Technology has made it possible for the small business enterprise to reach heights, which were unimaginable for other industries in the past decades. VoIP and Small Business utilize technological advancement as the key towards attaining success. With the arrival of VoIP, small business enterprises are now able to communicate with their partners, sitting miles away at a reasonable price.

Initially only the big players in the market could think of gaining from the operations of VoIP, but now the accessibility has increased. Being able to stay in constant contact with customers overseas has really proved as a major boon. VoIP has helped make the small business client base diverse through it’s world wide reach. Provider networks can be setup by geographic regions, assigning different numbers for each region to dial into, providing the customer a local or toll free number. Therefore, new and greater horizons are being opened for the medium and small sized business in respect to the customers they cater to.

Apart from the improved customer base and diverse clientèle, VoIP and Small Business compliment each other on the basis of the impact they have on the cost. A very established fact being that the ‘Cost’ is the most prominent indicator on any project before proceeding, in a company of any size. VoIP allows for the small business to cut costs on voice calls considerably by using a common line for the data and voice transfer. Furthermore, there are many functions and features in a traditional phone service that have extra charges, however on they are existing features in VoIP phone service.

Overall VoIP boosts the the competitive reach of the existing business to a greater extent. Small businesses who use VoIP services can market their products and services and provide customer support around the world at little to no cost. With the use of VoIP small business owners can expand market reach while bringing down costs at the same time. This seems like an oxymoron, but it is not and you will see a cost savings with VoIP.

In addition to the advantages mentioned above, the importance of VoIP, in making the small business a success does not stay restricted to finding the new customers, but also servicing them and further in up selling & cross selling. Small business owners should keep in mind that these are clients from around the world, calling you at little to no cost to them and little to no cost for you.

Another major boon that the VoIP has provided is the bringing in of the Toll free number which utilizes the fact that the benefit of low cost calling can be used at both ends, i.e., even the customers can now call at lower or no rates at all. Only the big players of the industry had access to this privileged service. Hence, the introduction of toll free numbers for a given area provides the small business with a feel of well-networked business, without having to pay high prices. It is a great relief that the provider can be contacted anytime. The trust building element is an important aspect in any form of business to retain and variably increase the customer base. Thus, VoIP and Small Business are essential partners, and the role that VoIP can play in prospering and boosting the growth for the Small Business is almost indescribable.

The quest for understanding the Advantages and disadvantages of VoIP begins with understanding the technology. The voice signals from the telephony are converted to a digital format and then compressed, these digital codes are then transferred through the Internet networks, making use of the Internet protocols. Later at the receiver’s side, these packets are decoded back to the simple voice format, which can be heard by the receiver of the message. In simpler words, the voice messages that were previously delivered through the PSTN (public switched network service) are now sent via the Internet This feature of the VoIP is what is well understood and used for varied business across the globe.

Following are the ways that one could connect to the VoIP service providers:
ATA (analogue telephone adapter) – which makes use of the Internet network and the existing telephone lines. This is a fixed service for a given place.
VoIP phones – which do not need a computer and thus directly connect to the Internet providers.
Soft Phone (Internet and digital phone) – is installed in the computer directly and does not need a dedicated software.

Talking about the Advantages and disadvantages of VoIP, the two major advantages of the VoIP are the reduced operational cost and efficiency through the flexibility it offers. Reduced operational cost is explained; as the phone calls can be made in the same network, which is used to transfer data, therefore saving the price of paying for or building the infrastructure for another line.

For traditional telephone, public switched telephone network (PSTN), additional features like conference calling, IVR, call forwarding, and caller ID are provided, but with additional charges. Whereas, the same come free in most open source VoIP implementations. The billing method utilized in the PSTN is typically based on the minute or second usage. VoIP utilizes the billing counter in the form of megabytes of data transferred. Hence, the VoIP bills per megabyte data transferred, and not the time, for which the call is made, thus, making it considerably cheaper.

Flexibility wise, VoIP offers a specific advantage since it is able to transmit to multiple lines using the same broadband connection. The role of VoIP in ensuring security of the data transferred, is further explained, as VoIP already uses the standardized protocols as a pre-existing feature, which in traditional telephony, has to be added by digitizing and digital transmission. VoIP also offers independent location in terms of usage, since it only needs an Internet connection and can operate from any location unlike the old traditional telephone usage.

Disadvantages of VoIP are not numerous at all for the average residential user or small business. The biggest disadvantage for the fore mentioned set of users is the reliance on the Internet connection from your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Without Internet access, your VoIP phone service will not work, so you must have a reliable Internet service.

For medium to larger business, the issue starts becoming things like firewalls, which firewalls do not necessarily know how to handle VoIP traffic. Having multiple users also create a problem since judging the amount of bandwidth required at any point in time. This becomes even more important when the organization uses video conferencing and other real time type services. Quality of Service (QOS) management becomes very important.

So, it is our opinion that the advantages of VoIP outweigh the disadvantages and is a consumers dream come true for real time communications service.

One important thing that you need to keep in mind while adopting VoIP, is to choose a VoIP service which will allow you to make and receive cheap, but reliable, local and international phone calls. Thus, it becomes essential for you to choose the right type of VoIP service. As we move along in this series, we will explain the advantages and disadvantages of the VoIP, which will better equip you, as a consumer, to make the right choice for your particular requirement.

The list below shows the variety of general VoIP services available and helps you to decide which type suits you the best.

Computer based VoIP service:

The computer based or software based VoIP is the most common and widely used among VoIP users. This type of VoIP can be used for free, especially when it is used to make PC to PC communication over the Internet. In order to use this you only need to download a soft phone or digital phone that the VoIP service provides and install it on your computer, register for free and start talking. You can make free unlimited calls to people using the same VoIP service on their computers. But calls to cell phones and land telephones are charged but that too is also very minimal. The only thing you require in order to start a conversation is a headset.

Mobile VoIP service:

If like everyone else, you are wondering how to reduce your mobile phone bill, a mobile VoIP service might be the solution. Cost reduction is not the only thing about mobile VoIP that is good. It enables you to use all the other “traditional” features offered by VoIP. There are a few mobile VoIP services that are somewhat promising. Mobile VoIP works on a GSM enabled network, which works on IP networks like Wi-Fi, GPRS, EDGE and WiMax. This is the main hurdle in the path of seamless free VoIP communication. Thus, if you want to make free calls you need to find a wireless way of connecting to the Internet

No monthly bill VoIP service:

The no monthly bill VoIP is very much like the residential VoIP service. It works using a hardware imported by the service provider. Then you can make as many free and unlimited calls you want without getting a bill. You just need to pay for the device. It works with any common phone so you can use the service with your existing phone.

Business VoIP service:

Yours might be a network centered business in which you want to deploy VoIP as internal and external communication solution or you might have a small enterprise with a relatively small number of phones. Business VoIP services have solutions and packages tailored to your needs. If you want something simple and covering a small network go for the residential VoIP services or consider a more specific and tailor made business oriented VoIP service. Using VoIP in a small to medium business does not replace the existing phone system but adds prestige, quality and fluidity to the organization. In addition, it also reduces the communication cost.

Essentially there are two major types of VoIP systems. A soft phone or digital phone is nothing but software that functions on your computer. You talk by using a microphone connected to your computer. You listen through a pair of headsets or computer speakers. Then there is the other type of VoIP which is similar to what you are used to while you make phone calls. For this you can use a standard telephone or a special phone called the IP phone. Both these types of VoIP are connected to your broadband connection. The best part is that you don’t even need a computer to take advantage of VoIP.

This week starts the beginning of a series that we know you will find useful. It will not matter if you are a renter, home owner, small business owner or a traveling road warrior, this next series is just for you.

Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) is one of the most flexible and affordable solutions for residential and business consumers. This series over the next few weeks will cover:

-What VOIP is (a brief overview)
-Different types of VOIP services
-Advantages and Disadvantages of VOIP
-VOIP and small business
-VOIP and home office
-VOIP and residential customers (home owners and renters)

So here is our first in this series on VOIP, please enjoy.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a common term for a technology that delivers voice communications over networks such as the Internet and packet-switched networks. Internet telecommunication refers to communication services such as voice, voice messaging features, that are transmitted via the Internet instead of the public switched telephone network (PSTN).

The steps for beginning an Internet telephone call is:
1.)Conversion of the analog voice signal to digital format and
2.)translation of the signal into Internet protocol (IP) packets for transmission over the Internet and
3.)the process is reversed at the receiving end.

VoIP systems employ protocols to control the step-up and the reduction of calls and that of audio codecs which allow speech transmission over Wi-Fi network via an audio stream. Codec use is varied while some implementations rely on narrow band and compressed speech; others support high transmission rates of stereo codec.

A breakthrough has been the introduction of mass VoIP services over broadband in 2004. Subscribers can make and receive calls as they would do over Public Switched Telephone Network. Phone companies provide various offers with inbound and outbound calling with Direct Inbound calling. Many companies offer free unlimited calls to the US, Canada and some countries of Europe and Asia; as well as free calls for subscribers of the same network provider.

There are three basic methods of connecting to VoIP service providers:

1)An analogue telephone adapter may be connected between a broadband connection and an existing telephone jack to provide services on all the jacks existing in the residence. This type of service which is fixed to one location is generally provided by broadband Internet providers such as cable companies and telephone companies.
2)With VoIP phones you can make calls without the use of a computer. Instead you can connect them directly to the IP network. Using Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Most people use them with a paid service plan.
3)One can also install software known as soft phone or digital phone, it allows VoIP calling without the need for a device..

VoIP is also useful in the corporate sector because of its bandwidth efficiency and low phone costs. Thus, gradually the traditional copper-wire telephone systems are being used lesser by the day. All forms of communications such as phone calls, texts and e-mail can be delivered via any means and on any handset, including cell phones through the VoIP service. VoIP is also advantageous because it can run both voice and data communications over a single network which drastically reduces infrastructure cost.

Due to the underlying IP network and use of UDP, the voice conversations can be unreliable if quallity of service safeguards are not inplace with the provider and ISP. This is because of the unreliabel nature of the protocol UDP and voice mail is carried over packets, the conversation can be broken and unclear.
Traditional telephones are connected directly to the telephone company’s line so they work independently in spite of local unavailability of power. VoIP connects to cable modems or use power over ethernet, which depend on the availability of electricity or power generated locally.

It is quite impossible to locate a callers location in case of an emergency like 811 can with a fixed line phone. However newer improvements to iSP and providers services are now making this a reality. VoIP is susceptible to attacks as any other Internet –connected devices. This means that hackers who know about these vulnerabilities can institute denial of services, record conversations and break into voice mailboxes.

Due to security reasons the government and other military organizations are favorable to the use of Voice over Secure IP (VoSIP) to protect confidential and classified VoIP communications. Caller ID support among VoIP providers varies, although majority now provide caller ID information on outgoing calls.

Feel free to shop for residential VOIP or business VOIP solutions using our cutting edge cost comparison search tool. This provides you side by side comparison of various providers empowering you to make the most informed decision.

As stated in the previous post, we will be starting a series on Voice over IP (VoIP). Before we do this, I wanted to sum up our previous series on free anti-spyware software. Below is the various free anti-spyware softwares we covered, along with links to the posts. There you can find the websites to download those softwares and view some other reviews besides ours.

With that we have also uploaded an entire folder to the Advantage Membership area for you to download everything at once. In folder is included the one free anti-virus software we reviewed as well.

So if you are a member, which is free, you can access the members area and look under the tab for “software and scripts”. There you will find the download link and can’t miss it, however if you have problems, please contact us.

If you haven’t joined the Advantage Membership, then do so from this page. You won’t regret it. http://brochin.net/smallbusinessadvantage.html

Ok, the first item is the anti-virus software we covered, Avira.
Below is the link to our post where you can find more information:
http://brochin.net/blog/computers-networking/free-antivirus-software/ 

The first anti-spyware we covered was Spybot Search and Destroy:
http://brochin.net/blog/computers-networking/free-anti-spyware-software/

The second free anti-spyware was Windows Defender:
http://brochin.net/blog/computers-networking/windows-defender-free-anti-spyware/

Then we covered Super Anti-spyware:
http://brochin.net/blog/computers-networking/super-anti-spyware/

All these items are free and cost you nothing. Like we stated above, you can find them in the advantage membership area in one bundle.