VoIP Hosted PBX Technology

Getting Started with VoIP for Small Businesses

VoIP is scalable which is great for small businesses. This means that you can use it for one or two people and when your business expands, adding users will not be difficult. If you are a small business that would like more than just computer to computer VoIP communication then you will need to sign up with a service provider and purchase a VoIP hardphone. VoIP service providers have plans similar to regular telephone companies with features that usually include call waiting, long distance and local calling, voicemail and conferencing. Many providers also give you an analog phone adaptor or VoIP hardphone with the plan. Normal plans usually cost between $15 - $25 a month. This is a very cost effective solution for small businesses.

What you will need to get started:

1) A broadband Internet connection - essential for making calls over VoIP as this is the line used to route your call to its destination.
2) A reliable power source.
3) A phone or headset to communicate with. Here are some of the different types of devices available:

%u2022 ATA (analog telephone adaptor) - this converts the signal from a regular phone to digital data for VoIP. This allows you to plug a regular phone into an Internet connection.
%u2022 Soft phone - this is a piece of software that you install on your computer. You will need a headset / microphone for this to work.
%u2022 IP phone - this is a phone that can be connected directly into your Internet connection for VoIP calls and doesn't need to be connected to a computer. It looks like a normal phone, can be always on and won't get in the way like a headset might.
%u2022 Wi-Fi phone - Similar to IP phones except that they are wireless and connect to the Internet through a wireless base station.

A VoIP solution requires very little hardware and is quite easy to set up. Even if you required PBX features such as an employee directory and extension numbers there are hosted VoIP solutions that will be able to deliver this to you for a fraction of the cost of a tradition in-house PBX system.