How your business can save money with VoIP
Louis Philip
Many of you have probably already heard about VoIP, or voice over IP. This is a technology that allows you to make telephone calls using the internet. From a consumer standpoint VoIP offers significant savings in monthly phone bills and long distance charges.
However, what you are probably only starting to hear about is the significant cost savings that VoIP brings to business's. A recent Business Week article titled "The Power http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_25/b3938601 of Us" .htm describes the story of a small 35 employee software firm in Palo Alto, Calif. that uses Skype to make 90% of their 2k$ per month long distance phone bill vanish. This is only one of many similar stories.
So how do you get started? Well, you can either start by checking out the more than 1100 VoIP providers that exists today, doing a careful analysis of all the pros and cons, or you can simply go to http://www.skype.com/ and download Skype.
Skype is essentially the "plug a headset or phone into my computer and it costs me nothing to make telephone calls" option. Skype is free, Skype is easy to use and Skype works. It is completely painless.
Perhaps, if you are like me, you will start using Skype because you want to stop paying for long distance at home. After a while you realize that this would be great at the office. Since you are probably sitting at the computer anyhow, you will find that it is more convenient to simply talk to a colleague on Skype rather that picking up the phone and dialing a number. And that Skype conversation is completely free regardless of where that person is located.. absolutely no cost what so ever!
After you get used to paying nothing for long distance, you will begin discovering some of Skype's other options. As of June, 2005 Skype has the following options:
1) Conference calling, "caller-ID", Call waiting and numerous other similar features.
3) Instant messaging, file sharing and other instant messaging type features.
2) Numerous add-ons or plug-ins, many of them are free, give you additional features such as a Skype Answering machine, Microsoft Outlook integration, even a Video for Skype option. All Skype add-ons can be found at http://www.summitcircle.com/ the largest Skype resource site on the web.
If you decide that you find Skype convenient you may eventually want to consider some of Skype's premium services:
1) Skype Voicemail at ~19$ a year (that is about ~1.50$ per month,
2) Calling "external phone numbers", About 2 cents a minute for almost anywhere on the planet! (Skype to Skype calls are always free)
3) An incoming phone number with almost any area code in the US, England, much of Europe and even in China for around ~39$ a year (that is ~3.50$ per month and they throw in voicemail)
Once you get going with Skype you will find that it starts to grow on you. I haven't replaced my regular phone with Skype but it has become my second phone line and I use it frequently. If you are interested in Skype, then download Skype for free at http://www.skype.com/
Once you have Skype, you can find a Skype phone, add-on or community at http://www.summitcircle.com There you will find all the Skype add-ons (or plug-ins) that you want along with a growing list of Skype business services.
About the author:
Louis Philip is the owner of http://www.summitcircle.com/ where
he writes about the world of Skype and maintains the largest
Skype resource site on the web. He can be reached by e-mail:
louisphilip@summitcircle.com
The latest information and news on VoIP :
Large RBOCs and ILECs are scaling back on VoIP equipment purchases, helping bring down the worldwide service provider VoIP market 8% sequentially to $816 million in 3Q08, says market research firm Infonetics Research in a new report.
Foreclosures, consumer cutbacks freeze carrier spending on VoIP (Network World)
Home foreclosures and a generally bad economy are driving down demand for wired phone lines, which will freeze much carrier spending on VoIP infrastructure until 2011, according to a new Infonetics report.
DeFi will serve up VoIP over WiFi on iPhone (Ars Technica)
VoIP over WiFi with a flat-rate monthly charge for both calls and the network?what's the catch? Provider DeFi says they can deliver it all: now to Nokia S60 phones, and soon to iPhones. Read More...
10 VoIP applications for your mobile phone (e-Consultancy)
Making calls on your mobile phone can get quite expensive, especially when calling internationally. Fortunately, there are now a number of great mobile VoIP services that make international calling from mobile phones dirt cheap.
China VoIP & Digital Telecom Inc. Releases Third Quarter Financial Results (P...
China VoIP & Digital Telecom Inc. released its 2008 third quarter financial results yesterday:
Net Quintum VoIP Gateways Achieve Certification for Microsoft Exchange Unifie...
Network Equipment Technologies, Inc. today announced that Quintum, now part of NET, has successfully completed Microsoft certification for Microsoft Exchange Unified Messaging for both the VX and Tenor lines of VoIP switches and gateways, confirming their ability to easily integrate a customer's existing voice infrastructure with Exchange Unified Messaging.
Regional Service Providers Continue to Select Nortel for Anywhere, Anytime Vo...
If customers think access to the latest voice and multimedia applications are only available in large, highly populated cities, think again. With a Carrier VoIP solution from Nortel(1)(NYSE: NT), designed specifically for regional service providers, customers in some of the most remote places in North America can enjoy the same VoIP services deployed in large metropolitan areas.
DeFi Global Access VoIP for iPhone coming (MacNN)
DeFi Mobile has announced the expansion of its Global Access VoIP service to include the iPhone platform. For a monthly subscription fee, users will have access to unlimited global calling, roaming, and long distance. The calls require a WiFi connection, but the company claims that its global partnerships extend the available access points to include private and commercial connections. Other ...
Sigma, BroadSoft Team For VoIP, Join Each Other?s Partner Group (Communicatio...
Sigma Systems is partnering with VoIP software developer BroadSoft Inc. to provide provisioning and fulfillment solutions to telcos and cablecos for hosted business VoIP services. Under the partnership, BroadSoft has joined Sigma?s Solution Partner program, and Sigma has joined BroadSoft?s Enabling Technology...
ooma Core VoIP Device with No Monthly Service Bills on Sale (I4U)
The ooma Core VoIP Phone System with No Monthly Phone Service Bills is on sale on Amazon.com for $229.99. ooma is VOIP service that offers free US calling and basic service with their device. Besides making money with the hardware, the company offers th...