With ISDN lines paving the way for many years and leading the way for voice quality, the lack of flexibility, higher prices, and the inability to deliver high-quality data and video have allowed the growth of SIP.
With SIP trunking starting to dominate the market over the last few years, more and more businesses are beginning to move over, due to the many benefits it brings. In turn, this has to lead the way for ISDN lines to be switched off by 2025 and the sale of new ISDN lines being ceased this year.
SIP brings many benefits to a growing business, with the actual switch from ISDN being much more accessible than many think.
When making the switch from ISDN to SIP, one of the first things we need to take into account is defining your business needs.
- How many phone lines does your business have?
- Where do those numbers lead?
- Are incoming calls queued or directed elsewhere if the line is busy?
- What kind of voicemail system does your business need?
By taking the time to define an in-depth diagram of your current network, this allows us to see areas for improvement while making the infrastructure a scalable one.
When defining areas for improvement, many things have to be taken into account, such as:
- Updating disaster contingency plans
- Adding unified communications
- Reviewing your staff mobility
- Planning for seasonal fluxes with regards to communication needs
Each of the key areas above is important to any business. For instance, more companies have mobile employees who are working from different offices, home or a client’s office. This means that employees need to access and share data remotely & securely, while being able to receive and make calls using the business landline.
This is where unified communication becomes essential and where SIP brings many benefits due to its flexibility and scalability.
One of the main benefits of SIP is being able to use IP phones and take advantage of VoIP and the many features it brings.
The ability to create rules and automation to divert calls to a separate office location if the lines are busy or occupied (even if the office is in another country) and should you choose to relocate, your current numbers move with you too.
Quality is also going to be improved with SIP as high-speed connections provide increased HD voice quality. There are even built-in safeguards, such as an automated failover to a secondary path, to ensure the continuation of service should one location suffer disruption or network failure.
SIP also allows businesses to save money, both on line rentals and call costs, with one of the benefits being the ability to use the same SIP line for both your voice and data needs. The average savings being of up to 50% on your line rental and up to 25% on your call costs.
For more information about moving into SIP before the 2025 ISDN line switch off and the many benefits it brings, call us on 01509 410 410.
