Although many early adopters have made the leap to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems in the last ten years, many smaller businesses are still missing out on the benefits of VoIP and the value it can provide.
If you own a small business and haven’t switched yet, read on to find out how VoIP works, and why it’s a better option for you.
What Is VoIP?
There is no confusing wizardry behind VoIP, well, there is a tiny bit, but the concept is simple – you’re makings voice calls over the internet as data packets of information rather than voice signals relying on electrical impulses. With VoIP, your voice is converted into data, travels over the internet and is then converted back on the receiving end so the call recipient can hear your voice. Simple right?
Fun fact: although VoIP seems modern, did you know the first real-time conversation conducted over a network happened in 1974? Although VoIP, as we know it today, didn’t take off commercially until the early 2000s.
Why Is VoIP The Better Option For Small Businesses?
Anyway, that’s enough of the what’s and when’s, it’s time for the why’s – why is VoIP better for your small business or even startup?
Cost savings
Undoubtedly, one of the key reasons small businesses are drawn to VoIP is the cost. It’s guaranteed VoIP will be a cheaper option for smaller businesses when compared to installing a traditional phone solution. With no hardware or wiring to install, cloud VoIP solutions like ours are simply ‘switched on’ and ready to go!
With affordable pay-as-you-go contracts and prices starting from just £7.50 per month, we are bound to have a deal that will suit your business perfectly and help keep communication costs low.
Use anytime, anyplace
In part driven by the Covid 19 pandemic, hybrid working is now more popular than ever and looks set to stay that way. VoIP is ideal for smaller businesses with home workers, as employees don’t even need a handset to stay in touch. So long as an internet connection is available, VoIP works.
You can use your new phone system on mobile phones, tablets, computers and laptops, or if you prefer, you can have VoIP handsets.
No maintenance or downtime
When you use a hosted phone solution, the provider (us!) looks after all the boring stuff that you don’t want to, or necessarily have the resources for. Smaller businesses don’t often have an IT person, let alone an IT team, so not having to worry about maintaining your phone solution or fixing it can relieve a lot of worries.
Scale up easily
Committing to a phone system can feel risky to some smaller businesses, particularly ones that are growing and changing but VoIP is a dynamic solution that can go with the flow and scale up with your business!
You can simply add more users each month when you bring new employees on board and should your business start to need an even more sophisticated communication solution, you can upgrade to our advanced business phone system, or a cloud contact centre. Even small businesses can benefit from upgrading to a cloud contact centre.
Smaller Businesses Are Early VoIP Adopters
Although VoIP is incredibly popular and has a wide range of benefits, many UK businesses – of all sizes, just haven’t made the switch yet. That is despite the clear monetary savings that can be made!
Almost 70% of businesses still use traditional landlines. However, smaller businesses have adopted the technology faster than larger businesses and startups are much more likely to opt for VoIP.
It’s difficult to understand why some businesses feel cautious, but a few of the reasons include worries about call quality, rollout, staff training, and expense. There is also probably a general dislike of change! Good old traditional landlines are just the way it’s always been!
The concerns above are unfounded, and most businesses realise that when they get around to making the switch. If you are having any similar reservations, get in touch for an honest chat and we’ll demonstrate how VoIP can save you time and money.
The Big Switch Off
If you are still using a traditional phone system, 2023 is the year you really need to consider upgrading and getting used to your new system before the ‘big switch-off happens in 2025.
The big switch-off is the name that has been given to analogue phone lines being switched off in 2025. After this time both homeowners and businesses must use either VoIP or mobile phones. Although the total switch-off doesn’t happen until 2025, you won’t be able to acquire BT’s ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) and Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN) systems after September 2023.
This means support services and hardware will be difficult to access soon after, which could potentially leave you struggling to communicate effectively.
Daktela UK
So, now you’ve read the benefits of VoIP for smaller businesses, and learnt about the big switch-off, all that’s left to do is book a demo!
