Lots of companies talk about VoIP but exactly what does it mean? Well, the truth is, VoIP means a lot of different things depending on who you talk to. There needs to be another word in front of VoIP to accurately explain a service"peer-to-peer VoIP, Virtual PBX VoIP, hosted VoIP, managed business VoIP, etc. Heres a quick look at each niche: First there is Peer-to-Peer. All this means is that two people, who have downloaded the same software, can talk directly at zero cost. The best known example of this is Skype. Some important things to keep in mind with this service is that while it is free, it works best for individuals. This service is quite popular with students who study abroad and want to keep in contact with their friends and family in America. This service should not be used for businesses. Residential VoIP. This means that you use your analog phone to chat with other people except in this case the call is going over the Internet instead of a phone line. An example of this is Vonage. An important thing to keep in mind is you get what you pay for. The price is better than a regular phone but service is often spotty. Virtual PBX is a service that makes a small company look bigger. If you have a one-person firm, you can set up a virtual PBX and have callers press one for sales, two for marketing and three for technology. Then you can have all calls routed to your cell phone. Example: GotVMail What you should know: It is inexpensive but functionality is limited. Hosted is another type of service, and this means that there are phones but no central piece of equipment (i.e. server) at your office. This central technology is hosted by the provider. An example is Packet 8. The benefit of this service is that you get more functionality than with a virtual PBX, yet you don't have to spend as much as you would on a managed business VoIP. Managed Business. This service is nearly identical to hosted VoIP, except everything runs on private lines, instead of the public Internet. This is ideal for a very large company that will be in trouble if its phone system goes down, even on a very rare occasion and even if only for a few minutes. Example: M5, CBeyond, Cisco. What you should know: Better quality control but most expensive of all VoIP options.
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