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How_to_Choose_the_Best_Small_Business_VoIP_Solution
| How to Choose the Best Small Business VoIP Solution
Copyright 2005 Gobala Krishnan
Telecommunication cost is always an obstacle for small business
owners, especially if you need to call domestic or international
long distance. The long distance cost factor alone, depending on
the type of business you're in, can make the difference in the
success of any small business.
The telecommunication market today is one of the most
competitive. Rates for both local, domestic long distance or DLL
(long distance in the same country) and international long
distance (ILD) are going down every day. The new player in small
business phone systems, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol),
adds a whole new dimension when it comes to choosing a phone
system for your small business or home based business.
There's so much hype today about VoIP, or Voice over IP, or
Voice over Broadband, whatever you want to call it. Everyone's
saying that VoIP is the "future of communication" and that VoIP
will replace regular analog phone calls. Is all this true? If it
is, how do you, as an entrepreneur, decide how to choose and
invest in what's best for you? Firstly, if you have no idea what
VoIP is really about, here's where you can get educate yourself:
http://www.mybusinessvoip.com/start
There are two things you need to consider:
1) Level of investment 2) Cost vs. Quality
To go full out into using VoIP, you'll need to invest in IP
phones, and possibly even in IP PBX. Otherwise, you should go
for IP phone adapters, which allow you to maintain whatever
system you already have, but also gives you the option of
converting some of those phone lines to VoIP. Most entrepreneurs
are reluctant to go 100% into VoIP, and yet they still want the
benefits that come from it. That's why IP phone adapters are so
popular today. In fact, here's a list of the most popular
providers for comparison: http://www.mybusinessvoip.com/compare
When is comes to quality vs. cost, the direction is pretty
clear. Before choosing the proper VoIP phone system for your
business, you need to figure out exactly what your business
needs. If your business relies heavily on the phone for
prospecting customers, providing customer support, or giving out
important information through the phone, then you should
definitely opt for better quality.
If you use the phone for short communication with your business
partners or agents, or any other reason which is NOT your main
business function, it would be better to save a little and go
with the low cost option. The difference in quality is not very
apparent in most cases.
If you are just starting your small business, VoIP phone cards
also provide some sort of temporary solution until you can get
enough financing to develop a better system. Phone cards usually
let you dial international and national long distance at a lower
cost because they use either VoIP as the back end provider or
through a special promotion or arrangement between
telecommunications companies.
Today, you can even get "virtual phone cards" which allow you to
make phone calls by dialing a toll-free number in a long list of
countries. This is especially useful if you spend more time
travelling and doing business overseas than you are at home.
Regardless of which VoIP phone system you choose for your small
business, make sure you are getting the most out of the money
you spend for these long distance or international plans. Forget
the bells and whistles. The purpose of having a good phone
system is, and always should be, to communicate and express
yourself.
About the author:
Gobala Krishnan is a small business entrepreneur and publisher
of the "VoIP and Me" newsletter, designed for smart
entrepreneurs who want to avoid all the technical jargon and get
straight to the information that really matters. Learn how you
can drastically cut communication costs by 70%, get more
customers and expand to new markets using VoIP. Join the VoIP
and Me newsletter now at http://www.VoipAndMe.com
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