A boost for business VoIP

alison — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 12:36:03 +0000

A boost for business VoIP alison Wed, 01/04/2023 - 12:36

In October 2022 we reported on Ofcom’s Autumn Connected Nations update which, amongst other matters, highlighted the increasing part played by broadband in delivering hybrid working and improved business connectivity. In December, Ofcom published its annual report and it’s more good news for UK businesses.

VoIP remote working

The past few years have demonstrated only too well the benefits of being able to flexibly deploy staff who otherwise might not be able to fully contribute to the life of the business. It doesn’t really matter whether factors such as inclement weather or transport strikes are preventing travel, or if Covid isolation or family circumstances necessitate some time at home. Whatever the reason, being able to offer remote working over broadband allied to VoIP calling can help to ensure that your people can continue to work even whilst away from the office.

So when Ofcom reported that over the past year full fibre broadband has been made available to 4.3million more premises than a year ago, that’s a great boost not only for individuals but also for businesses which are looking to offer flexible working from home. And whilst Ofcom acknowledges that some 80,000 homes and business across the UK still don’t have access to decent broadband, they expect this number to fall over the course of 2023 with options including satellite broadband being investigated for the most remote areas.

Multi-location VoIP systems

Whilst the ability to offer flexible VoIP remote working may suit some organisations, others may see multi-location VoIP working as an intrinsic part of their business model. Particularly so in the case of organisations which either have multiple offices across the country, or even the world, or who value the ability to recruit people from a wide geographic area. For these businesses VoIP multi-location business systems may be the preferred option.

Connecting all locations via the same system not only enables cost effective internal communications, it also enables incoming calls to be seamlessly routed across the organisation. As far as your customers are concerned, they are simply calling your business. But the flexibility of a multi-location system means that your customer call could be answered by a free team member who is working from anywhere across the globe.

The broadband roll-out is only going to continue as systems and lines are upgraded to offer ever faster speeds and more reliable connections. This offers a tremendous opportunity to businesses which are able to take advantage of multi-location and flexible VoIP systems. As Ofcom’s Network and Communications Group Director commented: “Millions more people are benefiting from faster, more reliable internet as the rapid rollout of full-fibre broadband continues” adding “It’s also encouraging to see more people in hard-to-reach areas get access to decent broadband, as work continues to connect rural communities.”

Callagenix offers VoIP business phone systems and services. Flexible and scalable, our VoIP systems can help businesses to connect their people across multiple sites and across the globe. If you would like to learn more about the power of VoIP communications for your business take a look at our website or give us a call.

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Rise in VoIP remote working

alison — Sun, 16 Oct 2022 14:29:34 +0000

Rise in VoIP remote working alison Sun, 10/16/2022 - 15:29

“As more small and medium-sized businesses shift towards hybrid working, better broadband becomes a priority.”

That’s one of the headline comments from Ofcom’s Autumn Connected Nations report. The report, which reflects the position across the UK as at May 2022, examines the roll-out of mobile and fixed broadband coverage across the UK. Although the report concentrates on the availability of broadband for households, it has important implications for business as well; with faster broadband and VoIP availability enabling more people to work remotely and flexibly.

So how is the drive to improve access to fibre broadband going? Well, Ofcom report that eleven million households now have access to full fibre broadband, up from seven million the previous year. As a result, 37% of households can now benefit from broadband speeds of up to 1Gbit/s. At the other end of the speed spectrum, the number of households which cannot access speeds in excess of 10 Mbit/s has fallen by 38% to 83,000.

Business VoIP phone systems

What does this increase in fibre broadband availability mean for businesses? Independent research carried out on behalf of Ofcom has revealed a transformational shift in SME communications. Partly driven by the pandemic, SMEs are increasingly looking to hybrid working patterns allied to a greater use of fixed internet, mobile and voice services.

As a result, there has been a rapid transition towards VoIP services with only 51% of SMEs now using ‘traditional’ landline telephones. Moreover 78% of SMEs are looking to upgrade their communication services in the next twelve months. Perhaps that’s why 83% of SMEs agreed that: “Communications services are fundamental to our business, without them we could not function as a business.”

VoIP remote working

This shift towards hybrid working was forced upon some businesses by the need to maintain ‘business as usual’ during the pandemic. That the movement towards remote working has continued is in part being driven by the increased availability of fast fibre connections. So much so that 31% of SMEs think their broadband connection has become even more important since the start of the pandemic. With less than half of all SMEs now running purely office based operations, it is easy to see why the availability of strong internet communications have risen in importance.

VoIP, or internet telephony, can be a cost-effective way of maintaining communications across multiple sites. VoIP to VoIP calls across the same network are generally free of charge, meaning that remote workers can pick up the phone to the office and vice versa without having to worry about call costs. And with the ability to add a VoIP App to mobile phones, even those whose work requires them to move between locations can benefit from cost effective calling.

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