The VoIP Phone Call - it can change your business
In our business we began using Skype
quite a few years ago to make the occasional VoIP phone call to overseas colleagues. It was an excellent introduction to using a VoIP business solution. We used a "Skype to Skype" service because it was free and for that reason we didn't grumble about voice quality.
Best features of the Skype phone service include:
- The ability to easily and spontaneously set up a conference call between multiple parties in different locations, and
- "Presence," the ability to see if the other parties were available before making a call.
Over time we stretched the envelope a little and went onto use Skype for Business,
so we could make VoIP phone calls to regular PSTN numbers in our overseas offices. While the service worked well, voice quality was sometimes an issue. The service was OK for internal calls, but it was not good enough for calling customers and prospective customers.
Subsequently we tried a few VoIP services that enabled us to make VoIP calls from a regular analog handset using an ATA or analog telephony adapter. These services were provided for a monthly subscription and the calls were cheap. Our experience with these services was not good. It became increasingly embarrassing as people would ask us "what's that noise on the line?" or "Are you using one of those VoIP services?"
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We persisted with these dodgy services for far longer than we should have. In an attempt to overcome the hurdles and achieve an adequate level of VoIP phone call quality, we replaced modems and ATA's, changed ISPs, upgraded line speeds and finally changed VoIP providers. Nothing changed, we could still hear a background electronic noise whenever we made a VoIP phone call.
Despite these experiences the seed had germinated and taken root. We decided to pursue VoIP business solutions with serious intent. It wasn't just that we could make cheap VoIP phone calls. It had become apparent that VoIP was a serious business phone tool that opened the door to a world of collaborative business opportunities.
The lights really came on when we discovered something called a hosted VoIP PBX. Initially we weren't interested at all. The last thing we had any interest in owning was a PBX. We subsequently discovered that was why the market for Virtual PBX solutions had taken off. There are now millions of business owners who have discovered that they no longer need to "OWN" a VoIP business phone system.
The VoIP virtual PBX enables a business such as ours to project a large company image to callers without any requirement to invest capital or employ technical staff. Furthermore voice quality is excellent and possibly better than the quality of calls over a PSTN service.
The net result is that we now partner with numerous overseas companies that provide a whole range of services at highly competitive rates. We also employ virtual assistants who do an excellent job of looking after administrative tasks for us. These arrangements are possible because it's now feasible to use a combination of email, FAX and phone calls to communicate with our overseas partners whenever we need to.
We are now looking into
VoIP recording solutions. Call recording has become a simple and cost effective process and there are options that do not involve any additional premise based equipment. By integrating phone recording software with a CRM solution, we can see the potential to eliminate incomplete recall and resulting misunderstandings when finalizing the details of a transaction over the phone.
VoIP phone systems have significantly changed the way we operate our business. By using a VoIP business phone service we get the the features and benefits without becoming entangled with technology and also the avoid the necessity for a capital outlay on a rapidly depreciating asset.
See also:
VoIP Pros and Cons.
Skype Phone Number - it's your local phone number
From VoIP Phone Call to VoIP Phone Systems
From VoIP Phone Call to Business Phone Tools
