Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has been gaining in popularity over the last few years. But what exactly is it?
According to Wikipedia:
Internet telephony refers to communications services —voice, fax, SMS, and/or voice-messaging applications— that are transported via the Internet, rather than the public switched telephone network (PSTN). The steps involved in originating a VoIP telephone call are signaling and media channel setup, digitization of the analog voice signal, encoding, packetization, and transmission as Internet Protocol (IP) packets over a packet-switched network.
Basically, VoIP is the transmission of voice or fax services over the internet instead of traditional phone lines. It works by converting the analog signals sent by a telephone into digital data, which can then be sent by your company’s network or over the internet. Once they reach their destination, they can either remain digital or be converted back to analog. Because the voice information is digital, it can also be modified, saved or re-routed, making integration with your company’s network applications possible.
Along with deep data integration, VoIP is also typically much less expensive than traditional telephony. Other benefits include less expensive hardware, high-availability for remote employees and increased security. The main disadvantage of VoIP is that it utilizes the available bandwidth on your network, which means that high voice usage could conflict with high data usage and caused poor connections and dropped calls. While VoIP solutions are designed to work out-of-the-box, many networks would highly benefit from having a professional optimize it for simultaneous VoIP and data use.
If your company is looking to reduce costs, VoIP may be the right choice for you. Minneapolis-based OAC Technology has been helping small- to medium-sized businesses save on telephony bills for 10 years. We can help your technology meet your business needs while maximizing your IT dollars at the same time. Contact us today for a free consultation. We will review your telephone bills and make recommendations on ways to save without sacrificing reliability or function.
