A much lower cost to communicate is the single biggest driver for companies switching to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technologies with average savings coming in at 45% of current voice and data bills.
That’s according to Otel Communications CEO, Rad Jankovic, who explains that there is an additional commercial benefit to VoIP-based voice and data communication and that’s the ability to plug in enterprise-class PBX systems complete with soft phones that completely replace an organisation’s desk-mounted telephone hardware.
“Soft phones come with enormous productivity benefits,” says Mr Jankovic. Instead of being constrained to a physical handset that has to be positioned in a certain location, the IP-enabled soft phone is, in fact, a computer interface that can be accessed across a range of fixed and mobile devices; including desktops, tablets and cellphones,” he explains.
For SMEs on a budget, soft phone interfaces that can be installed onto existing devices mean the latest version of these voice systems is always just a click and a download away.
“Not having to take time out to purchase and physically install the latest phone hardware on employee desks is a tremendous cost and time saver for the start-up, in particular,” says Jankovic.
The fact that there are exactly zero additional moving telecoms parts in an IP-based soft phone environment also means hardware maintenance costs are kept low. “Soft phones mean a lot fewer telecoms troubles for IT and Facilities managers,” Jankovic adds.
By eliminating the need for clunky physical equipment, soft phones are a great benefit for SMEs still finding their feet and potentially in need of upwards scalability in the near term.
“Yesteryear’s desk-bound PBX system with its many old-school desktop button phones located throughout the enterprise does not make for a nimble, modern organisation in step with the latest telecoms trends. Soft, IP-based phones can instantly and positively transform a corporation and the way it does business,” he says.
Otel’s focus is on organisations with just a few users, right up to 10 000 and more users. It can guarantee faster and more cost-effective web access, and lower calls costs. The independent telco’s products enhance the customer experience by creating value through various managed services that together lower the total cost of ICT for both SME and enterprise customers.