By Jack Bogle
VoIP stands for "voice over internet protocols". It is a technology used to transport a normal telephone call (voice) using an established Local Area or Wide Area Network. A good example of a practical application using VoIP is where a company has more than one site and regularly communicates between them, sending and receiving data traffic over existing inter-company data circuits. By having a VoIP, IP telephony solution, you could also use these existing data circuits to send and receive voice traffic between sites for no additional cost as if all the sites shared the same telephone system.
Why is everyone talking about VoIP, IP Telephony?
As companies strive for greater efficiency and to promote the optimum in cost effective working structures, the chance to increase functionality and at the same time save money is an extremely appealing possibility. Communication systems are the life blood for most thriving businesses, and it can be a term used to describe a wide variety of mediums that we use today. Two obvious candidates for this category are telephony and our computer networks, and although we see them as crucial to our day to day activities, we have up till now seen them as separate entities. Great benefits can be gained if ways can be found to unify these two methods of communication from an operational point of view; essentially creating a virtual office.
Is VoIP the way forward?
VoIP is a here-and-now technology and will most certainly be the way forward in the long term. The benefits of using VoIP will be different for most companies depending upon their every day needs and business processes, but there are many generic benefits. Infrastructure that is comprised of a single network should lower installation and maintenance costs, minimize charges from network providers and in theory should make any office moves and changes easier to manage. As working practices change for us all, more and more people are breaking away from the idea of traveling into the office and are taking up the idea of working from home or on the move. Home or mobile workers can take advantage of such things as unified messaging where voice messages delivered into their mailbox at the office, can be sent to them as an e-mail and replayed via their email client application.
Quality of Service
Quality of Service can be an important factor when considering a move to a VoIP solution. Unlike data, which is sent chopped up in packet form from one point to another, voice is a real time application and any packets sent containing it must arrive in the correct order and in a timely fashion if they are to be of any use at all. Any existing hardware and topography may well need to be upgraded and pre-planned to achieve an acceptable level.
Increased profitability and employee productivity is what we all strive for as business owners. Simply put, this is what keeps us going, because if we stop we may not be around tomorrow. There are many ways organizations attempt to achieve these objectives. However; there is one in particular that’s gaining tremendous popularity among small to mid sized companies across the country. Essentially, it is the deployment of virtual offices through the utilization of a company’s existing technology. That’s right! You can actually tap into a current and fixed asset to expand your business, improve the bottom line, have more productive and happier employees, and achieve a work/life balance. This simple concept is rapidly changing the way organizations conduct business for the better.
What is a virtual office?
A virtual office fulfills all of the roles of the traditional, centralized office although the employees, also known as telecommuters, work at home offices either in a part or full-time capacity and collaborate for the most part electronically with other employees. Virtual offices are a matter of degree since even in conventional offices many business relationships are maintained across distributed environments. For instance, customers and suppliers are located at different sites, and project co-workers are often located in different divisions. In both traditional and virtual office's the organization mission remains the same, but some business procedures change in the latter to accommodate collaboration at a distance.
What technology is needed to set up a virtual office?
All that needs to be done is the integration of phone, computer, email, and fax. This is current technology that is probably already being utilized in-house. The other items that a company may need to deploy to truly allow owners and employees to occasionally work offsite is a Virtual Private Network (VPN) and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). The VPN enables employees to connect to a network remotely so they can access files on the LAN, while operating in a secure environment. Furthermore, most cities have excellent wireless broadband coverage so individuals can connect to the Internet anytime, anywhere.
The recent advancements in VoIP are sweeping the globe because it enables people to speak through the Internet. Unlike regular phone service, VoIP conversations are transformed into IP data packets and sent over a broadband data network and/or the Internet, bypassing the long distance carrier altogether. This essentially means that VoIP callers do not use traditional phone lines and can avoid expensive long-distance charges, dramatically impacting a company’s bottom line.
What are the benefits?
There are a number of extraordinary benefits that businesses can obtain by giving the owner, the management team, and other employees the ability to work virtually. For example, dispersed sales teams are not so disconnected anymore. They can tap into the network and communicate via email or by using a remote IP phone from any location. A salesperson can connect through the VPN from their hotel room and they’ve instantly become their own virtual office. In addition, servicing customers means being available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. VoIP gives customer service representatives the advantage of answering calls at the office or at home. This is critical because the world has become a significantly smaller place. A customer with a big order in Korea will not find an answering machine as a sufficient means of service. They want to speak to someone in real-time. Finally, with VoIP, employees have one phone number with one extension and it doesn’t matter where they are geographically. More importantly, the person on the other end has no idea of one’s location as long as they are receiving the services they desire.
Combining these technologies gives businesses the flexibility to provide an even higher level of customer service – all while reducing costs. As a result, consulting company, Gartner Group, estimates that employees who work offsite are as much as 40% more efficient than their colleagues in the office.
What’s in it for the owner?
Business owners can personally reap the benefits for themselves as well. For instance, owners of small to mid sized companies have the unique option to work from home too by utilizing their existing technology. This enables them to avoid distractions to spend quality time working on their business and not in it. These valuable individuals are charged with guiding their company’s strategic direction, enhancing the vision, and ensuring its mission. What a better place to do that than in the comforts of a home office. Plus, the virtual office allows business owners in the retiring baby boomer generation a way to stay connected to their companies, continue to offer consultative advice and their years of experience and knowledge, while not being tied down to an 8 hour day.
What’s the first step to get started?
By tapping into existing technology and adding a few minor features, organizations of all sizes can take advantage of increased profitability and employee productivity that comes along with virtual offices. This concept has created a win-win-win for owners, employees, and customers. Individuals now have the ability to conduct business where and when they want, while meeting the demands of customers and at the same time increasing their quality of life. The first step towards implementing a successful virtual office is to select a telecommunications provider that understands your business needs. After that you can relax knowing you’ve just done a simple act that will positively impact your bottom line.