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Since NBN has taken off with a bang, there have been more and more people in the tech space throwing around terms like VoIP, SIP, etc. But what do they mean? Are they telling me the truth? What is right for my business?
Let us take the pressure off you as we explain it all below.
Let’s keep it basic: What is VoIP?
VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. There are two segments to explain, one is how the voice lines work, two is how the hardware works. So, let’s dive in, “Voice over Internet” it is as simple as that, your voice lines will use the internet to operate, if you have a weak internet connection, this will in terms affect your quality of calls.
There are a few people having issues using VoIP, majority of this comes from the way it was set up, some people should just not be moved to VoIP on certain networks. Meaning, if you have ADSL (Unstable Internet) than you should not migrate to this solution, and no technology adviser should be recommending that you do this. On the flip side, if your technology advisers know what they’re talking about, then moving to VoIP will be the best thing you’ve ever done! Here are some features you get: Easy to work remotely from home, off-site, and in other countries, Easy and affordable to expand into a multi-site business, softphones are more flexible – so your phone is on your computer, call recording capabilities, call reporting to see who called and when, integrates with majority of CRM platforms, and finally, the hardware and installation is a fraction of the cost of an on-site system.
Stage two: The hardware, how is it different? To you, everything looks the exact same, handsets on desktops, cordless phones, cordless headsets, or softphones, the big difference is you will no longer need a big chunky communications box in your server room, your system is now remote, allowing you to work anywhere, and preventing you from budgeting for new physical hardware every 4-5 years.
VoIP = More features, less capital, expandable.
What if I don’t go to a VoIP solution, how will my existing phones or new on-site phones work on the NBN?
Let’s talk about this in two stages again; One, how do my voice lines work and two, how is the hardware different to VoIP?
Essentially, your voice lines on a physical phone system will now be using what some people call “SIP” in short, everyone who migrates to the NBN, so the entire country pretty much, will end up using voice over the internet in some way or another. The difference here is that your voice lines will connect into an Internet port in your phone system called a SIP trunk, so instead of copper cables being plugged in, your phone system needs to allow for a different cable. If your phone system does not allow for Internet ports, then it is best to review your options. So, your voice lines still work just as it would on VoIP, they are still reliant on the internet, with an on-site system you just have less features and more capital expenditure on physical hardware.
How is the hardware different? Your existing phones or even new on-site phones will have a physical box installed in your communications/server room, which is the main frame of your phone system (Essentially this is like the tower to your computer, so it has all the smarts, and your handsets are the dummy’s that do all the task it’s given, just as a computer screens only job is to display what it is asked to by the tower) if you want to expand your system to multi-sites or even working from home it becomes harder as you have to accommodate for the on-site system being your centralised hub, and this can have its challenges, not everyone can work from home with this set up and it can be costly to even make it work to begin with.
On-site systems = Less features, more money, and the lines still run on the Internet.
Want to learn more?
Contact us at BITS Technology Group by emailing [email protected] or call 1300 248 748.