VoIP vs. Analog – A Small Business Guide to Converting
Many businesses today still use traditional analog phone systems, which convert voice signals from the speaker into electronic waves that the other telephone receives. While this type of phone system isn’t inherently bad, it has become slightly outdated, especially when you consider the more hi-tech alternative.
Voice over Internet Protocol, more commonly known as VoIP, takes phone signals and transfers them via the internet in small chunks of data. Some of the benefits of using VoIP for your calls rather than traditional analog phones include:
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- Cost – With VoIP phones, you have fewer costs to worry about. For example – since you are placing long distance calls over the broadband internet connection as opposed to a standard phone line, those calls become significantly cheaper. VoIP therefore allows you to consolidate some of your costs.
- Added features – In addition to standard features included in analog phone systems, such as caller ID, call waiting, voice mail and more, VoIP also allows integration of video audio and data files in calls. This makes VoIP particularly beneficial for tasks such as interviews of prospective employees, as you can still chat face-to-face.
- Easy conferencing – VoIP systems make it much easier for more than two people to speak to each other at the same time. Since you can share data during calls, this makes it much more efficient for important business meetings.
- Fixed number – Even if your office changes its location, you still are able to keep the same phone number through your VoIP phone. This is obviously not the case with analog phones.
- Easy setup – As long as you have some form of high-speed internet connection, it is extremely easy to set up your VoIP phone line.
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Of course, there are some challenges that VoIP users must overcome. For instance, if your modem fails or the power goes down, your VoIP phone will not work. VoIP phones can also be deactivated during certain types of emergency situations. In these cases, you would either need to fall back to cell phone use or a backup analog phone system.
Consider the benefits and the current state of your business’s communications infrastructure. Do you think you’re ready to convert to VoIP?