Three Questions To Ask Before Your Switch to VoIP

Switching to VoIP is a major step and is something that you need to do when you want incomparable savings in your phone bill. This New Year is a great time to do this. Not only will you benefit from the leaps and bounds made by VoIP technology. You will enjoy low signup rates and phone bills.

If you want VoIP for your business, however, there are questions you need to answer first. These give you a good assessment of your organization’s readiness in making the big switch.

Will it improve your work efficiency and productivity?

One of the things you’d want to happen with a switch to VoIP is an increase in productivity and efficiency. After all, VoIP – through communications convergence – lets you do so many things with data in digital format. Plus, don’t forget the savings from VoIP. You can do a lot with that to improve your day-to-day performance.

However, VoIP can take its toll on your network. If you are not sure about the capacity of your network because all that you’ve been doing is browsing and file-sharing, then test it using the services of VoIP Spear. Being on a poor network can cost you. The data packet that run through your network will multiply by at least 4X because of voice packets. If your network cannot take this much traffic, then you are also compromising other tasks done within the network. This can affect the quality and quantity of work done within a day.

Can your network handle VoIP?

This is the logical ‘next question,’ of course. Your network directly affects your VoIP benefits. If you have limited bandwidth, you will need to upgrade your account. However, if your network is really bad, it is ideal to not switch to VoIP until you find a better one, a service provider with proven support for VoIP telecommunications.

An incapable network means that you are likely to suffer from bad voice call quality. You will experience delays/ pauses in calls, as well as jitter and packet delays.

Can you afford to equip your office for VoIP?

A typical office cannot use VoIP just via computer and headphones. This takes away from accessibility and convenience. SIP phones or ATA boxes are necessary for workstations with phone units. You will also need an IP PBX system or a gateway device for your old PBX. All this can cost. So, alongside your VoIP account fees, you will need to take care of this at the start.

When you do make a switch to VoIP, treat this as an investment. Install whatever’s necessary so that this investment lasts. Make sure that you have an account with VoIP Spear, and that you are monitoring all your endpoints. This tests your endpoints for performance lapses, which you or your support team can then address. 

An Easy Guide to Transition to VoIP

When you have finally decided to ditch traditional wireline telecommunication for VoIP, don’t worry about the transition. Switching to VoIP can be a simple task. You only have to pay attention to the details at the start, when you want to ensure that you get a near-perfect service. Getting all this done early saves you from VoIP problems (at least those that you can control from your end).

VoIP is a reliable alternative to traditional telecommunication. It is also cheaper and more accessible, as long as you have reliable internet connections. Likewise, you need to have done your transition properly:

1. Get the right service providers: This is probably the most basic thing to do when you want to ensure a successful transitioning to VoIP. It means that your internet connection should be fast enough for VoIP (at least DSL). The service should also be reliable, with little downtime. At the same time, you should go with a reputable VoIP service company, ideally through a paid account.

2. Get suitable gear: The right gear to use with your VoIP account depends on your circumstances. It could be that you work in front of the computer most of the time, and would like to process calls through it to keep things simple. If that’s the case, then you just need a good headset and microphone. However, if you want to install VoIP for your entire household, then it’s a good idea to invest in a SIP phone or an ATA unit for your analog phone. If you’re an office manager handling your company’s VoIP transition, you will need to choose between investing in a gateway for your old PBX or getting an IP PBX. The IP PBX is the better choice if you’re transitioning your entire communications platform to VoIP.

3. Transfer your public telephone number: VoIP companies refer to this as your DID number, which stands for Direct Inward Dialing number. Your service provide will transfer your DIDs for you for a limited number of DIDs. Companies or those with big offices should coordinate with their phone company regarding the transfer of their DIDs.

4. Install your VoIP Service: At this point, you can already move forward with installing your VoIP service. 

5. Install Backup Services: There are two necessary backup services for VoIP. These are your VoIP testing services and your backup power plan. The call monitoring service is a third party service, like VoIP Spear. It usually comes for free for single endpoint testing. The backup power can be a simple UPS or generator. It can also be a default setup wherein calls are transferred mobile or wireline numbers when VoIP is not accessible.