Is the “best” hosted voice-over-IP (VoIP) solution much different for a small business than it is for an enterprise?

Actually, not entirely.

Organizations of all sizes need the same thing from their hosted VoIP solutions, which is quality. When quality is defined as the value for cost, it’s the single most significant predictor of customer satisfaction and quality of experience.

Making the switch to hosted voice can allow your organization to unlock significant cost savings while achieving a solution that meets the needs of your mobile and remote employee workforce. However, finding the right provider isn’t always straightforward.

There’s no shortage of vendors, and these options can vary significantly in terms of service options, pricing, and approach. Even if you’re certain that voice-over-IP (VoIP) is the right approach, vendor selection is another story entirely, and proceeding with caution is an important tool to avoid dissatisfaction with your new business phone system.

Upgrading to hosted voice shouldn’t be challenging, but far too many organizations experience hidden costs, quality dissatisfaction or other pitfalls due to confusion during the vendor selection process.

Selecting the right vendor from the 20 registered internet service providers who offer business-class connectivity in Bethesda, Maryland is likely to play a significant part in your employee and customer experience.

Chances are, you’re aware that you can save quite a bit of money on your business telephone communications by bundling service into a package with your internet connectivity.

Whether you’ve already decided to make the switch from traditional telephone service to IP-based phone service (VoIP) or you’re already using cloud-based phone services, evaluating vendors who offer both internet and voice on the same network could be the right move.

However, a lower price paid each month is only one benefit you can realize with bundling if you select the right option from the best business internet and telephone packages available now. With the right vendor, you can unlock the full range of long-term business advantages associated with Unified Communications as a Service or UCaaS - a technological baseline for next-generation communications.

Even though cloud communication tools are everywhere, some organizations are still clinging to premises-based phone systems for a variety of reasons. Perhaps your organization hasn’t made the switch to Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) yet, either.

Reasons not to adopt modern technology vary, and some make more sense than others. Some of the most common include:

1. Trying to realize returns on the high, upfront investment of on-premises phones
2. Employees are used to the on-premises phones and find adopting new technology difficult
3. Insufficient bandwidth due to low quality Internet connectivity or a lack of access to fiber-optic Internet connectivity options

While organizations may feel the need to “pay off” their five-year-old TDM Private Branch Exchange before they adopt voice-over-IP (VoIP), the decision not to switch can often end up costing more than the switch itself.

If you're looking for a replacement of your business phone system or just starting a business and looking at what phone system to purchase, you're probably swimming in what may seem like a sea of acronyms. But, it all really boils down to two choices... Primary Rate Interface (PRI) phone systems (traditional telephony), and voice-over-IP (VoIP) phone systems delivered over Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

As cloud communication tools become the mainstream, businesses worldwide are exploring ways that cloud-based business phone service, fiber internet connectivity, and cloud backups can drive business value. Last year, an estimated 62 percent of businesses were using SIP trunking.

Understanding the advantages of IP-based phone service, and how they can be implemented at your business location is key to unlocking those advantages.

Two common terms that you may encounter when exploring IP and cloud-based phone service for the enterprise are SIP Trunking and IP Trunking. If you’re new to VoIP, you may be wondering what the difference is between IP vs. SIP trunking, and which is better.

Session Initiation Protocol, or SIP, Trunking, is a set of technologies that allow organizations to adopt cloud-based phones, unlocking numerous business benefits. Making the switch to SIP allows organizations to achieve many SIP benefits, including:

• Lower costs,
• Better security,
• Flexible bandwidth allocation,
• Enhanced service management,
• Quality voice services, and
• Potential for sophisticated interconnection.

Another PBX phone company recently declared bankruptcy.

If you’re an Avaya customer, this is definitely concerning news. Avaya TDM Private Branch Exchange (PBX) users represent 22 percent of the legacy PBX user market. If you’re still using traditional switching technology for your on-premises PBX, it’s time to consider the benefits of cloud-based IP (VoIP) phones and Unified Communications (UC) tools for your business.

Understanding your options among Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) providers is every bit as confusing as you think. Much like with any other fast-growing technology, there’s a lack of standardization around voice-over-IP (VoIP) phone technologies. Understanding the pricing and quality differences between SIP vendors, and how it impacts the quality of customer experience, is almost always confusing to first-time adopters of SIP.

The term “SIP Trunking Provider” may mean very different things for two vendors in your geographic area. Some SIP providers offer their own facilities, equipment, and local experts; while others are in the business of reselling other companies technology. Every organization wants to maximize the value from their investment, and receive the service quality they’ve been promised after the ink dries on the contract. Fortunately, by knowing the right questions to ask, you can evaluate providers carefully and mitigate many risks of choosing the wrong SIP Trunking Provider for your needs.