A Guide to Understanding VoIP

Experience the difference A Guide to Understanding VoIP Dataphone Communications -1- A Guide to Understanding VoIP A Guide to Understanding VoIP 1. What is VoIP? 3 2. How does VoIP work? 4 3. How will VoIP reduce my costs? 5 4. What are the benefits of VoIP? 6 5. Dataphone Communications 7 6. Why choose Dataphone 8 Dataphone Communications -2- A Guide to Understanding VoIP 1. What is VoIP? Put simply VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is about making calls over the Internet. All you need is a broadband connection and a phone adaptor similar to a modem, simple. Most people are aware of how a PSTN (Public Switch Telephone Network) works. It’s fairly simple where a two way conversation travels down a telephone line in a straight line and back again. Less people, however understand how a VoIP system works and how it can actually benefit you. With the arrival of the Internet different ways of carrying information became a reality. It enabled us to send things in chunks to the destination rather than as a constant stream. These chunks which were often sent on different routes, would align themselves in order once reaching their destination. This was fine for data as you are not normally worried in which order the information appears on your screen, but did pose a problem for voice communication where it is essential that your words arrive in the correct order. Networks have now become sophisticated enough to carry voice traffic without any decline in quality making VoIP a reality. Dataphone Communications -3- A Guide to Understanding VoIP 2. How does VoIP work? Think of what it would be like to have your own personal telephone number that followed you around wherever you went. Well that is effectively what VoIP does, and it cuts your bills as well! Once you have an IP telephone number it follows you wherever you go. Wherever you have a broadband connection you simply plug in your phone or laptop and you are ready to take calls and do business. You can even connect through the many public Wi-Fi areas around, although you will probably need to pay for this type of access. When in a situation where you don’t have broadband access, the IP number can be set up to call another number, such as your mobile phone to ensure no calls are missed. Dataphone Communications -4- A Guide to Understanding VoIP 3. How will VoIP reduce my costs? The most appealing quality of the VoIP is undeniably the cost savings on calls. Although you will need to make an upfront investment to replace your existing legacy system, the long term benefits usually out way this. If you have two office sites and link them through your IP network, calls between your locations will now be free. Calls made within the network to outside will be charged at a fraction of what you would have previously paid for an analogue system and with a Dataphone VoIP service all calls to UK national numbers are free (excluding 0870, 0845 and other non geographical numbers). Instead of having to always call a staff members mobile to reach them, you can now call their normal IP number. Those people out of the office also get into the habit of hooking up their laptop and then using their normal IP number themselves. These are just a few of the ways the cost savings can be dramatic. The advent of VOIP means you no longer have to install and keep two disparate networks to run voice and data because your data already operates using IP. Integrating your voice systems into the same network allows you to save money and reduce administrative overheads. The solution offers you total scalability and flexibility as employees connected to the network can be increased, decreased or moved instantaneously at no extra cost. Dataphone Communications -5- A Guide to Understanding VoIP 4. What are the benefits of VoIP? • • • Free internal calls to all parts of the company that share the computer network. Simpler infrastructure – with VoIP you can simply add phones and capacity without installing new cabling. Reduced operating costs – centralised system resources such as voicemail, switchboard operation and network management. Improved productivity – full telephony functionality with easy desk to desk dialing and call transfer throughout the WAN. Wireless-compatible – cordless functionality is available with Wi-Fi standard handsets and IP DECT phones. Enhanced customer service – simple integration with CRM packages providing screen pop and customer database integration. Flexibility – you can set up a fully functional office wherever there is a broadband connection making it an ideal solution for home workers. • • • • Dataphone Communications -6- A Guide to Understanding VoIP 5. Dataphone Communications Dataphone was established in 1989, we have steadily grown to become one of the most successful and customer-focused communication companies in the United Kingdom and are one of Siemens top UK resellers. From our base in Woodford Green, we support over 1500 customers, ensuring that their telephone systems are maintained to high engineering standards and that they receive the ongoing support of an established and knowledgeable customer services team. We focus on advising and delivering business telephony solutions and then providing exceptional on-going support. We provide a very personal service and place customer satisfaction as our top priority. Our after-sales service is recognised as being amongst the best in the telecoms industry. For example, we currently respond and fix all telephone system faults within an average time of around 3 hours for our maintenance customers. We are proud of our record of stability, service and our long association with so many of our customers. In fact, 98% of our customers rated our after sales service as 'excellent' or 'very good'. The communications landscape of today is defined through the rapid development and implementation of new technologies. For many companies keeping up with, and implementing change, is often more of a headache than continuing to work with existing outdated systems. Our challenge, and our promise, is to provide our customers with cost and management efficient, business communication services, with minimal change to our clients’ business working procedures. We don’t just offer new telecommunication technology, we offer a new way of communicating and with substantial savings and enhanced connectivity throughout any business, no matter what the size. Riverside House Southend Road Woodford Green Essex IG8 8HQ Tel: 020 8550 8844 Fax: 020 8550 8553 info@dataphone.co.uk www.dataphone.co.uk Dataphone Communications -7- A Guide to Understanding VoIP 6. Why choose Dataphone? Over the years, our customers have told us that they chose Dataphone as their preferred Telecoms provider for a number of reasons. These include * * * * * * * * * The Quality of our Service Our Reputation as an Established Business High Quality Account Management High Quality Project Management National Coverage Single Solution Provider Competitive Pricing Our Experienced Staff Our Ability to Offer Bespoke Packages Dataphone have been supplying and maintaining office phone systems since 1989, with over 4000 customers throughout England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Our excellent response and fix times combined with customer service that is second to none result in over 98% of our customers placing repeat business with us. Here at Dataphone, we place customer service and satisfaction as our top priority. We recognise the impact on your business should your communication system fail so we always endeavour to fix the problem, either at your site or remotely, in the shortest time possible. Currently, we are responding to and fixing all faults within an average of around 2 hours – amongst the best in the industry. We have a dedicated Customer Service Desk where customers can report directly on line from our website. We offer a range of VoIP solutions that provide the latest features and services. To find out more, call us on 020 8550 8844 or visit www.dataphone.co.uk/VoIP Dataphone Communications -8- A Guide to Understanding VoIP