VoIP phone system, what is it?

As a business owner or decision-maker in the UK, you’ve likely heard about VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone systems, or at least I hope you have. With the impending shutdown of the traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) in the coming years, understanding VoIP technology and its benefits for businesses is crucial.

The UK’s telecommunications infrastructure is undergoing a significant transition. BT Openreach, the company responsible for maintaining the PSTN, has announced plans to phase out the decades-old copper wire network by 2025. This move is driven by the increased demand for faster and more reliable internet connectivity, as well as the need to modernize the country’s telecommunications infrastructure.

If you haven’t got all of your ducks in a row by the time the switch off comes, then you’ll just have to cope with whatever BT/Openreach rolls out to replace a phone system, and so far it’s not been great feedback. The main pain points have been the scale and complexity of the project, customer impact and service disruptions (vulnerable people living alone with life alert and help alarms were a big factor) and being able to insure a smooth transition.

As the PSTN is decommissioned, businesses that rely on traditional landline phones will need to migrate to alternative solutions, such as cloud based phone systems. Failure to do so may result in service disruptions and potential communication challenges, all of which will just cause more of a headache, especially if left until the last moment.

In this article, I’ve covered a few points to note and to why getting ahead of the curve is going to benefit, whether you’re a one man band or have a few hundred users over multiple branches, it’s best to get ahead.

What is a VoIP Phone System?

A VoIP phone system is a modern communication solution that transmits voice calls over the internet instead of traditional copper-wire telephone lines. It converts your voice into digital data packets and sends them through your broadband internet connection. This technology offers numerous advantages over the aging PSTN, including cost savings, scalability, and enhanced features.

When considering the future, I strongly recommend a cloud-based solution. Cloud-based phone systems offer numerous advantages over traditional on-premises systems:

• No Upfront Hardware Costs: Cloud-based phone systems eliminate the need to invest in expensive on-site hardware, such as PBX systems or servers. This reduces upfront capital expenditures and makes the solution more affordable, especially for small and medium-sized businesses.
• Scalability and Flexibility: Cloud solutions are highly scalable, allowing businesses to easily add or remove lines as their needs change. This flexibility ensures that you only pay for the resources you need, without being locked into a fixed infrastructure.
• Automatic Updates and Maintenance: With a cloud-based system, software updates and maintenance are handled by the service provider, ensuring that your system is always up-to-date with the latest features and security patches, without the need for in-house IT resources.
• Remote Access and Mobility: Cloud-based phone systems enable remote access and mobility for employees, allowing them to make and receive calls from anywhere with an internet connection, using softphones or mobile apps. This feature supports remote work and business continuity, which has become increasingly important in the modern workplace.
• Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity: Cloud-based systems offer robust disaster recovery and business continuity features, as the infrastructure is hosted remotely and not tied to a single physical location. In the event of a local disaster or outage, your communication system remains operational, minimizing downtime and disruptions.

It’s only a case of plugging in a handset into an ethernet port and signing in. If you don’t want desktop handsets, the use a soft phone app. Either way, this means a distributed workforce can be on the same phone system and reachable all of the time, you don’t need to set up a call centre if you don’t want too.

As the PSTN sunset approaches, there’s a few options to consider including migrating to a cloud-based VoIP phone system. By embracing this technology, you can reduce costs, gain access to advanced features, and benefit from the flexibility and scalability offered by the cloud.