Small Business VoIP

Are you looking for a small business VoIP solution that fits your budget and communication needs?

A small business VoIP solution, if chosen carefully, brings some great benefits over the traditional phone system.  While VoIP offers lots of features and good stuff, it has certain limitations also.   Before making a choice, you need to understand the pros and cons of using a VoIP solution for your business.

Small Business VoIP – Benefits

1. The first benefit is the savings that VoIP brings in due to reduced call rates and free calls to phones on the same network.

2. The business can also save on travel expenses with VoIP features such as conferencing, video calls etc. but these features are specific to service providers.

3. Lot of VoIP solutions integrate with office software programs which helps improve employee productivity.

4. VoIP has the ability to offer a single unified communication platform for almost all business needs such as faxing, conferencing, broadband Internet, Voicemail etc. but the offerings vary with the service provider.

Limitations of VoIP solutions

1. Most VoIP services do not connect directly to emergency services (911) and you may be required to purchase an additional plan which some of the providers offer.

2. Some VoIP solutions don’t work during power outages and, depending on the provider, availability of backup varies.

3. Directory assistance (411) may not be available with all providers.

4. Some VoIP providers don’t offer calls to other countries.

Small Business VoIP solutions providers

Here is a small list of some companies that offer VoIP solutions tailored for small business requirements:

Microsoft Response Point – Integrates with Microsoft Outlook; meant for businesses with up to 50 employees.

Cisco – Offers several advanced features such as the ability to run both traditional and VoIP lines, conferencing, music on hold etc.

RingCentral Office – A complete VoIP solution with virtual PBX, devices and the ability to integrate with Microsoft Outlook.

Lingo – Offers free calls within the United States and economical long distance and international calling rates.  A basic system meant for small businesses.

ViaTalk – Provides some advanced call management and business features.  Also gives customers an option to bring in own devices.

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Posted by Vikrant on Feb 9 2010. Filed under Small Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry