What is VoIP? A plain-English guide for businesses
VoIP carries your calls over the internet instead of a phone line. What that means in practice, what you need, and why most businesses have already switched.
VoIP stands for voice over internet protocol. Instead of travelling down a copper phone line, your voice is turned into small packets of data and sent over the internet, the same way an email or a video call travels. If you have ever used WhatsApp or Teams to make a call, you have already used VoIP.
How it works
When you speak into a VoIP phone, app or headset, your voice is digitised and sent over your internet connection to your provider. From there the call is passed to the person you are calling, whether they are on another VoIP phone, a landline or a mobile. To them, it is just a normal phone call from your normal business number.
A business VoIP service is usually delivered as a cloud phone system (also called a hosted PBX): all the call handling (menus, queues, diverts, voicemail) runs in your provider's data centre rather than on a box in your office.
What you need
- An internet connection. Each call needs less than 100 kbps, so a decent business broadband line handles many calls at once.
- Something to call from. An IP desk phone, a cordless phone, a headset with a laptop app, or the app on your mobile, or a mix of all of them.
- A provider. That is us: we set up your users and numbers, and support you afterwards.
Why businesses switch
Lower costs
There is no phone system hardware to buy or maintain, and plans include UK minutes. Calls between colleagues are free, even between offices or to people working from home.
Work from anywhere
Your business number goes wherever your people go. Staff can answer calls in the office, at home or on the move, and customers never know the difference.
Features that used to cost a fortune
Call queues, ring groups, menus ("press 1 for sales"), call recording, voicemail to email and live call statistics all come as standard.
Easy to grow
Adding a new starter takes minutes, not an engineer visit. You pay per user, so you only pay for what you use.
Is VoIP reliable?
With a good connection, call quality is as clear as a landline, often clearer. Because the system lives in the cloud, it keeps working even if your office does not: if your connection drops, calls can be diverted to mobiles so customers still get through. It is worth knowing that VoIP phones need power and internet to work, so keep a mobile handy for emergencies, and tell us the address of each phone so emergency services can find you.
Getting started
Most businesses move to VoIP without changing their phone numbers. Take a look at our cloud phone system, or get in touch and we will recommend a setup for your team.