Three years ago, I would have answered that question differently than I would today.

Three years ago, I would have asked, “does your company have multiple locations that require long-distance phone calls between branches?” “Does your organization have a shared data network?” “Does your company employ remote workers that need access to people or tools from the main office?” If the answer to any of these questions was yes, I’d suggest that a company might benefit from VoIP. If you have multiple locations, whether those are actual offices or remote workers with high speed Internet access, that are a long distance call apart, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) would allow you to route voice traffic over your existing data network and avoid the toll associated with the long distance calls.

Today, VoIP is a much broader term that involves any aspect of your call being delivered over a data network, whether that pertains to your dial tone, your actual conversation or your telephone system itself. VoIP dial tone or SIP (Session Initiated Protocol) trunks are available at half the cost of standard telephone lines and deliver more potential bang for the buck. Most, if not all, telephone conversations now ride a data network at some point as all the major carriers use some sort of SIP capability on their networks. The newest telephone system offerings are called “hosted” solutions. Hosted systems provide you with a telephone on your desk that is dependent on a piece of equipment that resides someplace other than your location.

Your business can almost certainly benefit by some aspect of VoIP. It’s just a matter of connecting with an organization that is well versed in today’s more complex offerings. Call Midwest Telephone today to find out how your organization can save money and increase productivity with a VoIP telephone system.