Despite global digitization and the transition to online, one still cannot do without telephone communication. This is especially true for companies that are engaged in direct sales and offer technical support in telephone mode. But this direction of business processes can be optimized with the help of IP telephony. It is used in a majority of large companies, where you need to automatize communication with customers as much as possible, but you cannot do without telephone communication. There are many aspects of IP telephony that need to be considered, and one of them is the choice of server. We will tell you everything about the intricacies further in this publication.
What is IP telephony and how does it work?
IP telephony is a voice communication technology that allows you to communicate over the Internet using the IP protocol. VoIP technology is used to organize communication, thanks to which data can be transmitted in the form of audio during telephone conversations, as well as sound in videos; transmission takes place in real-time.
Advantages of IP telephony over analog include:
- clearer voice transmission;
- low call prices;
- no binding to the location;
- instant connection;
- multichannel;
- the ability not only to talk on the phone but also to organize video communication.
IP telephony allows you to receive calls and organize intra-corporate communication between employees.
Let's figure out what IP telephony communication looks like from the outside and from the inside.
For customers who call you, everything happens in the same way as it is with ordinary telephone communication. A person dials a phone number and communicates with an employee of the company.
For personnel, communication via IP telephony is slightly different than by phone. Calls need to be received through a computer program. To communicate with customers, workers use a headset (headphones with a microphone). Also, sometimes a special IP phone or a phone connected to an IP gateway is used to receive calls. Call records are saved, and employees will then be able to listen to them again. If IP telephony is integrated with the CRM system used in the company, audio recordings will be stored immediately in the corresponding customer cards. It will also be possible to keep records of calls, view their statistics, and make many other actions that are not available to you if you use standard analog telephony.
The principle of IP telephony is the following. You have equipment in your office with which your employees will talk to customers. Your customers have their own devices - regular mobile or landline phones. All information will be transmitted through the local network and the Internet. To process calls, you need a virtual automatic telephone exchange, which can be installed in your office or on the servers of the provider you use.
In addition to the ability to receive calls over the Internet, IP telephony allows you to equip a call center with hundreds of employees for just one or several numbers. In ordinary life, this situation can often be found in support services for large companies (banks, stores). There are only 1-2 telephone numbers for communication with the support service, but always different employees answer. The reason is multichannel. If you buy a phone for a remote call center, you get a two-channel phone number by default. Besides, you can also buy additional channels, and their number may turn out to be almost infinite. In practice, companies with a large staff of managers use one telephone number and it's quite convenient. Thus, one number can be used even for 100 + employees, and the call will come to the manager, who is right now free and does not speak to anyone.
What do I need to set up IP telephony in the office?
Switching to IP telephony is profitable, even taking into account the initial financial investments. The investments will quickly pay off because you will be able to keep track of calls in a convenient format and won't miss a single order. This is especially beneficial if you are already using the CRM system. We have already described the benefits of IP telephony and CRM integration. To sum it up, you will be able to forget about all the manually filled Excel spreadsheets, since all the necessary information will automatically enter the system and be structured according to its settings.
So, you decided to introduce IP telephony into the work of your company, but you do not quite understand what is needed for this. You have two options, and the choice depends on your goals and the specifics of the work.
IP-telephony with your real numbers
This option is great if you work within one country, the region, or the city. Let's say you manage a small online store in Tula. Your target audience is only in the Russian Federation, and your clients call you on the usual Russian numbers of your 5 managers. Earlier your customer base was small, you took up to one hundred orders a month, and such a way of communication with buyers didn't bring any inconveniences. But now you have scaled business, expanded staff twice and after this, it is necessary to change the principle of work of the company and to switch to IP-telephony.
So, you have 10 working sim cards installed on different phones. To use them within IP-telephony, it is necessary to use a special lock with slots for sim cards and to involve the virtual automatic telephone exchange in work. Thus, you will be able to communicate with clients in a convenient mode with the help of IP-telephony.
IP phones with virtual numbers
Your online store in Tula expanded the activity and now sells goods to other countries. You translated the website into English, employed English-speaking managers, and changed the business hours of the call center. But residents of New York will hardly call you using your Russian numbers – it is at least expensive and unprofitable unless you provide really unique services. Now the previous option of IP-telephony doesn't suit you.
But you can receive calls on the American number even if your managers sit at a rented office on the outskirts of Tula. For this purpose, it is necessary to rent a virtual American number, or a number of any other country – depends on what audience you plan to work with. At the same time, you will also use the virtual automatic telephone exchange, and it will have the same potential.
IP-telephony servers
To carry out the transfer and reception of a package of data, an IP-telephony server is necessary. It can be hardware (dedicated server) or virtual. The server is a central part of IP-telephony. On it, it's necessary to register IP phones, install the software, and adjust it according to the requirements of your business. The server can be located at your office, but also you can rent it from a provider. Now, let's consider both of these options and their advantages.
What server is better to choose for IP telephony: local or leased?
If you have already decided to switch to IP telephony, you should immediately think about the location of the server. You can do the following:
- buy and install equipment in your office;
- rent the server from the provider.
Both the first and second options have their advantages.
The local server is suitable for you if you want to ensure the maximum level of privacy, are ready to allocate space for equipment, and hire an administrator who will monitor the operability of the equipment. In addition, if you intend to install equipment in the office, you take full responsibility for its work. Your system administrator will be responsible for solving all the problems that may arise. The server can be compact and not take up much space, but still, a separate space for the rack needs to be allocated. And if we are talking about a large business, where there are special needs for equipment performance, then a whole room will have to be allocated for servers. This is not always profitable and convenient. Although, for a small startup, where about 15 people will use IP telephony, this option is quite acceptable.
Renting equipment is a good option for you if you want to simplify everything for yourself. The server will be maintained by the provider from whom you order services. The advantage of renting a server is that you do not need to hire an additional administrator. Of course, you will have to pay a certain amount monthly for the rental of equipment, but in fact you will save more - there is no need to buy a server itself, hire employees and pay them a salary. Any problems that arise will be solved by the provider with the help of support service.
Speaking about the rental of equipment, there are also two options: you can order all the services you need from the provider, including renting a virtual automatic telephone exchange or renting only a server. The first option is fraught with loss of control by your company. If something happens in the middle of a working day, you will have to contact the provider and spend long hours to solve the problem. The second option is the most optimal one. You will be able to control the operation of the virtual automatic telephone exchange, and at the same time, you will not have to worry about the operability of the server, which is located in the secure data center. Besides, you can't do without renting a server if you receive calls from other countries.
Server rental from King Servers
No matter for what purpose you are looking for the server, you are welcome to contact King Servers. In King Servers, you can order dedicated and virtual servers for business with any needs. We offer the following:
- 3 locations (data centers of the USA, the Netherlands, and Russia);
- 99.90% uptime;
- technical support 24/7.
Contact us in any way that is convenient for you to start a fruitful collaboration!
