VoIP

When we told our Sales Director about VoIP a couple of years ago, his only reaction was to frown. Fast forward a few years and VoIP has become general knowledge and a go-to for many companies and service providers. The tech has developed in leaps and bounds and today internet phone calls (VoIP) can be made with greater certainty, control, and quality. We can measure the quality of a call and properly plan the network needed to make calls that create an excellent customer experience. VoIP has allowed many competitors to enter the market, and this has brought pricing down. Competition is always good and forces the best out of us and our competitors.

Though VoIP is fairly straightforward and we all have a clear idea of what it is, the offerings and delivery system that accompanies is not so clear-cut and you have more than one option to choose from.

PABX options

Customers can easily choose to have an on-premises PABX solution. What’s great about this is that the PABX’s that are on offer to clients these days provides them with a plethora of options that come standard with the systems. This is not purely because of VoIP but because of the progress of technology. The PABXs that are available in the South African market are feature-rich and very capable of meeting the demands of almost any working environment.

Additional to on-premise PABX solutions, we have seen the emergence of Cloud PABX (Hosted PABX). A very important factor to remember if you would want to opt for a Hosted Solution is the customers’ connectivity. Customers need to completely understand how the hosted system works and how connectivity can affect it. I can, firstly, affect the call quality and availability, but customers also need to keep in mind a second variable, namely extension to extension dialling. All the communication with a hosted system works through the cloud and therefore when the connectivity is down extension to extension dialling is also down. It is for this reason that backup links are very important.

Apart from the pitfalls and their effects that need to be mitigated as much as possible, a hosted system has great possibility. The corporate features, that were previously only available for larger companies with deep pockets, can now be yours. Just about any business owner can have a telecommunications system with advanced features like IVR and Call Recording, as most of these types of features come standard.

Apart from these positives and the savings on call costs, hosted systems also reduce a company’s insurance, with less tin on-site, and fewer infrastructure requirements. Additionally, VoIP and the ever-growing technology spectrum around it have allowed for Wi-Fi phones, and robust and rugged cellphones, ready for VoIP deployment. There are various apps we can install on our cell phones and turn them into roaming extensions.

Call the experts

Today the possibilities in the telecommunications arena are endless. All it takes is some navigation around the arena, some education about the possibilities, and solutions that are custom-fit to your requirements. To help with this, SPOC has the necessary experience and support for customers in just about every sector of business. We have had long and successful relationships with SMMEs up to big corporations and government.

Email us today at sales@spocsa.co.za and let’s find you a solution and build a relationship.