If you think your business doesn’t need a phone system, it might be time to think again. While the days of landlines are fading into memory and most Americans have a smartphone, there are many good reasons for a business to have a phone service as part of its tech infrastructure—and Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP services make a compelling use case.
VoIP has been around since 1995, and, according to a survey conducted by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), 36% of small businesses were using it in 2019. That number is on the rise, as more companies begin to realize the range of powerful features available with VoIP service, its advantages over using employee smartphones, and the benefits it offers over landline phones.
Here’s how VoIP can help:
- Advanced features: VoIP offers a wide range of features that can contribute to increased productivity, including call forwarding, voicemail, call recording, and video as well as audio conferencing. Advanced features like voicemail-to-email capabilities can improve the employee experience and customer service process, while call routing based on an employee’s availability, location, or skillset can mimic how larger enterprises or call centers operate.
- Greater mobility: VoIP is an ideal system for virtual offices and remote teams because it enables staff who work from home to make and receive calls from their laptops, tablets, or smartphones, regardless of their location. The ability to support flexible work arrangements can also help to attract and retain top talent.
- Enhanced professionalism: VoIP can integrate with other enterprise software to make operations run smoothly and more efficiently. For example, VoIP can work with customer relationship management (CRM) software so employees can access customer data during phone calls to answer questions or resolve issues quicker and project a greater degree of professionalism.
- Simple scalability: VoIP systems can easily scale up as a business grows, allowing a small business to start with a modest-sized system and add more “lines” over time as needs change, without requiring expensive hardware, physical installation or extra maintenance.
- Easy implementation: VoIP implementation is straightforward and does not require additional technology resources or people. Plus, with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) like Hughes by your side, adding VoIP service is plug-and-play simple.
It appears as if the news about VoIP’s strengths is starting to spread, with the adoption by businesses expected to rise over the foreseeable future. Frost & Sullivan predicts that the number of users of hosted VoIP for small and medium-sized businesses in the U.S. will reach 44.6 million by 2024. It’s easy to understand why. VoIP levels the playing field for small businesses, allowing them to engage and communicate with customers and partners in ways that are more efficient, effective and professional.
Learn more about the benefits of Managed Voice over IP here.