When someone finds out you run a business, they may tap into their own experiences and give you advice so that you can benefit from their experience and their mistakes. One thing is that people who run small businesses have first-hand knowledge about telecommunications. Among the nuggets of wisdom, you may have been told might be advice about VoIP and PBX. If you’ve been told that you need to switch to VoIP or PBX for your business, you may have some basic questions, and we are more than happy to explain VoIP and all the benefits it can bring to your business it grows. We are Premier Business Technologies, and we provide VoIP, PBX, the Internet, and cable services to small businesses throughout the Baltimore, D.C. area as well as Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia
ADVANTAGES OF VOIP FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
What Is VoIP?
VoIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol, and this technology allows people to make voice calls over the Internet instead of using landlines. Instead of having a phone number, your “number” will be your IP address. When you make a call, the call will go through your PBX, which acts as your digital switchboard operator. Your call will then go through your VoIP provider to the public switched telephone network or PSTN, and to the person or business, you are calling. We’ll discuss more VoIP in future posts, so be sure to check back often to learn more, or just call us today and we’ll explain all the features VoIP offers and how they can benefit your business.
What Is PBX?
A Private Branch Exchange is a device that enables multiple devices to use a single outgoing line. It is a great companion piece for a VoIP system. In fact, it’s a key component that makes VOIP ideal for small businesses. The private part of this term means that your phone system is first a private system and then steps to interacting with the public exchange. The PBX acts as an interface between the internal phone system and the outside world. This system also handles tasks such as call recording and voice mail. Voicemails can be either voice or visual if you want these options. The PBX also handles ring groups, which means that a call is channelled to the right extension. In older analog systems there was a single PBX box to which all calls were routed. In the digital world, this is handled through a computer PBX, but the function is the same. The phone groups, as well as the voicemail groups, are all customizable, giving your business flexibility.
What Are Some Advantages Of VOIP?
The first advantage of using a VoIP provider is that you’ll know that your business is keeping up with the times. A landline simply won’t give you the power, flexibility, and features that a modern business needs to complete in the current market. So, unless you run a one-man shoe repair shop, you need to stay up with the times and investigate VoIP. One really great thing about VoIP is that you can have one number, and your home number can be used on your smartphone. So what happens is that you have an internet line that receives a call and the VOIP device forwards that call to your cell phone, so there is no reason to ever miss a call again!
All The Features Are Integrated!
From email and fax to voicemail and call forwarding, all the telephone features you need to run your business are in one convenient package. All your employees can multitask. They can access their email while on the phone, even though they are both using the same Internet lines.
Location Flexibility
This is a very attractive feature for many business owners. No matter where you go, as long as you take your VoIP adapter with you and have the Internet, you can do business. If you are at a trade show and need to take your business calls, you can! If you need to travel to visit a client or a worksite, you can still conduct business without any of your other clients knowing you are out of the office. This allows for a continuity of business and gives your clients the expectation that you will always be available, and this is good for business.
Call Premier Business Technologies today speak to one of our telecommunications experts and learn how your business can benefit from using a VoIP and PBX system. You can also fill out our simple form to request a free VoIP quote for your company.