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By Gia McNutt
VoIP breaks the information into small packets of ones and zeros that are at the heart of all computer languages. The packets can be sent along any combination of the Internet, dedicated digital circuits and regular phone lines until they reach their destination. Each packet contains extra coded information that tells the network where it came from, where it’s supposed to go, and how the packets should be reassembled on the other end.
That means telephones, computers and other devices can all talk the same language and work together to serve you. Applications such as speech recognition, voice mail, interactive voice response, call center applications and simple Web-based management tools can all run on a single system.
To connect with the rest of the world, all it takes is dedicated circuits or a high-speed Internet connection. Long-distance calls can bypass most of the traditional telephone system, saving on toll charges. And because the voice is digitized into packets, the computer circuits can perform other tasks in between packets, instead of having to be dedicated like a phone line and remaining open during the dead air between sounds. Not having to set up a dedicated wire for each phone makes it easier to move, add or change phone lines.
Do More With Less
Here’s another example of how VoIP helps a small or midsize firm with a large volume of customer interactions: Say a company had many small offices scattered over a wide geographic area. The sales staff at one office might be swamped with calls while the staff at another office might be sitting idle. A business VoIP system can catch the rollover calls and automatically look for the next available salesperson in any of the other offices. Customers will get to ask their question of a real person right away, though the person answering the phone may even be working from home in a different region.
And, if a repeat customer is calling, VoIP enhanced with customer contact center software can show key information on a computer screen before the staff even answers the phone, such as order status, delivery preferences, buying history and more.
A specialist in computer telephony integration can help you weigh the value of such messaging options as Voice Mail, Unified Messaging, Screen Pops, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), and Network Faxing. Then they can help design and put in a custom system that your IT guru can maintain at peak performance.
The most important aspect of VoIP is that it is growing and here to stay. As Ken Dulaney, the distinguished Gartner Group analyst, puts it: VoIP "represents the 'dial tone' for the future."
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