IP Telephony

IP Telephony is offered by Cisco, one of the top VoIP providers. This article explains how IP Telephony works and what features you may be able to expect when using IP Telephony technology for your business communication needs.

IP telephony is a VoIP phone system that is available through Cisco. The IP telephony system works by transmitting voice communication over the network or Internet using standards-based Internet Protocol. IP telephony is a great way to extend communications in a business setting.

Many businesses are taking advantage of the IP telephony systems to use with all employees throughout the company in each workspace, remote offices and even with mobile or at-home employees. The technology IP telephony has to offer has been found to be beneficial to employees of all types in various working capacities. With Cisco Unified Communications, the voice, video, data and mobile applications on a fixed or mobile network all work successfully together with the IP telephony system.

What is VoIP?

Voice over IP is a type of communication that uses standard protocols and transmission technologies in order to delivery voice, data and multimedia sessions over a network or (IP) Internet Protocol networks like the Internet. VoIP works differently than traditional public switched telephone networks (PSTN) because the information is transported over the Internet rather than the PSTN. To get technical, the information is divided into IP packages through a digitization process and then transferred from the analog voice signal. From this point the signal is then encoded and sent over IP to the packet-switched network where it is changed back into actual voice to be delivered to the recipient.

Many businesses are opting to go with a VoIP phone system because it is a time saver as well as more economical overall. The phone system itself might be more cost upfront, but will later prove to be a worthwhile investment because of the cost savings with infrastructure costs and lower monthly bills. The savings when it comes to being able to get more work done because of a more effective and efficient telephone system, is also highly valuable and worth the added cost upfront. Another cost savings is found when businesses tend to do a lot of overseas communication, which can ultimately cost a fortune. However, with VoIP technology, the pricing for International calling is substantially cheaper per call and overall monthly bills.

Features With IP Telephony:

With IP telephony, users can get access to highly secure, reliable, scalable communications that take advantage of a company’s LAN and WAN, and make it easy to accommodate for any size business. Other features include the ability to improve employee flexibility and productivity in a variety of ways. The IP telephony communication technology works well to deliver voice, video, mobility and presence services to IP phones, media processing devices, mobile devices, VoIP gateways and multimedia applications. Because of its expansive ability to do it all, IP telephony is a worthy investment to consider when trying to choose the best VoIP phone system.

How it Works:

When choosing a Cisco IP phone system like IP telephony, it is important to know that the technology is both wired and wireless versions and can provide handset functionality as well for those who do much of their business over the phone. Some of the Cisco IP phone systems also include VoIP video chat as well, which can be an added convenience for group meetings and conference communications with remote locations. There is also the added convenience of Softphones products like the Cisco IP communicator and Cisco Unified Personal Communicator to extend voice and multimedia functionality to Windows and Mac computers.

To learn more about IP telephony and how to get your business setup with Cisco communication systems, be sure to check out the Cisco website. On the website you can find access to video tutorials and information about how to learn the basics of VoIP and how it can work for your business. You can also learn how to find the best savings for your company and how to find the right phone systems and technology that will work for the type of business you have and what your primary services are including how you communicate the most to outside clients and interoffice communications. Be sure to call any Cisco reps if you have any additional questions about how to learn more about IP telephony.