Utilizing Voip, Austin Businesses Increase Mobility

By Author: Hannah.Hopkins
Total Articles: 10
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We've all heard it before: the internet is changing the way we do business. Data can be transmitted at lightening speed and a business can connect with customers across the globe. The world wide web has had the most impact on communication, with voice-over internet protocol, or VOIP, leading the way. Mobility is essential to a business' success and can be enhanced by using a business phone system based on VOIP. Austin businesses' are utilizing this technology to support the growing trend of telecommuting and business travel. Essentially, VOIP allows you to make a phone call using a broadband connection instead of a traditional phone line. The data is transmitted over the internet instead of through a physical telephone wire. You can make a VOIP phone call from a traditional telephone (using an adapter), a VOIP-enabled phone, or a computer or laptop. A VOIP call from any of these devices can be made to any one of the others, and also to a traditional phone line. This means that even if the party on the other end is not using VOIP technology, they can still receive the communication. Possibility the greatest benefit of VOIP ...
... is that it supports telecommuting. The Telework Coalition has estimated that over 40 million workers telecommute in the United States. Texas is no exception, and Forbes has recently named Austin as a top ten telecommuting city thanks to Dell, IBM, Apple, Google, Cisco, 3M, Sun Microsystems, and others. For example, more than half of Sun Microsystems' employees around the world work from home or in a flexible office arrangement, in part by utilizing the technology of VOIP. Austin employees can use VOIP to connect to their company's telephone system from anywhere with a suitable broadband connection. A dedicated phone line is no longer required, so a home telephone linked to the office is no longer just for executives. For example, it's now possible to have Customer Service and Tech Support work from home with flexible scheduling or on-demand scheduling for work-at-home agents. Engineers, programmers, and other knowledge workers that don't require close supervision can also work from home and only travel to the office for periodic status review meetings. In addition to facilitating telecommuting, VOIP supports traveling for business. Employees may be on the go for a variety of reasons, if only for an off-site meeting. In a global business environment, travel is a necessity, as is the need to keep the lines of communication open, wherever an employee may need to go. Whether it is from a hotel, coffee shop, or conference room in China, by utilizing VOIP business phone systems, Austin employers and employees can stay connected, and increase communication with their national or global business partners. In today's information age, the internet truly has transformed the way we do business. By utilizing the internet, communication is easier and greater mobility is possible with VOIP. Austin businesses' can support the growing amount of telecommuters and the necessity of travel with this internet-based technology.