We have found that these barriers are based on perceptions rather than facts and so should not be holding businesses back from embracing the latest telecommunications technology.
Barrier 1: VoIP delivers a poor quality, unreliable service
42% of businesses that don’t use VoIP believe it delivers a poor quality, unreliable service. However, the technology has come a long way since it was launched commercially in 1995. Today, VoIP provides crystal clear voice clarity.
Nevertheless, the quality of a VoIP call can vary dramatically between service providers, so it is important to select a reliable vendor and to trial any VoIP service before committing. Audio quality can also be affected by your choice of Internet Service Provider (ISP), so ensure the broadband service is optimised for VoIP.
Barrier 2: There are no clear business benefits
Despite the many benefits of implementing a VoIP telephony system, almost a third (32%) of businesses that don’t use VoIP say the benefits are not fully understood by their management team.
VoIP is a system that delivers voice calls over the Internet, rather than a phone line. The benefits of doing so include significantly reduced telephony costs (at least 50% cheaper) and access to advanced phone system features, which can improve flexibility, customer satisfaction and productivity.
Barrier 3: VoIP takes too much effort to deploy or maintain
25% of businesses that don’t use VoIP believe the technology takes too much effort to deploy or maintain. However VoIP telephony systems are easy to install and virtually maintenance-free.
For small businesses, a hosted VoIP telephony system can be ready for use within 24 hours of placing an order. For larger organisations, the system can usually be ready in a few days. Many VoIP systems are cloud-based, so no on-site installation is required and there are no complicated settings to configure.
Barrier 4: VoIP creates a security risk
15% of businesses that don’t use VoIP think the technology creates a security risk. But, as highlighted by recent high profile phone hacking, no telephone account is completely secure. Whether telephony is provided through a standard phone line, mobile network or VoIP, there will always be a small security risk.
Despite this, instances of VoIP security breaches are rare. Most attacks are by opportunists who bombard the Internet to find any weak spots. Credible VoIP providers will have a range of physical, network, data and user security measures in place, to provide added reliability and security.
Barrier 5: You have to wear a headset
10% of businesses that don’t use VoIP still assume that users have to wear headsets attached to a computer. However, this is no longer the case. A wide range of Internet Protocol (IP) phones are now available.
IP phones look exactly the same as traditional telephone handsets (although many offer additional functionality) and work in the same way. They are usually connected to an Internet router via a powered Ethernet cable, so they do not need to be plugged into mains electricity or attached to a computer. Many employees never even realise they are using VoIP through an IP phone.
So give VoIP a try
So if some of these perceived barriers were holding you back from trying VoIP then hopefully now you will give it a try and find out for yourself how much it can help your business.
We offer a full 14 day free trial of our VoIPOffice phone system so you can experience the power of VoIP technology.
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