Potential Risks in VoIP Business that You Need to Know

VoIP Business

It is easier to think of a business than actually start it. But the difficult part is managing the business well and overcoming any issue that comes up. And this is where many businessmen make mistakes. Similar to every other business, VoIP business also has its share of pros and cons. To manage a VoIP business efficiently, it is necessary to have a good knowledge regarding the workings of the business. In addition to this, one needs to be aware of any potential risks and prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

The Potential Risks

VoIP Frauds

VoIP Frauds are a serious threat to VoIP Business. VoIP Frauds are of 2 types. Firstly, the fraud service provider. Secondly the frauds attacks on the ongoing service. These frauds are common and one can easily avoid them through careful observation and management. To know more check here: 10 Tips to Avoid VoIP Fraud Companies in VoIP Business.

Security Breach

Arbitrage, Buffer overflow, Bypass/GSM gateway fraud, Call transfer fraud, Premium rate calls, PBX hacking are some common threats that exploit the VoIP system. Keeping strong password and changing it at a regular interval, two-factor authorisation and limited access with validation at every step are some of the best practices. To know more about VoIP Security check here: Security Measures For VoIP Business Components

Data Loss

Without proper backup, data recovery is nearly impossible. Data loss not only affects revenue but also results in many other problems. Hence, it becomes extremely necessary to adopt a disaster recovery plan for minimizing loss and give continuity to the business. The best way to counter this is to use a secure softswitch or billing software which also has the option of data backup. 

Degrading Route and Service Quality

For a business to maintain its position, quality is an important factor. Businesses need to maintain their service standard and therefore it is necessary to check and monitor the service quality. If the quality of route and service degrades over time, the business suffers.

Cash Shortage

A shortage of cash is one of the potential risks in VoIP Business. At times, businessmen fall short of cash because payments in wholesale VoIP usually follow a monthly billing cycle. There are many service providers who offer a solution to this problem through an instant payment business model. To know more about the instant payment option, check here: Instant Wholesale- An Innovation for Wholesale VoIP Providers 

While the risks may sound heavy, these are common and proper preventive measures are enough to counter these. Also being a little careful helps a lot. To know more in details about the potential risks of VoIP Business check here: Top 5 VoIP Business Risks to know Before Starting

The Most Important Pros and Cons of VoIP Business

VoIP Business is one of the rapidly growing sections of the telecom industry. VoIP or voice over internet protocol is the outcome of the combination of traditional technology and internet protocol. Similar to every other business there are some advantages and disadvantages of VoIP Business. And for a businessman who wants to start in this sector, it is necessary to know the pros and cons of VoIP Business. Knowledge about potential gains and some relatively common issues beforehand helps one to manage the business efficiently.

Pros

• Easy to start: Starting a VoIP business is relatively easier than other businesses. Many providers offer service in packages. This package deals are usually helpful as they save the time and money required to look for separate components.
• Global Market: VoIP business is online based and therefore global client base is also important. Providing calls to multiple destinations attracts much more consumers than catering to a single destination.
• Minimal Production cost: As VoIP business is managed online and mostly software-based, it requires minimal hardware. Therefore it saves infrastructure cost and further maintenance.
• Safe & Secure Multiple Payment Mode: For this business, service providers offer safe and secure payment portals which are supported internationally. Usually, these portals are encrypted and therefore add an extra layer of security.

Cons

• Service Provider Selection: While the availability of multiple service providers offers options for a person to choose from, it also makes way for fraud companies to disguise themselves. These companies put up attractive offers to scam people.
• Network Blockages: There are countries or regions that deliberately block VoIP due to security reasons or to maintain a monopoly of their services over that region. Providing VoIP Services to these regions is a challenging task. A solution to this issue is to use tunnelling software.
• Cash Shortage & Payment Delay: This is usually found in Wholesale VoIP business. This at times led to cash shortage for businessmen as the money is available only on the fixed billing date. Therefore to counter the problem some service providers offer instant billing or instant payment options
• Security: Hacking, VoIP frauds, thefts and numerous other security breaches come up all the time. Sometimes it is due to poor security on the service provider’s part. Other times it is due to lack of security on the client’s part. Therefore using multiple measures is necessary.

To know more about the pros and cons of VoIP Business check here.  

Impact of VoIP Technology on Teamwork

VoIP Technology helps communication in an organisation. It is faster, reliable and helps to increase productivity in organisations. Also due to its numerous features, more things are accessible with minimal effort. Cloud is one of the major factors. When cloud and VoIP come together it takes work efficiency to a whole new level. With cloud data is accessible at any time from anywhere. And therefore subsequently helping in the workflow of an organisation.

Real-Time Communication

Real-time communication or live communication is a very useful and prominent feature of VoIP Technology. This helps in engaging real-time and solving issues at the earliest. It also includes audio-video conferencing. This feature helps to bring the team together even if the team members are located in different places. Some characteristics of Real-time communication are high speed, low loss rate, low end-to-end delay, and delivery acknowledgement, peer to peer and also cost-effective.

Remote workforce inclusion

With businesses stepping up on the global platform, companies are also looking for offshore talents. They are seeking workers from different locations around the world resulting in the creation of the desired team. As a result, this brings out the best of innovation and creativity. And all this is possible because of VoIP Technology. With a real-time connection, the remote worker becomes a part of the main hub all the while stationed at some different place. Many times, this also helps small businesses operate at different locations. Instead of setting up an office, they can hire people and use “work from home” effectively. In addition to this, it also helps in reducing production cost on the company’s part.

Maintaining Customer Relationship

A positive relationship with clients results in fruitful partnerships in business. And for this purpose clarity in communication is also necessary. The user-friendly VoIP technology here enables businesses to remain available for customers at any hour. With flexible working conditions, it is possible for employees to attend calls at home either on PC or mobiles. For any assistance from other sections, the call transfer feature will solve the problem easily. Reduced wait time and efficient handling of any issue are satisfactory to the customer and hence maintains the reputation of the business.

Scalability and Flexibility

Businesses grow in size. Simultaneously team members increase. With the traditional system, this process would result in an additional cost of hardware and time required for further training. Mobile VoIP is an effective method that helps in this domain. The feature of scalability enables new members to join the team without any hassle.

Flexibility is a big plus point that VoIP brings to small businesses. The feature of flexibility results in a better work-life balance, remote working and flexible hours which brings out the productivity of the team. VoIP software enables employees to work from home from any location and at any time.

Cost Saving & Balanced Workspace

Good team performance is important for any business. And therefore the contribution of each team member is also vital. To put a good team together and a fruitful outcome, one requires resources. Using VoIP technology results in cost reduction as VoIP usually offers an all-in-one solution.

VoIP also creates a balanced workspace. It saves time as it is faster. It saves from data breaches as it is secure. And its association with cloud results in accessibility and easy storage of data, thereby reducing workload. This creates a balance in the workspace and boosts productivity. 

To know more about the usefulness of VoIP in organisations check here: Importance of VoIP Technology for Team Work in Organisations

PSTN: The Traditional Telephone System

PSTN is the old telephone system. It is also known as the Plain Old Telephone System or POTS. This network carries voice calls for calls made from landlines or cell phones. PSTN refers to the global network of voice carrying telephone infrastructure. The commercialisation of telephones began around 1876. The demand for the service led to the growth of the PSTN and also deployment of tele-traffic engineering and the necessity to maintain Quality of Service (QoS).

The components that Public Switched Telephone Network include are telephone lines, fibre optic cables, switching centres, cellular networks, satellites and cable systems. While on the front, one simply dials a number and on the other end, one receives the call, the backend process is much more complicated than this. There are numerous steps working behind the call, which makes it possible and eventually successful.

Working of PSTN system

• Firstly, the telephone set converts the sound waves into electrical signals. Thereafter, transmission of these signals to a terminal takes place through a cable. The function of the terminal is to collect the electrical signals and transmit this to the central office (CO).
• The central office routes the calls through fibre optic cable in the form of electrical signals. The fibre optic cable carries the signals in the form of light pulses to their final destination. The purpose of tandem and central office is call routing. After reaching the right office, on the receiving end, the light pulses change back to electric signals.
• Next, the electrical signals are routed to a terminal. Thereafter, the terminal routes the call to the appropriate telephone number.
• Eventually, when it is for the user to receive the call, the telephone set converts the electrical signal back to sound waves which the receiver hears.

Comparing PSTN and VoIP

• Cost: In terms of cost, VoIP is way ahead of PSTN. While PSTN requires dedicated lines and hardware, VoIP requires minimal hardware apart from a telephone set or a mobile device.
• Productivity: VoIP usage in enterprises have shown an increase in productivity. Due to several features and higher speed, VoIP performs better than PSTN in this aspect.
• Security: While it appears that PSTN might offer better security than VoIP, it is partially correct. Though previously in initial stage VoIP did face security issues, in the present day, things are much better. There are encryptions, 2-factor authentication, several passwords and other methods to keep things secure.
• Maintenance: With numerous hardware, telephone lines and all other accessories, the maintenance of Public Switched Telephone Network is a costly affair. On the other hand, VoIP Technology is based on software and requires minimum maintenance.

To know more about PSTN and VoIP check here. 

The details of Unified Communications

The most appropriate definition of Unified Communication is “communications integrated to optimize business processes and increase user productivity.” UC brings together the means to integrate near to real-time unified messaging, collaboration and interactive systems. The scope for UC is vast. And therefore, its expansion makes way for incorporating collaboration and other interactive systems such as instant messages, voice response systems, scheduling workflow.

Components of UC

• Instant Messaging
• Unified Messaging
• Speech access and personal assistant
• Audio, video and web conferencing
• Call control and multimodal communications
• Presence: the feature of knowing where intended recipients are and whether they are available or not.
• Collaboration tools
• Mobility
• Business Process Integration (BPI)
• Software to enable BPI

Cloud UC

Combining the voice and unified messaging features, cloud UC brings together the best of both worlds. The features here include: instant messaging, presence, video and web conferencing, call recording and team collaboration. This, therefore, helps to improve the work efficiency of the employees. Usually, a third party service provider hosts the cloud-based unified communication service. These software-driven services have numerous features. Above all, this is customizable and helps to adapt according to the growth and changing needs of the business.

Some of the major benefits are as follows:

• Backup and Disaster recovery
• Detailed analytics
• Support system managed CRM integration
• Communication-enabled business processes

UC Provider 

Some Points which would help to select a proper UC Provider:

Scalability: Choose the provider who has the potential to accommodate your necessities in future also. As businesses expand and both clients and employee bases increase, scalability is one of the most important factors to keep in mind.

Backup: Backups are important as they will save the business when primary systems go down. Therefore look for a provider who offers a backup system.

Good Internet Connection: UC requires a high-speed internet connection. Hence make sure that the provider you select has the ability to keep up with the demands on implementing such a system along with a reasonable cost.

Service Package: Some providers offer customizable package services according to your requirements. Therefore select the one which suits you the best.

Equipment Compatibility: Many times it is necessary to upgrade old equipment to make it UC compatible. While one can do this on their own, there are service providers who provide this facility. So if you want expert help in this matter then select your service provider accordingly.

The Details of Private Branch Exchange

Private Branch Exchange helps to maintain internal and external communication in an organisation or an enterprise. Traditionally, PBX was a hardware system handling routing and call switching. PBX is different from PSTN through it can connect to it. In this, the main communication circuit or the trunk lines connect to the endpoints to handle small amounts of traffic. The connection is exchanged through a switching system, which in turn, routes a large number of calls through limited lines.

Types of PBX 

There are 2 types of Private Branch Exchange. Traditional PBX and IP based PBX. These 2 are further categorised into 2 types.

Traditional PBX

• ·         On-Premise PBX
• ·         Hosted traditional PBX

IP Based PBX

• ·         On-Premise
• ·         Hosted IP PBX

IP PBX & Hosted PBX

 IP PBX enables call switching between VoIP users. While the traditional PBX worked on telephone line and switches, IP PBX uses the internet to channel calls. This system helps to connect telephone extensions to the PSTN and provides a secure internal communication system for the business.

Hosted Private Branch Exchange is a PBX system that a third party service provider builds, delivers and manages. It is an IP based telephony solution that is provisioned and accessed entirely through the internet. The other terms used for Hosted PBX are cloud PBX or Hosted VoIP. It is similar to traditional Private Branch Exchange, without any need for an in-house PBX system.

VoIP Business

 Hosted VoIP Business is a form of retail VoIP Business. This means the hardware and PBX are hosted at an off-site location away from where the VoIP service is used. This is also at times referred to as Cloud PBX because it allows the business to use the service through a web portal. Hosted VoIP Service is suitable for small or medium-size businesses. As Hosted VoIP Provider manages everything behind the screen, clients or customers, on the other hand, do not require to purchase anything other than IP Phones. Some service Providers offer Hosted VoIP Services in a package including all the necessary details like Softswitch, server, and dialer all three together. To know more about Hosted VoIP Business check here.

Best Tips to Manage VoIP Call Quality

VoIP Call is the easiest and cost efficient means of telecommunication. VoIP Technology is one of the most popular technologies of the present day. Individuals for personal uses along with corporate users all benefit from VoIP Technology. VoIP is the revolutionised form of the traditional telephone system. Through VoIP Calls, VoIP Technology presents the best solution to high international call charges.

Good quality Mobile Dialer: Mobile dialers are mobile applications which enable a user to make a VoIP Call. A good quality dialer solves many technical issues which would otherwise create a problem. Also, a regular update of the application is necessary for security purposes.

Network: When network load increases, it affects the call quality adversely. And therefore it is the responsibility of the service provider, to ensure that the network is large enough to take on the load. For Reseller VoIP and Hosted VoIP, it is better to choose the number of concurrent calls according to the number of consumers or clients.

Check Demo: Many service providers offer a free demo for their services. Trying the free demo ensures good quality service for the consumers. Free demo helps one to check the quality of the service and select it thereafter. Through this demo, one is able to check the details of software, mobile dialer, call quality and all other related points.

Solution for Latency & Jitter: To solve the issue of latency, one has to prioritize the VoIP Traffic over the network. Some common techniques for prioritising VoIP Traffic are policy-based network management, type of VoIP Server, the bandwidth reserved, class of service and MPLS. Similarly, jitter buffers help to solve the issue of jitter. The jitter buffer temporarily stores arriving packets for minimising delay variations. They discard packages which arrive too late.

Tunnelling Software: The usefulness of tunnelling software is huge for VoIP Calls, Mobile Dialers with tunnelling protocol can bypass firewalls and VoIP blockages. Tunnelling Protocol further reduces bandwidth consumption during the calls resulting in better call quality. 

To know more about how to manage VoIP Call quality check here: Best ways to manage and maintain VoIP Call Quality