Complexity of technology solutions is often masked
For any business service, a competitive market is highly desirable and a sign of good health. Markets that have plenty of choices and are free from anticompetitive practices such as price fixing and other cartel behaviours enable companies and organisations to source services that are right for their needs and fit with their budgets.
However, the sophistication of many of today’s technology services is masked. They have complex underlying elements that are blended, packaged and productised as solutions. There are often nuances where elements may be of varying quality. This means the precise mix of elements that are blended to provide a business service influences the quality of the business solution. Ultimately, this determines the value that VoIP customers receive from their chosen voice call solution.
Underneath the skin of a VoIP solution
VoIP voice calling solutions are a very good case in point. A car may have sleek bodywork and flowing lines, but underneath the skin, there is a lot going on, and there are many technical elements that need to be brought together. For VoIP solutions this includes:
- Endpoint devices – These can be IP phones that are specifically designed to work with VoIP systems, or computing devices such as tablets or mobiles running voice call software – ‘softphones’, that all enable VoIP calls to be made and received.
- VoIP gateway – This is a device that connects the traditional PSTN network to the IP network, allowing calls to be made between the two networks.
- Network routers and firewalls – These devices connect VoIP systems to the internet and provide security to safely direct traffic between the different devices on the network.
- Quality of Service (QoS) – QoS techniques are used to ensure that the quality of the voice call is maintained despite network congestion and other factors that could affect the call quality.
- Carriers – These are service providers that VoIP solutions providers engage to deliver the underlying network infrastructure that is used to transmit voice data over the internet. Carriers are responsible for maintaining and operating the network infrastructure that connects the different elements of a VoIP system.
This is far from the whole story, but if you are a typical business owner/manager concerned with the quality of voice calls and the value you get from your VOIP call system, being exhaustive here is going to add nothing!
Is your VoIP solution delivering true value?
Some of the elements that are blended to create your VoIP business solution only have a negligible effect on the overall quality and value that you get. However, here are three really important aspects of VoIP services you should ask your VoIP call provider about to make sure you are getting true value and what you expect for your money.
- Reliability and Quality of Service (QoS) – VoIP relies on the quality of the internet connection, so if the connection is poor, the quality of the call can be affected. This can lead to dropped calls, delays, and poor voice quality. Call quality is strongly linked to the quality of service settings that carriers use for IP traffic. Dropped calls, pauses or delays (known as latency), and poor voice quality can often be attributed to carrier QoS traffic prioritisation.
- Security and Business Continuity (BC) – Just like any internet technology, VoIP communication can be vulnerable to hacking and other forms of cyber-attacks. The reliance on VoIP as a commercial tool means that it is now a business-critical part of your technology mix. Make sure your VoIP call provider has robust security and business continuity measures in place. This secures their VoIP systems and protects against unauthorised access and data breaches, as well as ensuring minimal or no disruption to services that might result from cloud computing failures.
- Integration and interoperability – Technology improvement is becoming increasingly focused on making greater use of automation and artificial intelligence. This is likely to involve integrating cloud software apps from different vendors so that they inter-operate by exchanging data, initiating automated actions. Find out how compatible your VoIP call solution is with other communication systems and devices. This means your business can maximise competitive advantage from integration, automation and artificial intelligence with other technologies.
Soho66 first-class technology for superior VoIP calls
Take advantage of Soho66‘s first-class technology provisioning to see how we deliver premium quality VoIP services that provide superior quality voice calls and true value for money. Here are some key points that underpin our value proposition:
- 100% Pure Cloud – Soho66 is built on an award-winning VoIP technology solution.
- Soho66 By…Soho66 – Soho66 is designed, built and maintained by our in-house development team of experienced software engineers.
- Resilient Infrastructure – Outstanding, independently owned, and operating across multiple UK and Ireland data centre infrastructure sites.
- Unrivalled support – We don’t have to escalate platform issues to anyone else because we designed, built and now continually upgrade and maintain it.
- Powerful, easy-to-use features – Just get on with running your business and let us take care of the voice call technology.
- Independently owned – Soho66 is a solvent, well-established business, with a long-term commitment to customer satisfaction.
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