Hosted VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol is an essential communication strategy that every company needs to adopt if it wants to remain competitive in the ever dynamic business world. The use of VoIP allows businesses to easily communicate with clients and suppliers over the internet rather than using traditional telephone systems such as landlines. One major benefit that businesses will have by shifting to this form of communication is the reduced costs.

As stated above, hosted VoIP is very cost effective as compared with the traditional systems.  Making landline phone calls, particularly internationally is quite expensive and companies that have to connect with international clients usually incur huge telephone bills that cut into their profits. However, by choosing hosted VoIP, the business only pays for the monthly internet access. This is unlike conventional phone systems that charge per minute and can become very expensive if you need to make lots of calls. In addition, it is easy to set up and maintain the hosted VoIP system.

In addition to being cost effective, the use of hosted VoIP provides several features that are available at a small fee, thus keeping the company from buying expensive setup hardware or software. With hosted VoIP, all the hardware and software needed to make the system work are brought in by the company providing the service and thus, the business need not worry about buying such equipment or training some of their staff to manage that equipment. The VoIP hosting provider takes care of all the functions related to calls such as routing and PBX functions.

When a prospective client calls and cannot get through due to a busy line, they are unlikely to call again. Such a situation can be prevented by the use of a hosted VoIP. The VoIP system has a variety of functionalities that aids in handling and receiving calls. A few examples include auto attendant, voicemail, call conferencing, caller ID, voice to email and call forwarding among others. In the example given, any call that is placed when the line is busy can be easily forwarded to another person or sent to voicemail. This ensures that the business does not miss any important calls.

The use of one of the features stated above, auto respondent, boosts the image of the business by giving the impression that the company is large and that calls are attended to. The use of VoIP is gaining popularity among small and large businesses that are looking for ways of reducing their telephone bills. Not only is the method effective, but it is also efficient and affordable.

By Sarah-Jayne Culver; a Search Consultant at http://www.fdcstudio.co.uk/ providing Digital Marketing Services throughout the UK.