In business, one of the main key factors to success is to keep costs down and to keep all expenses to a minimum without compromising on any quality down the line. Costs vary from service provider to another service provider but when it comes to the main factors of business, it boils down to the very vital concept of communication which includes digital, telephone communication and internet. These three major methods of communication can bring costs up incredibly high especially if your company is within the realms of sales. It may just be possible though, to have less outgoings by switching a phone line to one which works directly via an internet line, instead of a traditional telephone line. 

A Hosted VoIP system may be a cost effective and interesting way to connect and bypass regular landlines and mobile networks, which is a useful and interesting way to communicate with clients, other businesses and it can prove beneficial for business. It stands for Voice over Internet Protocol and it works by recording analogue voice signals and converting them into digital signals which can be sent via a broadband line as data - quick, effective and much cheaper which means that if you are a multi-national company or you often speak with people abroad, you can speak with ease the same way you would communicate on email, the distance and charges from abroad will no longer exist and the length of the call will also make no difference, so long distance conference calls would be much easier to attain. 

The system behind this is not overly complex, it can be created with a VoIP adapter, which is easily plugged into a phone socket or router. It’s also attached to a computer and even set up through your own smartphone, which makes communication easy. Many larger broadband providers would offer VoIP as part of their services but it may be a little less conventional and you may incur a few extra costs. There are also many national cloud-based companies also some of which include Jive, RingCentral, 8x8, Twilio and Nextiva, and these companies have paved the way for VoIP to become a little more popular choices for businesses when it comes to saving money on all their business calls. It is also important to remember that whilst VoIP is a cheaper, money saving with huge benefits, it is good to shop around to avoid extra costs. Larger companies may have a nominal yearly/monthly but if you are paying a VoIP company a set amount of money which sounds incredibly cheap, they may add paid features which prove extra. Researching into smaller more local businesses can be great for business in your own community and have even more benefits. When you call locally hosted companies, such as Carolina Digital Phone, you may be likely to speak to someone on the other end of the phone is based on the same street as you. The communication is hands on and you will be able to liaise and communicate with the team on a much more intimate level. In essence local hosted VoIP allows you, as a business owner or manager to also have access to all the features when you are not in the office, meaning that you can still connect the VoIP to your smartphone, as previously mentioned and you can speak whilst in the car, abroad or whilst you are travelling from meeting to meeting. It brings the world to your fingertips. It also means that you would be able to use video calls such as FaceTime completely free of charge, so if speaking face to face with client and other business owners/people is high up in your priorities and needs, then VoIP would be the best way to go. 

In terms of quality for money, it does prove to be a brilliant way to ensure you also have low signal risk issues. Especially if you have a more local provider, the sound quality is expected to be crisp, loud and much clearer and there is little risk of losing connection whilst you are in the middle of any important conversations. Ringing back can also take up time in the day which you can put into other areas of work. You may also be able to ask your provider for a high-speed fibre optic line which will allow quick connections to people and of course as previously mentioned, you do not have to pay for multiple phone lines, everyone can take advantage of the connection.