Small business has two main choices for their enterprise phone system – voice over IP (VoIP) or traditional landlines. Each of these technologies offer pros and cons, and the choice for which is better may differ from organization to organization. VoIP is typically a better choice these days, but this information can help to make your choice.
COVID-19 forced many companies to reevaluate their phone technologies rapidly, introducing VoIP technology to companies who had never used it before.
How Phone Systems Work
Traditional landline phones utilize phone company copper wires to convert data and transmit conversations. Landline services operate with public switched telephone networks (PSTN), and requires PBX hardware to establish distinct phone extensions and allow for features such as forwarding, transferring or hold.
VoIP phone service utilizes an internet connection rather than traditional copper wires. While many people don’t realize it, they have used VoIP technology if they have Skyped with a family member. Business VoIP systems operate on specialized equipment, which can be managed by an internal IT department or outsourced to a managed services hosting company. For those small businesses who have chosen VoIP, outsourcing the service generally makes more sense because they do not have to make a large hardware investment.
One Benefit of Landlines
You might suspect that traditional phone systems would be inferior in every aspect to more advanced VoIP systems. However, there is one area where landline systems stand out – reliability and uptime. While VoIP systems will go down with internet or power outages, landline service will continue to operate when both of those systems are down. This is a great benefit to those who might operate in disaster prone areas.
Landline phone systems permit the user to choose between individual phone lines or an in-house PBX system. With a PBX system, features such as call transferring, call queues, group ringing, phone directories and more can be added to traditional phone lines. The issue for small business is that PBX hardware can cost thousands of dollars, including installation and maintenance costs. This is why many small businesses are better off choosing VoIP over PBX when all is considered.
Benefits of VoIP
Landline infrastructure is no longer considered the way of the future, and therefore is not being improved upon any longer. By contrast, VoIP is the newer technology and is being upgraded all the time. VoIP technology has only improved as internet connectivity has improved. This option is very popular with small business as it is both affordable and flexible, with the ability to easily scale.
VoIP is less expensive than landline service both regarding installation costs and for ongoing maintenance and service. The setup is easy and users can utilize a wide range of devices they already own – such as office phones, computers, or cell phones. VoIP also offers a broad spectrum of features not available through typical landline service.
Because VoIP is more advanced, more affordable, and is getting better all the time, it is an obvious choice for many small businesses. The recent COVID-19 crisis required business owners to quickly reevaluate their phone systems, and many have made the switch from landlines to VoIP systems.
If your business needs more advanced telecommunications systems and you need assistance with assessment and implementation, call Alliance IT. We are here to help your business grow and thrive.
