What is VoIP? An overview for business

VoIP is short for Voice over Internet Protocol. VoIP is used as a general term for methods of communicating by voice over the Internet or other computer networks.

Other terms used for VoIP:
* IP telephony
* Internet telephony
* Voice over broadband
* Broadband telephony
* Broadband phone

For VoIP over the internet you need an internet connection, a handest and/or headset and a voip service provider.

I tend to divide VoIP between two types:

1) VoIP for individuals. Individuals tend to be after very cheap or free calling. Popular services for individual VoIP users are: Skype; Google Talk; Windows Live Messenger; Vonage; Truphone; fring.

2) VoIP for business. Businesses have different needs compared to individuals:
* One contact number
* Multi-user
* Multi-site
* Scalable
* Sound quality
* Call reliability

What are the benefits of VoIP to business?
* Starts with low call costs
* Free calls between users
* Very low cost international calls
* Highly flexible system
* Location independent
* Improved company image
* Cheap to set up & low monthly cost
* No need for expensive PBX box & support contract
* No need for expensive ISDN lines from BT

Here are some examples of how my clients have used VoIP in their businesses:
1) C-Level – has a UK telephone number which is routed abroad as he out of the country a lot;
2) Upstream Connections – has many foreign telephone numbers routed to a call centre here;
3) ExElement – has an office in Brighton, and one employee in the West Country who is still part of the call centre system;
4) Kixis Design – saved money by getting rid of a BT line by Porting their number to our VoIP service.

This article is a summary of a presentation I gave at a seminar in January, the full slide show is available to view here:

VoIP for business - January 2009

View more presentations from Pete Jenkins.

10 ways to save money by using VoIP

1) Free calls - You can call colleagues, clients, suppliers and well, anyone in the world that has VoIP, for free from your VoIP service.

2) Cheap calls - If you can’t call VoIP to VoIP, then you can make extremely low-cost calls to users without VoIP. There is a charge, but it’s much cheaper than using a regular telephone or a mobile phone to contact them.

3) Be local to your customers - You can make calling your company cheaper for your clients and customers by giving them a local number to call you. So whether you have customers in Germany and Argentina and your office is in Brighton, it doesn’t matter, they call a number that’s local to them and the call comes straight into your VoIP.

4) Answers your calls globally – With VoIP, you can answer your calls anywhere in the world. Your customers dial the same number, but you can choose to answer from anywhere in the world. So if you take your laptop with you on business trips, your clients can still stay in touch. Cutting down on international call charges makes good financial sense for everyone.

5) Always answer your calls - It really doesn’t matter where you are in the world, you can listen to your messages on the completely free VoIP answer machine, or have them emailed to you wherever you are.

6) Freedom to roam – Don't be trapped at your desk, if you need to be out and about, set your VoIP number to forward your calls through to your mobile and you won’t miss out on that important call.

7) The more the merrier – Don’t be the only one in your organisation to benefit from the wonders of VoIP. Voice Over Internet Protocol can save the entire organisation money when it’s rolled out throughout your company.

8) Team work - VoIP users can make conference calls with other VoIP users for free. This means that if your colleagues are spread throughout the world, you can still have a free phone conversation without incurring high charges.

9) Mobile without the bill – If your mobile phone can run VoIP software (such as Fring), then you can make free calls from your smart phone, which can cut your mobile bills considerably.

10) Work from home – VoIP provides the flexibility to make the most of work-from-home opportunities. Internet telephony allows businesses of all sizes to reduce the capital costs of running a team of telesales or telemarketing operatives, while also enabling working from the comfort of their own homes.

Softphones for use on Ubuntu 9.04 with SIP accounts

I now have a few customers of VoIP Advantage who use PCs running different flavours of Ubuntu as their operating system. This morning I helped a client set up a softphone to connect to our VoIP service from a PC running Ubuntu 9.04.

I discovered that the built in softphone Ekiga was a nightmare to use to connect to SIP accounts. I have made it work on older versions of Ubuntu but failed on 9.04. I then downloaded the Linux version of X-Lite from Counterpath. However, the installer fails to work on 9.04 (even after installing the library files required). After a bit of research I found some recommendations for a softphone called Twinkle.

Twinkle was easy to install using the Synaptic Package Manager and then was easy to configure using the same SIP account settings as we would normally use in Windows or Mac softphone installations. I had it making a call within about three minutes from selecting it for download. So far, I therefore recommend Twinkle for use on Ubuntu computers.

Do you have any other softphone preferences or other softphone experiences for running on Ubuntu?

Who is on the phone right now?

As a VoIP Advantage user we are now able to let you know from your desk if a colleague is on the phone.

The Busy Light Fields (BLF) shows you the status of your colleagues' phonelines via the lights on your desk phone. Letting you see, quickly and easily, if they are on the phone, or if they have an incoming call from a glance at the lights on your desk phone.

This feature is great for businesses with remote workers or large offices as a brief look at your desk phone is all you need to tell if someone is busy. It is also useful when transferring calls, as you know the call won't go straight to voicemail thanks to the lights on your phone.

Busy lights now work with Snom, Grandstream and Yealink desk phones, which are all available to purchase through your VoIP Advantage account (in the control panel).

Contact us if you would like help setting up this feature, or visit the wiki at http://voipadvantage.wetpaint.com/page/Presence+%2F+Busy+Lamp#

Fast growing VoIP provider

Our VoIP platform provider is Gradwell, who on Thursday night joined the prestigious Deloitte Technology Fast 50. This is a ranking of the country's 50 fastest growing technology companies over the last five years. Gradwell was ranked in the Top 50 in the UK and in the Top 5 in the South West.

Full 2009 Winners list: http://www.deloitte.co.uk/fast50/winners/winners-list-2009/

Updated control panel

Last week our users may have noticed a few changes to their VoIP control panel. The changes are part of an ongoing project of enhancements to create a more user-friendly interface.

The most recent release saw improvements to the right hand side menu navigation. Links are now grouped into categories, such as Account Management or Setup, making it easier and quicker to find exactly what you are looking for.

There will be more improvements in the coming months to further enhance how you use your control panel.

Important 0870 Charge Information

From August 1st calls made to 0870 numbers from VoIP Advantage lines will be included in all our Unlimited call plans, meaning even more free calls. If you’re a customer without inclusive minutes, don’t worry, as the standard call charge will drop from 7 pence per minute to just 1.25 pence per minute, a great saving of over 80% per minute.

This coincides with Ofcom’s recent announcement that they are making radical changes to the way that 0870 numbers work. They have been working with consumer feedback to bring call charges to 0870 numbers in line with those made to national numbers.

From August 1st anyone who owns an 0870 number will no longer earn money when they receive a call. Instead the owner will be charged 2.14 pence per minute for calls to their number. Customers can avoid this charge, and still receive a percentage of the call costs, by simply switching to an 0844 number.

If you need more information, please call 01273 358000.

Related Links:
- Full Ofcom 0870 statement: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/features/0870rules