VoIP phone systems are computerized telecommunications services that allow users to make voice calls over the internet instead of a regular phone. The best VoIP phone systems can be easily configured and provide text message alerts about missed calls, voicemail messages, and call routing. In addition, some VoIP service providers allow you to pre-purchase blocks of time at discounted prices, which all countries can use. With the most outstanding VoIP phone systems, you don’t have to worry about international rates and save money with your calling plan.

What is a VoIP phone system?

VoIP phone software is a telephone service that uses Voice over IP technology to transmit calls. It sends analog signals online to digital systems rather than through traditional telephone lines. Companies can utilize business VoIP services with home-based phones or commercial VoIP systems like Vonage or Dialpad. These phone systems enable the transfer of pictures, video, and sound online.

Several phone services are available like:

Traditional VoIP systems have features such as holding calls and call waiting.
Cloud-based VoIP phone systems contain more features and are accessible via any device with internet access.
Self-hosted VoIP phone systems keep the phone system hardware on-site.

Self-hosted VoIP systems – Self-hosted systems save money on installation costs. When making calls on your self-hosted system, calls are routed over the internet—requiring an online connection to make or receive calls. Additionally, outgoing calls cost less per minute because you host the VoIP system. Because of these reasons, self-hosted systems can be used by starting call centers looking to begin operations with minimal up-front cost.

In-house VoIP systems – In-house systems involve using VoIP phones and equipment at your business location. This equipment is connected directly to routers installed by the telephone company. This type of VoIP may also be called PBX or Private Branch Exchange. A business that can afford the upfront cost of equipment for its call center is an example of a company that can benefit from utilizing in-house VoIP systems. As you consider the benefits of VoIP, it’s also worth looking into Aircall alternatives to ensure you’re choosing the best fit for your business needs.

Traditional VoIP phone systems – VoIP phones communicate through VoIP protocols and software installed on a server. In hosted VoIP systems, VoIP servers are housed in remote data centers or an adjacent building via a high-speed internet connection. Businesses looking for a more scalable and cost-effective solution over traditional in-house telecom could most utilize this system.

How does a VoIP phone system work?

Calls placed over VoIP systems transmit your digital voice as data packets across internet protocol (IP) networks. These systems allow telephone calls to be made anywhere and use packet switching instead of the traditional circuit-switched public telephone network.

Pairing VoIP softphones with fast broadband connections provides cost savings by having one provider handle both functions. In addition, these phone systems digitize your voice, which takes up far less bandwidth than analog data transmission methods such as cable internet service—allowing your business to avoid paying extra for telephone line rentals or additional call charges.

Unlike traditional analog, VoIP systems have no separate lines needed to connect two parties. The digital signals make conversations clear and unaffected by outside noise or other interference.

What are the reasons for using a VoIP phone system?

A VoIP phone system uses features such as advanced telephony applications and transferring voice calls. A traditional phone is used for direct communications of information. VoIP technology has calling features and services which can improve your business. Some features include:

Caller ID – If configured with your VoIP provider, your device will display the calling party’s name and number.
Call waiting – If you are having a conversation on a VoIP phone and another call comes in, you can quickly answer or ignore the second call.
Transfers – This management feature lets agents forward incoming calls directly to another number to improve efficiency.
Voice mail management – Most VoIP providers offer free call recording services that track your messages and save you money.
Three-way calling – Various VoIP systems can use three-way calling when talking with people in the US or Canada for easy communications.
Cost Savings – Centralized routing of calls to different locations using a VoIP system equals lower call rates than traditional phone systems.
Unlimited access – Agents can use the same telephone number regardless of the physical location.

Connect your VoIP provider with Help desk software - LiveAgent

Are VoIP phone systems better than a landline?

VoIP provides voice calls over the internet to anyone who has an internet connection. All in all, these services are seen as a better option than landlines by many people.

VoIP voice quality varies widely depending on connection speeds and other factors. System quality is often better than that of a traditional landline if you have enough bandwidth. However, voice quality can be worse than a landline if bandwidth is scarce. Additionally, these digital systems do not care if multiple people use them at once; traditional phone lines require extra equipment to accomplish this.

Business VoIP services are more flexible than landlines because you can use them on essentially any device you want, so businesses do not have to worry about compatibility issues when upgrading computers or buying new machines.

Find the right VoIP

Are you still looking for the solution that will fit your needs? LiveAgent offers plenty of useful features for a reasonable price. Curious about all the opportunities?

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How to choose the best VoIP phone system

Choosing the correct VoIP phone system can be tricky. A lot goes into choosing a VoIP phone system; it’s not a decision to be made lightly. It’s necessary to understand what to consider when selecting the correct VoIP phone system for your business.

Commitments

To choose a VoIP phone system, you should become familiar with the software’s commitments, including payment plans, software requirements, hardware requirements, trunks, and gateways. It is not recommended to commit to a VoIP phone system until you know it fits your business operations.

Price

Companies need to consider pricing models when choosing a VoIP phone system. Prices vary depending on the VoIP software you choose. For instance, Vonage requires you to contact them for a quote and may charge based on each minute of calling.

Support

When choosing a VoIP solution, you want to ensure that your team quickly makes and takes phone calls. Select a VoIP provider with 24/7 support, especially if you have a large or remote team in various time zones.

Ability to scale up/down

You can manage a VoIP support team of any size from anywhere in the world. No matter your current business size, you want to choose software to meet your business’s current and future needs. You want to choose a VoIP phone system that allows you to quickly scale your payment plan and equipment based on your company’s needs.

Collaborative Options

Choosing a customer phone system that allows team collaboration can be highly beneficial to team communications. Be it a VoIP provider or chatting with customers. By using omnichannel software, you can further customer and in-house collaboration using your VoIP phone system.

Internal calls in LiveAgent's call center software

Software Limitations

To choose a VoIP phone system that meets your business needs, you want to know your software’s limitations. Consider your current staff size and the features that will meet your client’s needs. Be it contact channels, inbound calling, or outbound calling. Ensure your VoIP phone system does not limit your business’s practices.

Benefits of using a VoIP phone system

The integration of VoIP phone systems has revolutionized many facets of the industry. VoIP phone systems allow for more mobility than traditional private branch exchange phones. Instead of being confined to landlines, business owners can use their phone center system from anywhere. By implementing these systems, organizational efficiency reaches an all-time high as costs become reduced.

Business VoIP phones have more additional features compared to traditional business phone service providers. The transition from standard landline telephone service to VoIP phone systems offers many benefits for all business sizes by:

Eliminating expensive long-distance and international calls.
Conference calling, automatic call distribution, and auto-attendant services.
Call forwarding, caller ID, and a virtual phone number.
VoIP systems use a virtual PBX platform, allowing the user to create custom extensions for each department.

Which industries benefit most from VoIP phone systems?

VoIP software is beneficial for small businesses to large enterprises, with features to fit the needs of companies across industries.

Small-sized businesses in industries like hospitality will benefit because VoIP phone software makes it easier to handle technical support issues independently.
Medium-sized businesses involved in networking industries like real estate can improve customer outreach with a VoIP system to accommodate their large volume of calls.
Large-sized businesses that field customer interactions like e-commerce will find VoIP systems are helpful for users within the organization and with clients calling.

What are the disadvantages of a VoIP phone system?

A VoIP phone system is a reliable, affordable method for businesses to have phone lines.
However, some disadvantages come with them as well like:

Latency or lag time
Reliable internet service
Expensive initial setup
Signal disruptions due to poor quality microphones or speakerphones.

Latency is caused by several factors, like the distance between the source and destination server. The farther away callers are the more potential latency can occur during the call. The initial setup cost of a VoIP system is too high for some companies who may not want to switch because they would have to pay a large amount of money upfront. Finally, poor sound quality from low-quality microphones or speakerphones has been known to create disruptions during business hours.

What are the requirements for setting up a VoIP phone system?

The network should have gigabit ethernet connections throughout its infrastructure for consistent connections. If users want to use their data plans on mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones, they’ll need 4G WAN or 3G/4G USB modems. The modem and the LAN connection can be via cable or wifi. A minimum speed of 2 Mbps upload and 5 Mbps download is suggested for good quality audio transmission over the internet.

The CPU’s core count can influence the number of concurrent calls possible in a system. For example, if there are 100 simultaneous VoIP channels and each call requires 6 Mbps of bandwidth, the CPU will need at least six cores to handle this amount of data. If the CPU is not fast enough, it will fall behind on processing data and cause delays or dropped packets.

Using a high bandwidth network can reduce latency problems, which is not always possible depending on the business size. High latency won’t be a problem if your business doesn’t require streaming audio and video. Implementing quality service policies is highly recommended if you are expecting large amounts of voice traffic. This ensures that voice traffic is not interrupted by non-time-sensitive tasks such as file sharing.

VoIP system to improve marketing strategy infographic

How much does a VoIP phone system cost?

Average costs for VoIP phone systems start at about $100 and go upwards of $25,000 for larger systems. Several actions will determine the cost of your service like:

The quantity and quality of telephones you use
How many telephone lines the system should support
The inbound and outbound calls you make
Equipment needed to upgrade

VoIP phone software can offer a variety of payment plans after you make the initial investment.

Payment plans can be monthly, yearly, or per minute. Depending on the international calling rate features included, the international calling price range per user is usually $20-$50 a month or more. When you add international text messaging, you can expect to pay around $80 a month in international calling rates. Various software offers additional options like unlimited calling and conference calling features companies should consider before purchasing their VoIP system.

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Top 20 VoIP phone systems and integrations

To allow your small, medium, or large business to handle digital calls proficiently, we have compiled a list of the 20 best VoIP phone systems and integrations available in 2024. You need a system to meet business VoIP needs with various features, benefits, downsides, and price options.

1. LiveAgent

LiveAgent homepage - customer service ecommerce live chat software

LiveAgent is multi-channel help-desk software that lets you keep track of all your customers’ communications under one single roof. LiveAgent’s universal inbox allows you to view and answer tickets. Like your email inbox but smarter, it will show all your emails, chats, calls, Facebook & Twitter tickets, forum posts, and suggestions. Moreover, it has extensive amounts of flexible VoIP options to connect a number.

Recommended for small-medium+ e-commerce businesses

LiveAgent can assist any business looking to provide outstanding customer service using VoIP systems. Ecommerce businesses, from startups to enterprises, will benefit from the various VoIP and customer service features LiveAgent offers.

Key features

LiveAgent sets itself apart from other systems by easily integrating with over 60 VoIP providers.

Features include:

Archiving & retention
Event-triggered actions
On-demand recording
Text, email, phone, and video communications
HD voice conversations using the opus codec
Call center management

Pros

Live chat and help desk solutions in the same app
Customizable labels and tags prioritize workflows
Automated ticket systems make tracking interactions easy

Cons

Good messages can sometimes end up in the spam folder
No open tracking for emails