What is IP telephony and how can it help your business?

IP telephony

For a business, company, online store..., communication with customers is essential. Even being an eCommerce, having a connection with customers, or at least allowing it, makes them more secure in their purchases. But when looking for rates and options, la IP telephony it is becoming increasingly important and an attractive niche.

But what is IP telephony? What is it for? Why is it recommended to companies? We will talk about it below.

What is IP telephony

Currently, IP telephony has become one of the preferred forms of communication for companies, which can replace traditional telephone lines with this option.

Specifically, It is a technology that allows us to communicate by telephone through the Internet. Examples of this are the calls we make, or are made to us, through WhatsApp, Zoom, Skype...

Another name by which IP telephony is known is Internet Telephony Protocol. They use a VoIP technology, where the voice is transformed into data that is sent through the Internet to the other person. Before receiving it, it becomes a voice again, which is what is heard. And all this in microseconds.

Difference between IP telephony and other forms of calling over the Internet

ip telephony advantages

As we have told you before, IP telephony can be like Skype calls, WhatsApp... However, in reality it is not like that.

One and the other are totally different. And it is that regular phone calls between two people require both to have the same app, since otherwise it cannot be done. And in IP telephony it is not necessary. In fact, what they do is obtain a number stored in the cloud (or port the one they have) to be able to make and/or receive calls without having to have a specific application, or depending on the type of telephony used.

How IP telephony works

If you want to know a little more about how this technology works, you should know that They use an IP protocol. The voice signal is transformed into data packets that leave a local area network called LAN, or directly from the Internet (which would be voice over IP). This reaches the other person and is transformed back into a voice, which is what that person hears. However, this, which can be thought to affect communication because you have to wait, even for a few seconds, actually happens very quickly.

Of course, you must bear in mind that IP telephony is not free. Like the "normal" one, here too there are connection costs between the operators, very low, but they exist. In general, in Spain the price is minimal, but it is true that if you call other destinations, the call can be much more expensive.

Advantages and disadvantages of IP telephony

ip telephony with computer

It is true that IP telephony, told as we have done, may seem the best for companies, since saves costs and also improves productivity and communication to all parts of the world. But everything "good" also has bad parts.

Therefore, before opting for it, you should know what the advantages and disadvantages are.

What advantages does it have

In addition to those that we have mentioned, other advantages of IP telephony are:

  • The possibility that they can answer multiple calls at the same time. In fact, this prevents users from having to wait on the phone to be attended to.
  • Extra features, such as personalized greetings, schedules, call recordings, statistics...
  • Give an international image, because nobody is really going to know if you use a virtual number or not, and the connections are now so powerful that they don't cut out or have bad sound, etc.
  • You can use the landline from the mobile, answer calls on the move and even transfer calls.

What disadvantages does it have?

As we said, apart from the advantages, there are also some disadvantages that must be taken into account before making the decision. Specific:

  • The quality of the calls, which, although they are evolving better and better. Even so, you should be aware that there may be interruptions, delays, metallic voices...
  • You can't use it if you don't have a special device. Although it is expensive, investing in it gives you many facilities.
  • In the event of a power outage, your IP telephony will not work. The same would happen if you ran out of Internet. For the power outage, using batteries that last for as long as it lasts can be a solution, but in the case of the Internet, you would have to have another option such as a telephone connection on the mobile and divert calls to it, or even use a project developed by Google called WebRTC, which allows calls to be forwarded when there is no light.

Is IP telephony worth it for a company?

ip phone keyboard

It is possible that, if your company is small, or you have an online store that you can easily manage, this idea does not appeal to you too much because you hardly receive calls, the ones you do receive are easy to answer for you.

However, when it starts to grow and there is more interaction and communication with customers, things change. In this case, IP telephony gives you the means to serve customers in a much more efficient way. Not only do you avoid waiting, but you also improve that communication by being available without having to be aware of the mobile at all times, but you can attend to them from the computer, or from another system.

Also, one of the fears of many entrepreneurs is that people may have communication problems, but this is easy to solve with a good connection. Y nobody has to know that the phone they are calling is not a “normal” phone but one in the cloud. You can even have several phone numbers without incurring a large outlay at the end of the month.

The decision is in your hand, but it may be the solution you were looking for for your business and more and more people decide to place it.


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