One of the key ingredients to the success of any international business is the efficacy and the cost-effectiveness of its communications systems. Having a good telecommunications system enables employees to communicate effectively with each other internally, and it also allows the employees to communicate with external clients. For businesses located in multiple geographical locations nationally or internationally, the choice and type of telecommunications system used plays a major role in how the different locations cooperate and collaborate with each other in order to achieve common business goals. A poor telecommunications system will cause poor internal and external communication which, if not remedied, may adversely impact the business.
Over the past several years, businesses have increasingly adopted the use of Voice over IP (VoIP) for their telecommunications strategy, transitioning away from Public Switched Telephone Networks (PTSN). With VoIP, communication is done digitally over the internet rather than over traditional copper telephone wires. It is the primary communication method of choice for a lot of international businesses. Since its inception, VoIP has been steadily increasing in acceptance and popularity with both small- and large-sized businesses. The global VoIP market is projected to have a market value of $52 billion by 2023, with a 9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
BENEFITS OF VOIP FOR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
The increased adoption of VoIP by international business is a major reason for the continued growth and popularity of VoIP services. There are several benefits that VoIP services provide international businesses compared to PTSN, including:
- Reduced calling costs: For international businesses, the costs of making as well as receiving international calls over traditional telephone lines can accrue rapidly as the various locations stay in frequent regular touch with each other. Left unchecked, these costs may erode a business’s profit margin. In contrast, VoIP calls are significantly cheaper than calls over PTSN. They are cheaper to set up, maintain, and also to scale in accordance with business needs.
- Reduced travel expenses: In addition to voice communication, VoIP allows for the easy sharing of multimedia. This allows the different locations to easily collaborate with one another. As a result, there is a reduced need to travel to the various disparate locations of a business which therefore saves the money that would have been used for travel.
- Mobile access: One of the main benefits of VoIP is that communication can be done through the use of mobile devices such as smartphones. This allows employees to freely travel to any location globally without losing the ability to communicate with each other as well as their clients. For business owners, mobile access and communication allow them to stay fully abreast of all activities within the business.
- Ease of collaboration: Effective communication, as well as collaboration, is essential for international businesses. The different locations have to be in constant touch with each other as they work towards common business goals. VoIP allows for employees at disparate locations to effectively communicate and share relevant multimedia with each other.
- Reduced meeting costs: Prior to VoIP, meetings for international businesses involved the participants traveling to an agreed upon location for the meeting. This was usually a costly and time-consuming endeavor. With VoIP, virtual meetings can be set, requiring no travel on the part of any of the meeting participants which therefore saves businesses money.
As large international companies such as Accenture and KPMG have made the transition to VoIP to reap the benefits discussed above, it is important that you do the same for your business. Failure in so doing may decrease your competitive edge in our global economy.
At Advanced Communications LLC, we are experts in setting up VoIP international business phone systems of any size. We work with you and provide our recommendations based on your business’s telecommunication needs. Contact us today for more information.