VOIP

To VOIP or not to VOIP?

One of the biggest expenditure for any business is the amount they spend on telephone calls – so much so that reducing this burden has in itself given rise to a whole new business sector (think discount call providers; carrier pre select etc.)

VOIP Technology in our opinion is the best example of how technology can revolutionise the way you communicate in business whilst drastically reducing your telephone bills.

So what is VOIP?

VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol and in simple terms means “calls are made over the internet”. In the past VOIP was a dirty word when it came to telephony but over the years the use of VOIP has grown in both the consumer and business arena due to major technological advances. Skype is an example of VOIP at its best.

The benefits of VOIP over traditional phones include:

1. Reduce Call Costs
The number one reason why businesses choose to use VOIP is because it is less expensive than traditional PSTN lines. VOIP is often FREE especially if you choose to make calls using your computer on a peer to peer basis. If you choose to completely replace your PSTN service with VOIP however (or to compliment your existing phone arrangement) then there will be a cost associated with your calls although they will still be on average 40% cheaper than your standard PSTN calls. Some users of VOIP can make international calls for 90% cheaper than what they would normally pay using their traditional phone lines.

2. More than two persons on one call
You can set up a conference using VOIP with a whole team communicating in real time. VOIP compresses data during transmission so that more data can be handled over the carrier. With traditional PSTN lines only two people can speak at a time

3. Useful phone tools bundled in
There are so many useful phone tools built into most VOIP systems – features that may cost you more if required on a traditional PSTN line. These include Caller ID; Voicemail; Fax; 3 Way Calling; Call Blocking; Call Waiting; Virtual Numbers; Inbuilt IVR, Call Recording as standard and much more.

4. Inexpensive hardware and software
If you decide to plumb for a VOIP service such as Skype then you will only need to have a PC; internet connection, a sound card, speakers and a microphone. More business centric VOIP systems will require you to purchase specific hardware but this too is comparatively cheaper than purchasing and implementing a PSTN PBX system – and the return on investment on VOIP systems far exceeds those of traditional PBX

How much money will implementing VOIP save me?

Here is an example of a client who recently switched to VOIP

Company X uses BT to provide their telephone service. They have 10 lines and their total call charges are on average £900/month. This equates to a total of £10,800/year. Monthly line rental charge is £16.80/line – £168/month – £2,016/year. There total telecoms cost on a yearly basis will be £12,816

Company X decides to implement one of our VOIP solutions. The initial outlay to purchase the VOIP equipment is £800; they pay £600 for installation and setup; we will always advice our customers to retain a backup PSTN line. In this case we retained 3 PSTN lines – 1 fax, 1 broadband and 1 spare.

From close analysis of their telephone bills we were able to estimate that they would make a saving of 70% on their monthly call costs – this would mean that their monthly call charges will now be £270/month which equates to £3,240/year.

Their cost savings year on year will be as follows:

*YR1 figure includes hardware cost, setup and installation, line rental for 3 PSTN lines plus 1 year call charges.

Of course every business is different. The solution proffered to the company above would differ immensely to that of a business with more lines and multiple sites but we hope it demonstrates clearly the level of savings that VOIP offers businesses. On average businesses that utilise VOIP as part of their telephony infrastructure see between a 40 – 60 per cent cost saving.

To find out more about VOIP please give us a call on 0800 001 5942 or email vip@supremesystems.co.uk