As owner of a small business, you might be questioning whether making the leap from your traditional phone system to VoIP would be a smart move, and understandably so. Entrusting the voice of your business to the internet does take some deliberation, but most business owners have already made the switch, and VoIP is definitely here to stay. Voice Over Internet Protocol or VoIP is the new face of voice communication, and offers numerous advantages to small business enterprises that are looking for the perfect mix of reliability and affordability.

The top reason for small and medium business owners to consider VoIP for the business communication, is the significant reduction in cost that accompanies it. VoIP allows you to make extremely cheap calls to anyone across the globe (VoIP to VoIP) or voice calls at local rates despite the distance between the two callers (VoIP to other number). In whichever way you choose to use VoIP, you shall experience a reduction in your phone bill, which can range from 20% to as high as 80% depending on your usage.

However, that is not where the benefits of VoIP end. By choosing a hosted VoIP provider you can also save significantly on the infrastructure needed to setup voice calling for your business. This is an especially great advantage to new startups, that would otherwise have spent largely on investing in a conventional telephone network for the workplace. With hosted VoIP, the provider houses all the infrastructure, leading to a minimal upfront cost. Another major advantage of this is that it allows for easy upsizing or downsizing of the business in the future.

Along with reducing costs, hosted VoIP also boosts productivity in several ways. The major one of these is the increase in employee efficiency that accompanies the use of VoIP for calling. The additional features that accompany most VoIP systems, such as automated receiving and call transfer, call conferencing, call holding, voice mail-to-email transfer, call barring, etc. make the phone system a lot more interactive, allowing employees to make the most out of it. This increases in better customer satisfaction, which is the ultimate goal of any business.

In addition to this, VoIP also offers a great amount of flexibility, making it possible for business owners to make and receive calls from their office number on the go. This feature also improves connectivity with remote employees, which is an increasingly common trend among upcoming businesses nowadays.

We at Folkerson Communication, LTD provide affordable and efficient hosted VoIP services to small and medium sized businesses in Central Texas. For more details, call us at Austin: (512) 977-0055, Temple: (254) 742-0064, Killeen: (254) 698-0016 and Waco: (254) 662-2255.

VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol has revolutionized telephonic communication in businesses and even households, becoming a must-have for SME owners. Switching to VoIP might seem like the next obvious step, it is important to ensure that you have a clear understanding of how VoIP works before you can make this switch. Put simply, VoIP is a phone service that allows you to make phone calls over the Internet, much as you would send an email from your computer. It works by converting voice signals into digital ones, and transmitting them over the Internet.

The major advantage that VoIP offers is the substantial cutting in the cost involved in making phone calls. When calling someone through a traditional landline phone, the voice signals are transmitted through wires- the longer the distance between the two callers, longer the length of transmission required and hence the greater the cost. On the other hand, when making calls through VoIP, signals are transmitted via an IP-based network, which means that the cost of calling remains the same despite the distance.
The three ways to use VoIP are-

• Through an ATA (Analog Telephone Adaptor)- This is a device that can be connected to both your computer and phone and is used to convert the analog signal into a digital one. The only additional piece of equipment required is the adaptor.
• Through an IP phone- If you would like to maintain a regular phone system this option might be the right one for you. An IP phone has the same appearance as a conventional phone, the only difference being that the phone jack is replaced with an Ethernet cable connector. Since this cable is directly connected to a router, you do not need a computer to make calls when using this system.
• Computer to computer- The last way for VoIP calling is between two computers. For this method, you need to download the VoIP software on your computer. Since this software is usually free, the only cost involved is that of the internet.

By using a hosted VoIP  provider, you can save substantially on the equipment needed to setup VoIP calling for your business. Hosted providers provide the basic infrastructure you need for a minimal installation fee. This is particularly advantageous since any future troubleshooting, upgrading, or expansion shall be taken care of by the hosted provider.