Skype. RingCentral. WhatsApp. Teams. We use these popular Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) services on a daily basis; to keep in touch with friends and family – whether they’re a few streets, time zones, or continents over.

That said, a lot of businesses use these VoIP services too – with great success. After all, they’re user-friendly, on-demand, available on different devices, reliable (connections permitting), and for the most part, free. 

However, as companies begin to scale it’s often more cost-effective, safer, and simpler for them to operate their own enterprise VoIP service. 

Let’s take a closer look at how the market’s shifting and how businesses can benefit.

From Telecoms To IT

For a long time, IT departments left voice communication to telecoms experts. However, the advent of cloud servers, remote working, and the growth of the app economy – in tandem with the increased popularity of services like Skype – have placed communications firmly in the grasp of IT departments. 

This is primarily because VoIP bypasses traditional telephone systems completely – enabling direct peer-to-peer communication via the internet. Not only that, but VoIP services also permit one-to-many as well as one-to-one conversations, and most platforms offer video-conferencing and instant messaging too. 

And given the low costs compared to long-distance and international telephone calls – savings of up to 90% in some instances – the enterprise case is clear. However, in addition to cost reductions, a VoIP system is often better for employees – and ultimately customers.

The Shift Towards Customization

As more and more businesses from many different sectors become keen to tap into this streamlined and unified communications offering, there’s demand for greater functionality and security – bespoke to each company’s unique needs. 

For many companies, the cost of infrastructure is considerable, so any investment made needs to go the distance. This means VoIP solutions need to be as future-proof as possible; able to be easily upgraded with minimal intervention when the next wave of solution functionality becomes available.

But even when companies do decide they want to implement their own enterprise VoIP services, there’s lots to consider. For example: do they want their service to be hosted remotely or on-premises? How big are their call volumes each day? How many sites does the company have? Can the IT infrastructure handle a sharp increase in network traffic? What safeguards need to be deployed to prevent hacking?

Choosing The Right VoIP Partner

While mobile carriers and ISPs will have their own particular biases; to make the right choices businesses should partner with an IT managed services provider who can offer an impartial, independent view of the whole VoIP market. 

They also need a knowledgeable provider who can work closely with the wider business to ensure that the chosen system is adopted in-house and that all of the features are used to maximum effect.

Here at Red Rhino, we’ve helped stacks of businesses build and maintain their own VoIP networks – both as standalone systems and as part of a broader managed IT solutions package. We have deployed VoIP solutions from as small as a 3 person office to as large as 150 user, multi-site international organizations.

According to predictions – and given the growth of 5G networks and even faster broadband services – there can be little doubt that investment in VoIP will continue to grow in the next five-to-ten years. 

Is your business ready?

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