VoIP Costs You May Not Be Aware Of

Voice over IP, or VoIP, has become one of the most popular options for voice calls in the business world. Even with many companies turning to web conferencing tools for a wide variety of phone calls, VoIP remains an essential part of most companies’ overall communication strategy, and with good reason. If you are still using old landline technology for your phones, you may want to know how much you can save by migrating over to a VoIP solution.

Migrating to a VoIP system typically results in some significant cost savings, but you should take a close look at all the expenses and other considerations associated with this type of upgrade before making a final decision. Read on to learn more about some of the potential costs related to VoIP that you may not have considered. If you have any questions about these expenses, businesses in the Bay Area can reach out to GSDSolutions, a leading business IT services provider in this region, to get the specific information that they need.

Logically Porting Phone Numbers from Landline Providers

Assuming you will want to keep most, if not all, your existing phone numbers, the first thing you need to be aware of is that you will need to port those phone numbers that you want to retain from your current landline provider over to your new VoIP provider. Of course, you could also just get new phone numbers for your VoIP lines, but most businesses would not want to deal with the problems that would arise if they were to switch to all new phone numbers, e.g., updating the corporate web site, changing business cards, email signatures, etc.

Upfront Costs for Setup, Implementation, and Training

Installing, setting up, and implementing your new VoIP equipment comes with some notable costs. Depending on what service you use, you may need to purchase all the equipment and have it set up first before any lines will work. In addition, you will need to train your employees on the different features and functionalities of the new VoIP phones.

Many of these types of expenses can be mitigated by leasing the equipment rather than purchasing it outright. Engaging the help of a Bay Area IT Services provider to handle leasing of the equipment on your behalf and setting it up is a great way to cut down the equipment expense associated with your VoIP upgrade. The service provider engineers can also provide your employees with the training that they need as part of the project.

Separate Voice and Data Expenses

When you are using a landline service, you simply pay one set price per line. With VoIP, you have two separate expenses. You need to pay for your VoIP service, which allows for the actual voice communication, and you will need to have a reliable data circuit in place. In almost all situations, the combined costs of voice and data will be lower than the costs of the landline, so in the end, it will be a savings.

Network Infrastructure Upgrades

Since your VoIP system will send voice communication through your data network, you need to make sure that you have the infrastructure in place to handle it. For many companies, this means upgrading network bandwidth, internal network capacity, and much more. You will also want to make configuration changes on your network to ensure the VoIP traffic is prioritized higher through the quality of service (QOS) settings. All of this can cost money whether you have your internal network team handle it or you are partnering with business IT services providers.

Plan Your VoIP Upgrade Today

While you certainly need to be aware of costs associated with VoIP, these expenses will typically be lower than what you are paying for landline phones. If you decide that moving forward with this type of upgrade makes sense, make sure that you plan the entire project out to ensure there are no unexpected outages or other problems. Working with an experienced and knowledgeable business IT services provider is the best way to ensure you get the results you need.