What is VoIP?

Voice over Internet Protocol, also known as VoIP, is becoming commonplace in commercial use for phone calls over an Internet connection rather than using traditional phone lines. It saves money for businesses that make long-distance phone calls. It can be quite complex to determine if VoIP will be a great fit for your business and a real hassle if you don’t do all the up-front work to figure that out before deploying a VoIP solution.

Local Network

You’ll likely need help determining if your network is capable of supporting VoIP traffic in addition to what it is currently used for. Do you send a lot of large files that might interrupt VoIP services? Will you need a separate network just for your VoIP traffic? Are you able to adjust Quality of Service (QoS) settings to prioritize your phone call traffic?

Internet Connection – Bandwidth

If you are looking to get a VoIP service, it’s important to make sure your internet connection can handle it. The larger amount of calls you make, the more bandwidth you need to be able to support those calls. If you are a smaller business with fewer phone calls, a slower connection is acceptable. You will want to be clear about how many simultaneous calls will happen at normal and peak usage times. To find out how much bandwidth you need, you can ask a professional at America’s Phone Guys.

Size of your business – On Premises vs. Hosted Phone Systems

An on premises VoIP system means that all of the hardware required is kept on-site at the business. A hosted phone system is where phones connect directly through the Internet and the service provider maintains all of the hardware off-site.

If you choose to go with an on premise solution it is important to keep in mind that you are required to maintain and keep the hardware updated (or pay someone to do so for you). An on premise system can be better and cheaper (in the long-term) for larger businesses whereas a hosted system is often times better for smaller companies. This can vary from one customer to the next depending on a number of other factors. It is important to compare both and see which one will best fit your needs.

Outage Plan

If the network or power goes down, it is vital to have a backup plan. Your phone provider can offer suggestions as to what kind of backup plan to have in case of an emergency. You don’t want to be stuck in a position where your business cannot make or receive calls. With VoIP this is usually a matter of either setting up a fail-over ahead of time, or calling your carrier to have your lines forwarded when an issue arises.

Finding the Provider That’s Right for You

There are a number of other things to consider, and if you are considering VoIP, the experts at America’s Phone Guys will be happy to help answer questions and explain the service and requirements in more depth. We will ensure that you have everything you need to get started. It’s important to have a provider you feel comfortable working with and excellent customer service is our top priority.