Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone services are becoming very popular in businesses around the world. To put it simply, VoIP telephony is an internet phone. Using the same technology that allows other data to be sent over the internet, such as emails, pictures and music, VoIP allows live conversations over the internet.



VoIP uses IP addresses instead of phone numbers, and Ethernet cables in place of the phone line. There are lots of VoIP applications like Skype, as well as hardware such as specially designed IP phones.

What's more, with VoIP you can save a lot of money on conventional 'landline' phonebills, whilst making internet-to-internet and internet-to-phone calls all over the world. VoIP just plugs into any computer or laptop, making it completely portable, affordable way of staying in touch. Many businesses worldwide are looking to improve business communication through the use of VoIP phone services.

The communication requirements for businesses may vary according to their nature, but the key factors remain the same; Maintaining frequent contact with customers, suppliers, dealers and distributors. To improve business communication, many organisations employ VoIP phone services. They are an affordable means of communication, and are more flexible than traditional phone systems, allowing data to be more easily archived and syndicated.

Businesses can continue using existing permanent phone lines and mobiles, and VoIP allows users to make multiple international phone calls while browsing the web. It is generally accepted that most businesses could benefit from introducing VoIP communication services, to help make tremendous improvements and cut the cost of business communication.

VoIP systems have fax detection built in, to automatically route these calls to the fax machine. VoIP systems allow easy recording of phone calls, allowing for playback for review or to take note of important details. The compression of the sound is adjustable so a large bandwidth is not necessary.

VoIP also allows remote access to computer systems for technicians or managers. Travel, time and money is saved. VoIP can allow home and mobile users to obtain the same amount of access and functionality they would expect when working from the office, and allows a single communications network to handle all communication needs.

Despite their flexibility and convenience, they are not yet desireable for home users, since to use VoIP effectively, a VoIP gateway must be installed at every location where you intend to call regular phones from. This expense may not be cancelled out by the savings in phone bills, which explains why VoIP is still the preserve of major corporations and call centres that ca afford the initial expenditure required to setup a VoIP network.