It would be all very well explaining the benefits of VoIP to you and how it could, no doubt, benefit your business and you’d probably take it all in and think and think it’s great. But what good would that be if you don’t actually know what it is?

So, what is VoIP?
VoIP means Voice over Internet Protocol, but if you hear IP Telephony or Internet Telephony they’re also the same thing. It’s a way to make phone calls but you don’t necessarily need a phone, it’s also much cheaper and sometimes even free. If you own a computer that has speakers, a microphone and you’ve got a good internet connection then using VoIP makes your calls completely free – you can also do this with your mobile or landline telephone.

Most people have heard of Skype, which is internet based software allowing you to make calls for free to whoever you want, wherever they are in the world. There are many other services such as this however, so you’ll be spoilt for choice.

You may be asking why VoIP is classed as cheap, when you can get it for free. Well, although it is free when used on computers and even sometimes when used on phones, if you choose to completely replace your PSTN service then there is a charge. This charge however, blows any other charge out of the water when it comes to competitiveness as it makes calls so much cheaper than what you get charged for standard calls; this is great news for anyone who constantly has to make international calls. Some businesses have said that their costs on international calls have been slashed by as much as 90%.

Now you know what VoIP is it will be much easier to explain the advantages; to start with, it’s portable, no matter where you are – home, work, beach etc. – you can make calls using VoIP. The cost, in the current economic climate businesses are trying to save all the money they can, so why not save money and gain a great service? It can hold as much information as you need it to, you can easily add or remove numbers, e-mail addresses, extensions etc. and all this is done easily, using the internet. This avoids the lengthy process of adding and removing information from a traditional phone. With VoIP phone calls will never be boring again; VoIP systems come with all manner of new features – including, caller ID, conference calling, voice to e-mail, call forwarding and hold – along with the ones that you’d expect to find on any telephone system.

This article was written by Katrina Janes who has just invested in business VoIP for her business. Her system was purchased from www.soho66.co.uk/6832/all/1/Business-VoIP-Packages.aspx, and she’d be happy to recommend them.