out amongst your peers is better customer service. VOIP systems are programmable and flexible, and they can be a valued addition to your customer services. You can attend several calls with one phone number (they can be routed to another free team member), so your customers will feel like they can reach out to you anytime and you’ll be there.

5. Scalable and Modern

VOIP systems aren’t limited as phones and faxes of the olden days were. You don’t need a separate number/system for messaging, video calling or even sharing files. It can all be integrated with your VOIP. And the best part is that it’s easy to scale up or down. Even if your company grows from 10 team members to 100 employees overnight, scaling up your communication with a VOIP system would be just as easy as buying a different package.
And since VOIP packages are designed for several different sizes of organizations, you typically only have to pay for the services you use. So it’s a scalable investment, and you don’t waste money on features and services that you might not need.

Conclusion

One of the things that businesses need to understand that VOIP isn’t a phase or a trend, it’s the logical next step. It can be challenging for companies to compete with their peers if they aren’t adapting to modern ways and reacting to consumers’/clients’ desires and expectations. Almost all workplaces need a phone system, and every modern workplace deserves to have VOIP instead of a traditional system. It’s efficient, reliable, flexible, and allows businesses to stay ahead of the curve.