Still sitting on the fence thinking about investing in a VoIP telephony solution? Well, you're not alone, for now anyway.
As you are probably aware, VoIP (voice over internet protocol/voice over IP) allows us to harnesses the power of the internet to transmit telephone calls instead of using the traditional BT telephone network (PSTN: public switched telephone network).
Using VoIP to make calls means much cheaper calls and vastly reduced line rental. VoIP also supports all the traditional telephone features we've come to expect and rely on, as well as, and this can be a really big plus, a whole host of new features that are simply impossible to implement using legacy telephone systems.
These features, depending on your business and requirements, can have a huge impact on costs, operational effectiveness and productivity, not to mention making communication between colleagues, customers and suppliers a far more simple and enriched experience.
That sounds like a bit of a bold claim, so let me give you an example:
A company has two offices, one a dedicated call centre with 25 agents, the other a head office with 10 staff. Due to the low wages offered to call centre agents the company also offers a fuel subsidy for people who travel in from more than 10 miles away. They also pay a huge BT bill for all the outbound calls, not to mention the line rental costs. People in head office call over the PSTN to the call centre (incurring a cost) but invariably the people they want to speak to are on the phone.
By implementing a VoIP system, the company can deploy all its call centre agents at home, while still being able to monitor everyone just the same as when they were in the office (if not more so). They can close and sell the building, start paying call charges that average around 50% cheaper than BT, and stop paying all their line rental charges as well as the fuel costs for travelling employees.
Calls between each call centre agent and the head office are now free and utilising a ‘presence and availability' application everyone can ‘see' everyone, if they are logged in, on a call, what type of call they are on, if they are available etc. And if they're on a call they can still communicate via secure chat.
How much money do you think this company saved in just one year? How much more efficient do you suppose the communication between colleagues is? And we're only highlighting just two benefits in that example, there would be many more such as cutting down on unnecessary travel which can allow companies to reduce their carbon footprint and put a big friendly tick in the green box.
I bet you're rushing out to buy a VoIP system right now? No? OK, I'm not really a gambling man, but I bet you look at one over the next two years. Currently about 25% of business have moved, either in part or wholly, to a VoIP solution. Market research companies predict that by the end of next year that figure will be approaching 50% and by 2010 it will easily be the communication method of choice.
And that's at least two years before BT unveils its 21st Century Network (21CN). BT is spending around £12bn replacing its legacy PSTN network with an IP-centric core so it can start to deliver new services to homes and businesses. However, BT doesn't own the internet, unlike it did with the PSTN, so businesses can start to take advantage of VoIP before BT decides to ‘let them'.
VoIP really is a revolutionary technology. The cost-savings can be significant. The advanced features can offer businesses real advantages and new, improved ways of communicating.
Waqar Sheikh is managing director at V4VoIP. To find out more and get a free essential guide to VoIP visit www.v4voip.co.uk/telephonesolution [1]