SIP Trunking, Voice Over IP and Trunk Replacement are all terms used to describe the delivery of telephone services to your business over your broadband connection. That’s what it really boils down to. In addition to streamlining setup and potentially lowering overall costs, there are many features offered by SIP trunking that can’t be found in traditional analog services.
To learn more about the definition of a SIP Trunk, read our brief article “What Are SIP Trunks.” Once you have an idea of what the technology is, you can take a closer look at how it can benefit your business.
Begin the Transition to VoIP
You likely have an investment in a telephone system right now. If it’s meeting your current needs and is reliable why replace it? You shouldn’t. But are you getting the most flexibility out of the service going into that system? If you experience a power outage or there is a major communications interruption for whatever reason, do you have automated failover to keep your business up and running? This is just one benefit that SIP services have over traditional analog lines. Much of the communication infrastructure in the United States is transitioning from TDM (the traditional method) to IP. By implementing SIP trunks to replace your analog lines, you are taking a step towards streamlining your communications and aligning with the same technology that powers the network. SIP trunks are an easy way to begin the transition to a completely IP-based communications setup, which may include an IP or Hosted PBX system down the road.
Features
There are many features of SIP trunking. While many people refer to these services as “Trunk Replacement,” the technology is capable of so much more, including some features traditionally left for the telephone system to handle:
- Automatic Failover / Business Continuity
- Flexible Call Routing
- Integrated Voicemail
- Unified Communications – Voicemail to Email
- Potential Cost Savings
The Choice is Yours
Another commonly overlooked benefit of SIP trunks/VoIP services is choice. In the old days there was once telephone service provider in most cities, the ILEC (Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier). These include providers such as AT&T, Verizon, CenturyLink, etc. Today, with voice traffic traveling over your high speed broadband connection, you can select from a wide variety of providers of voice services. This helps your business in two critical ways: cost-savings due to competition and higher levels of customer service. No longer are you tied to a single provider that knows they will retain your business now matter how they treat you. You have a choice.
