12 Powerful Business Benefits of VoIP (Don't Miss This)

The benefits of VoIP over traditional phone systems are extensive. Virtually every business stands to benefit by implementing this sophisticated communications technology. As such, we’ve compiled some of the most important advantages of VoIP for businesses into this clear and concise list of benefits.

Enjoy! Be sure to take a look at Business VoIP Reviews of PanTerra

What Is VoIP? How Is It Different from Cloud PBX?

Before we get started, let’s get clear on something very important. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is also referred to as Hosted VoIP, Business VoIP, Cloud PBX, and a variety of other terms with similar meanings.

At PanTerra we refer to our internet-based communications offerings as Cloud PBX, but we provide nearly the same features and functionality (with the same benefits) as what others refer to as VoIP or Business VoIP.

To avoid confusing the matter any further, we’ll be referring to all of these offerings under the term “VoIP” in this article. Now that we have that cleared up, let’s get to the good stuff!

12 Benefits of VoIP That Your Business Can’t Ignore

Benefit 1: Lower Costs

Cost savings from VoIP are something that virtually any business can appreciate as a benefit. You can only install so many phone lines and costs quickly add up, especially if your business regularly makes long-distance calls.

With communication data being modified into data packets and sent over the IP network, the issue of a single phone line being able to be utilized by only two callers is eliminated. The IP network could be a direct IP connection to your phone service provider or simply your existing internet connection (or a combination of both).

Traditional phone lines typically charge for each minute of call time, whereas with VoIP your only costs are your monthly charges from your ISP. In fact, many providers offer inexpensive or even free calling to, for example, the contiguous United States.

Cost-Effective Hardware and Software

One of the additional benefits of VoIP for businesses is the limited costs associated with hardware and software required to operate the system. Quality providers ensure their clients always have the most up-to-date software and provide current hardware. This eliminates the need for businesses to purchase their own phones and infrastructure, which can result in additional cost savings.

Benefit 2: Simplified Conferencing

Without the need for dedicated phone lines, conferencing can be simplified. Traditional phone systems allow for conferencing, but you’ll end up paying for an additional service and hosting multiple callers each time your business needs to conference.

With a converged data network, these features are typically native and the cost is built into the already lower price of the VoIP service that you’re already paying for.

More Than Just Voice Calls

An additional benefit of VoIP is that it makes video conferencing simpler. In fact, you can transfer various media formats (images, video, text) during your phone or video calls to improve your ability to conduct presentations or solve business issues on the fly.

Benefit 3: Worldwide Access

More employers are discovering the benefits of having their staff work from home in exchange for smaller office spaces, decreased utility costs, etc.

What they’re also discovering are the benefits of VoIP that allow their employees to telecommute effectively. VoIP allows employees to remotely utilize the voice, fax, and data services of your office via your intranet.

VoIP technology has become extremely portable, allowing users to connect from home offices and abroad. What’s more, is that your employee’s number follows them to their new home office when they make the change.

Mobility of Your Service

One of the lesser-mentioned benefits of VoIP is that the entire service is highly mobile. Whereas traditional phone systems require a unique number to be assigned to each line and transferring those numbers can be complicated, VoIP is different. In the event that your business outgrows your current office or needs to change locations, your VoIP system can be easily transferred.

Benefit 4: Better Use of Bandwidth

One of the little-known benefits of VoIP is that it makes for a more efficient use of your business's existing bandwidth. As roughly half of voice conversations are made up of silence, VoIP continues to fill those information gaps with other data from other bandwidth consumers to make better use of your resources. VoIP also allows for compression and elimination of speech redundancies to further improve efficiencies.

Benefit 5: Extensive Additional Features

Many businesses don’t fully understand all of the benefits and additional features that are included in a VoIP service. VoIP systems allow you to connect a wide variety of devices to keep your business’s productivity high.

VoIP services typically include features like caller ID, virtual numbers, contact lists, voicemail, etc., but these features can all be used in more sophisticated ways to boost operational efficiency. For example, voicemails and messages can be forwarded to multiple colleagues with a single click, and voicemail-to-text transcriptions can be sent directly to your inbox so they can be reviewed while on the go.

Many features are included in various provider packages and, due to the flexible nature of the service, custom VoIP services can be designed to benefit the unique needs of your business.

Benefit 6: Network Flexibility

One of the benefits of VoIP that your IT team will enjoy is that its underlying network need not be a part of a specific technology layout. That means your existing ethernet, SONET, ATM, or even your WiFi can be used as the foundation for your network.

The complexity of PSTN (traditional) phone networks is virtually eliminated. This allows for a more standardized system that supports a variety of communication types while being more tolerant of faults and requiring less equipment management.

Benefit 7: Fax over IP

One of the additional benefits of VoIP is that most providers include Fax over IP as a part of their service. Fax over IP all but eliminates the high costs of long-distance facsimile, as well as improves compatibility between machines and reliability of service.

Fax information is transmitted via data packets that dramatically improve efficiency. VoIP doesn’t even require a machine to send or receive a fax.

Benefit 8: More Effective Communication

With your personnel working from various points within the office, their home, or around the world, keeping them within reach is critical. One of the more interesting benefits of VoIP is that you can have a single call ring to your desk phone for the first few rings, and then to your mobile phone, tablet, or laptop if the call goes unanswered. This way urgent calls are answered more often and your business spends less time checking voicemail or corresponding over other platforms.

Benefit 9: Highly Reliable

One of the most common (and inaccurate) objections to VoIP is that if a business finds themselves without internet for whatever reason, they’d be without phones as well. The benefit of VoIP flexibility is that in the event of an office phone going down due to lack of network, calls can always be forwarded to mobile phones and other devices. That also means weather issues and power outages no longer present the risk they once did to your business communications.

Benefit 10: Ease of Installation, Configuration and Maintenance

One of our favorite benefits of VoIP is that IP phones are incredibly easy to install—even for those who are less technically savvy. There is no need to have expert technicians running phone wiring throughout your office. Instead, IP phones are virtually plug-and-play.

Hosted VoIP software also makes it incredibly simple to add new users, and a web portal makes moving, adding, or changing your system's configuration much easier. All of this simplicity means maintenance is straightforward and rarely requires professional support.

Benefit 11: Scalability

Highly efficient business systems scale with the needs of the business, but traditional phone systems are far more difficult to scale. Scalability is one of the benefits of VoIP that supports your business's efficiency and productivity while remaining highly cost-effective.

VoIP systems allow you to add a line as you hire new employees and eliminate lines in the case of downsizing. You’re only ever paying for what you need.

Benefit 12: Easy Integration with Other Business Systems

Your business likely utilizes various other systems and technologies to enhance your operational efficiencies. VoIP easily integrates with a wide variety of existing business systems.

That means you’ll get the benefits of VoIP without requiring modification of your business's existing applications or IT infrastructure. For example, outbound calls can be placed via Outlook or other email systems and customer records can even be viewed during the inbound call with said customer.

Next Steps

As you can see, the benefits of VoIP systems for businesses are many. What's more, is that VoIP is virtually free of drawbacks. Sophisticated businesses around the world are embracing this powerful technology and realizing the serious competitive advantages that it provides.

If you’re ready to explore more of how VoIP can benefit your business, don’t miss our powerful Cloud PBX offering at PanTerra Streams. What’s even better is that you can try it for FREE today!