VOIP

• VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is the general term for technologies used to transport telephone calls over computer networks, be they home, business, wireless networks, or the internet. Although the technology was introduced in the mid-nineties, the technology only really began to make an impact in the business market around the early to mid 2000’s, and is now universally regarded as being mature and reliable enough to be used as the primary means of communication.
• VoIP has several important advantages over traditional “Circuit-switched” connections such as ISDN and analogue telephone lines:
• A VoIP-to-VoIP call, where both ends of the call are using VoIP technology, is implemented as computer data travelling from the source to the destination and vice versa. The costs of sending and receiving this data are effectively zero if you have an existing computer network or VPN between the two, or if both ends are using an existing internet connection.
• A VoIP phone can be relocated easily, whilst retaining its phone or extension number. Usually VoIP office phones can be moved around the office simply by physically moving them with no reconfiguration, and, in some cases, it is possible to unplug a VoIP office phone, take it home, plug it in, and have it function exactly the same as if it were in the office.
  
• Once a land-line number is ported to VoIP, it can be used anywhere in the world: this means that, with VoIP based phone numbers, you can now move office and keep your existing numbers, without having to go through any time-consuming porting process.
• Calls from VoIP phones to non-VoIP are, in the majority of cases, much cheaper than calls made from traditional telephone lines.
• VoIP technology makes it possible to have a phone number from a different area code, or even a different country! Businesses can use this functionality to both provide callers with numbers to dial that are local to them, cutting their customers/partners costs; and to provide a more obvious presence in areas where they may not have physical premises, but wish to do business.
• VoIP allows for applications that in the past have been expensive to be provided in a hosted manner. This means that applications such as call queuing and call recording, traditionally very expensive, can be provided from a centralised location by a third party, as if at the telephone exchange itself. This allows for both cost savings, and reduced complexity for the organisation.
• By providing a VoIP phone to an employee and using a VPN-enabled broadband connection, the employee can function as they would from the office whilst at home. Their VoIP phone functions as an extension of the office phone system – outbound calls go out over the business` phone lines, rather than the teleworker’s. In addition, features such as centralised call recording and call logging can still be used, and calls to other business extensions can be made at no cost.