Welcome to the world of voice over internet protocol (VoIP). With VoIP service, your phone calls travel over the internet as data, just as e-mail does. This type of service can dramatically lower your telecommunications costs while increasing your productivity. It also provides useful features and capabilities that conventional phone technology can’t offer:

1. Since its inception, the quality of VoIP service has come a long way. Today’s VoIP service has evolved and allows you to make and receive calls using standard phones or, even better, feature-rich IP phones. Sound quality has vastly improved, too–in fact, many businesses today have abandoned traditional phone systems in favor of VoIP. Many of these businesses have the ability to leverage their own data network to carry phone calls originating and terminating within their office with additional savings and benefits.

2. Using VoIP can significantly reduce your telecommunications costs. Operating costs for VoIP service providers are significantly lower than for traditional phone companies, which must contend with the existing, expensive-to-maintain phone infrastructure and costly industry regulations. With lower expenses, VoIP providers can charge much less than their competitors.

And with VoIP, businesses no longer have to maintain separate networks for phones and data–another significant money saver. Also, the costs associated with employee moves, adds and changes are virtually eliminated. All you have to do is move your IP phone (or traditional phone with a VoIP adapter) to a different broadband network jack and plug it in.

3. VoIP service makes your phone system highly flexible. VoIP systems allow you to do things that are simply not possible with traditional phone technology. For example, you can:

• Take your phone system with you. As long as you have access to a broadband connection, you can use your VoIP system anywhere, such as in a hotel room or at a friend’s home. Customers and employees can stay in touch just by calling your regular business phone number–they don’t need to call your cell phone, which means you can save precious cell phone minutes.
• Talk on your laptop. Many VoIP systems include telephony software that enables you to send and receive calls using a headphone/microphone unit connected to your computer. Now you won’t miss an urgent call from a client, even when you’re hanging out with your laptop at an internet café.
• Get voice mail and faxes with your e-mail. Many VoIP services allow you to have voice mail and faxes automatically forwarded to your regular e-mail inbox. You get all your messages in one place, and your voice mail and faxes can be easily archived or forwarded to others. Users can also get their e-mails “read” to voice mail.
• Get virtual phone numbers. Your phone number can have any available area code, not just the one assigned to your region. For example, a business based in London could have a phone number with a Manchester area code –particularly advantageous if your business has (or wants) customers in Manchester.
• Increase productivity. Many VoIP phone numbers can be configured to simultaneously ring on multiple devices–such as your cell and landline phones–before going to voice mail, thus eliminating time-consuming “phone tag.” In a recent survey conducted by Sage Research, the increased productivity enabled by internet telephony added up to 3.9 hours per week, per employee.

One thing’s for sure: VoIP technology is continually evolving, with compelling new benefits being developed for small businesses. For example, some new wireless PDA/phone combination devices allow you to use your VoIP service whenever you’re near a Wi-Fi network and use your cell phone service when you’re not. Among the advantages: a dramatic increase in mobility and a sharp decrease in your cell phone charges.For larger small businesses, having a single IP network for both voice and data can provide other advantages, too. For example, an IP network can also support real-time, high-quality, affordable videoconferencing, call center applications and more.

No matter the size of your business, VoIP is a surprisingly flexible, affordable technology that offers the same, sophisticated communication tools your enterprise-size competitors have.