Internet phone services: How popular are they?

According to IBISWorld, VoIP was worth $15.4 billion in 2012. But this number excludes all the people who use VoIP for free.

There are a few key reasons why VoIP is gaining in popularity, and why traditional telephone providers are offering VoIP solutions alongside old-fashioned fixed line services.

Business demands

Telephone services need to be able to match the needs of businesses. They must cope with fluctuating demand through the day, without breaking the bank. And the business needs to know that the phone system will be up and available 24/ 7/ 365.

VoIP is ideal for fast-growing companies, since it scales instantly using software alone. If a company buys a hosted business phone solution, they are effectively renting everything they need to keep the phones up and running, even if they need 100 new extensions overnight. There’s nothing to buy outright, so no huge investment, and nothing lost if the virtual phone system needs to be scaled down later.

Professional image

The mobile phone has transformed the way we do business, but there are downsides of advertising a mobile number. One key reason to avoid mobiles is the impression that a mobile number gives. After all, many mobile numbers are unregistered and untraceable, and they don’t offer the peace of mind that a fixed landline can offer.

VoIP gives you the best of both worlds: a portable number with the appearance of a landline.

Business features

Mobile phones rarely offer the features a business user needs. Granted, your network may offer you basic like call waiting, or a second line. But it can’t compete with VoIP for features.

Business owners are looking for a good equivalent to a PBX. So that means things like hunt groups, hold music and voicemail are key. VoIP lets you set up any of these features in a click, and you can adapt and change your routings and settings as often as you like. There are two key benefits to this: it helps you to manage calls more effectively (reducing ‘brain drain’ by making sure they go to the relevant people), and secondly, you can make your business sound bigger than it is.

Because hosted VoIP is controlled purely in a software control panel, there’s no need to have anybody visit to change or repair the system, which means it’s cheaper and more convenient to maintain.

Find out more

The more businesses adopt fast internet connections and always-on devices, the more demand there is for reliable, affordable VoIP. Nimvelo is a proven provider of business solutions that help you compete and profit. Visit our website to find out more about the VoIP services we’ve put together.