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How VoIP Has Revolutionised Business Processes

A few years ago, when people think of VoIP, they usually associated it with using a computer desktop application to make phone calls. These days VoIP technology is much more versatile in the residential market, a market that many Internet Service Providers are pushing pretty hard as they vie with each other to take a larger share from the incumbent telcos. But where the abilities of VoIP technology really become impressive is when it is integrated into business processes.

VoIP vs PSTN Solutions

VoIP is not simply a voice technology that saves business a lot of money, it can do so much more. First of all, it's worth examining how a typical business would use the old PSTN (Publicly Switched Telephone Network) voice systems. A business would require at least one physical telephone line connected to a PBX or PABX that splits it into a number of "virtual" lines with extension numbers that allow you to transfer calls and other limited features. With a VoIP system on the other hand, because the technology is software driven a business can potentially have unlimited lines connected to an office location. In fact, because VoIP uses the Internet to terminate calls, you can connect multiple offices using these extensions. This means that you can transfer an inbound call from the head office to a regional office on the other side of the country using a VoIP extension number assigned to it. Forget the cost of doing this using PSTN technology, you simply couldn't do it.

Integrating VoIP into Your Business Processes

The first industry to really appreciate and implement the power of VoIP technology was call centres. VoIP applications were able to solve a lot of automation problems. Call centres have been at the forefront of developing VoIP applications to add value to their operations, and these days many of them are very efficient at what they do due to their ability to integrate their VoIP systems with their Customer Relationship Management software and billing systems. For example, when you call a company with a well integrated VoIP system that you have an account with, the answering customer service representative will already have your account details open on their monitor screen before he or she even picks up. This saves a lot of time when dealing with customers and wouldn't be possible using the traditional phone systems. Some may not even have a telephone handset, but a headset and a computer with integrated software, perhaps with a touch screen monitor. IVR (Interactive Voice Response), is a very popular technology with companies that have large call volumes, enabling calls to be routed to the most appropriate department. IVR is simply another spin-off of VoIP technology and wouldn't be possible without it. Ironically, these are technologies that even the supposedly VoIP averse major telecommunications companies use to run their businesses; the business of selling expensive fixed line solutions that is. Hmmm... now there is food for thought!

VoIP technology integration can even completely automate customer account management and invoice payments, without the need to deal with a customer service representative. Ever done your banking over the telephone? Thank VoIP for that. The banks were also early adopters of the technology for the purpose of reducing customer reliance on humans to deal with telephone banking needs. Its far more efficient and secure to use an IVR menu and a PIN to get your account balance or make a quick transaction than it is to get a customer service representative to look it up for you. If you have a problem or need a real person to deal with your enquiry, a good system will give you that option. There are so many business types that can and in many cases have taken advantage of VoIP for similar purposes, from having the ability to track the status of parcel delivery from a mail order business to paying your electricity bill.

Big Business Technology Is Now Within Reach

I can imagine what many entrepreneurs are thinking at this point: That's all sounds very nice for big mega corporations with millions in investment capital to sink into these technologies, but it's out of reach for my modest enterprise. This may have been true not so long ago when VoIP technologies of this level of sophistication were still young. Now that these technologies have matured, your business can take advantage of what was strictly a set of tools for big end of town corporations. The other good news is that those early adopters got to be the guinea pigs of the technology that spent big money on ironing out all the bugs.

Also important is the fact that VoIP is completely scalable to your business. Your integrated voice solution can grow with you without the high cost associated with increasing the capacity of the older PSTN technology. The last thing you need is an expensive and cumbersome enterprise voice system holding back your expansion.

Robust, Intuitive VoIP Solutions

What has been discussed here only scratches the surface of what can be accomplished by investing in VoIP technology. There are so many customer-facing as well as internal business processes that can be automated using some very clever and robust VoIP integration software at a cost that is surprisingly lower than most companies would expect. If you would like to find out more about this brave new world of digital voice solutions and how they can make your business run like a well oiled, yet user-friendly machine, talk to an expert at AWD today.