How can I know if VoIP is right for my business?

With the new technologies of VoIP, there have been questions of reliability and consistency in service. However, the new growth, the savings and services, may make VoIP the right choice for communication and faxing needs in your business.

From the VoIP that was the newest technology, however exciting and unstable, this service has grown to be one of the most reliable, clear and cost effective choices in business.

The main thing to look at when you are thinking about switching from the traditional phone service to the VoIP service is to ask questions. You can ask many questions to the providers of the VoIP services in your area.

Here are some examples of questions that may help you in your decision in switching to a VoIP service.

1. What will you need to set up the VoIP system?
2. What type of network assessment will need to be done?
3. Is your network sufficient to have a smooth flow of voice traffic for your communication needs?
4. Will the quality of calls through the VoIP service be comparable to traditional telephone services?
5. Do you have the right cat 5 or cat 6 cabling necessary for good quality?
6. Do you have hubs or switches?
7. Will the firewall you use prohibit successful use of a VoIP system?
8. Will the ports in your firewall permit the two most common protocols needed for VoIP, SIP and MGCP?
9. What will be the best flow plan for the routing of calls in your business?
10. Can your company still us DID and extensions with VoIP?
11. How long would the installation take and will there be down time in your business?
12. What is the cost difference?
13. Will the savings in long distance and international calls, in addition to the savings on faxes be enough to warrant the change in service?
14. Will there be back up batteries in place in the instance of a power outage?
15. Will there be a contractual time and contract in place for the service switching?

A good provider will be able to walk you though these questions successfully and clear any concerns you may have. Most of the time they will set up and have all this running without you even know what they are working on.

You will also want to consider many areas when you think about the benefits of the change to VoIP that will happen for your company.

Because of the IP of the VoIP service, there are many services available to your businesses that are not available with traditional phone lines. The benefits are the use of telecommuting, auto attendant, four-digit dialing between offices, remote office support, dial-by-name directories and more.

For those employees and owners that do a great deal of traveling, they can make phone calls and check voicemail wherever there is a broadband connection available.

There are also cost savings to be gained by integrating voice and data, eliminating the need for two separate networks in an office. There are also faxing abilities and a continued growth in the fax efficiency of this technology.

Redundant network connections available with VoIP enable business continuity, allowing operations to continue in the event of natural disasters, power outages, or other disruptions.

There is also same rate for calling and Internet usage charges, which helps lower monthly expenditures and makes them more predictable. Therefore, this set rate will be part in creating an easier equation for the company to budget.

With all the options, benefits and factors in mind. You now have the ability to make a smart business decision that will work for your company. Large or small a business will have benefits with trying out this technology.