As a VoIP provider, we may be a little biased. But it’s hard not to say yes when you consider all the advantages of a VoIP system:

Drastically reduces costs

With traditional PBX, you’d pay thousands of dollars for on-site hardware, plus the cost of ongoing maintenance. Long distance and international calling would be charged per-minute, while you’d have to pay extra for any business features.

The affordability of VoIP is one of its major selling points. With calls taking place over the Internet, there’s no expensive hardware required­­—all you need is connected devices and a router (which means it’s low-maintenance, too).

VoIP also enables much cheaper calling, whether it’s local or long-distance. For example, Dialpad offers free VoIP calling throughout Canada and the US. One more thing: VoIP makes it easier to transition to a remote or hybrid workforce, which saves on office rent and commuting. (If you’re not ready to invest in dedicated IP phones, you can make VoIP calls by using computers as softphones, or using analog phones with adapters.)

Reliable call quality

Depending on your provider, business VoIP is usually able to deliver very reliable call quality thanks to global voice networks and modern telephony technology. As long as you have a solid Internet connection and choose a provider with uptime SLAs, VoIP will work just fine.

As an example, the minimum amount of bandwidth required to use Dialpad is 100 kbps per voice session. The average bandwidth of most Internet consumers in the United States far exceeds this. Dialpad also boasts an enterprise uptime of 100%, so you won’t lose customers due to outages or dropped calls.

Flexibility and accessibility for users

VoIP gives your team the ability to be in contact wherever they are. Let’s say you’re out in the field and you need to clarify something with a colleague. With VoIP, you can keep in touch on your own device—using your business number to avoid giving out your personal one. And customers can reach you even when you’re away from your desk.

Dialpad’s mobile and desktop app is as flexible as it gets, because it works across iOS, Android, PC, and Mac (and even on web browsers so nobody has to download an app).

Easily scalable

VoIP is way more scalable than traditional phone systems. If you want to hire new staff, you don’t have to install physical phone lines for them. You can set up new phone numbers with just a few clicks. You don’t even have to buy special handsets as workers can use their own devices.

Subscription-based pricing lets you scale up or down as needed when you need to add extra users or features during busy seasonal periods. For example, Dialpad's cloud-based contact center platform is fully integrated into its phone system, and lets you add new agents and manage phone numbers right from your online dashboard.

Improved security

With cloud-based VoIP, your vendor has most of the responsibility for protecting your data.

With good VoIP providers, Information is stored on multiple servers in geographically-dispersed data centers, so if one has a problem, the others take over. In the unlikely event of a network outage, your data remains secure and accessible across all devices.

Generally speaking, you do need a reliable Internet service to receive and make VoIP calls. However, VoIP technically doesn’t have to run over Wi-Fi. It’s possible to set up a self-contained VoIP network of dedicated IP lines, in which phones can communicate with each other as long as they share the same IP based network. The downside is that this will cost you a lot more, and it’s not really suitable for large, multi-location businesses. If you’re considering the move to VoIP, it’s best to make sure you have a good Internet connection.

The short answer: Yes! The following are just a few examples of industries and business operations where VoIP is increasingly becoming the norm (and where those organizations that don’t make the switch are getting left behind).

Contact centers

Inbound and outbound contact centers are ideal use cases for VoIP. Many customers still prefer to use the phone, and a VoIP system enables you to hire remote agents, offer toll-free numbers with minimal cost to the business, and more. And with unified communications, there’s also the option of messaging or video calls.

VoIP's advanced features can really help you streamline workflows and boost efficiency saves you money, as well as improve agent and customer happiness. For example, Dialpad has features like a power dialer, automatic call distribution, and tools for real-time coaching—plus CRM integrations that put customer data right at agents’ fingertips.

Financial services

VoIP phone systems are also increasingly used in financial industries such as insurance and banking, where calls contain sensitive information. We’ve already mentioned some of Dialpad’s security features, but you should know that it’s also SOC2® Type II and Privacy Shield compliant, and is a member of the Cloud Security Alliance’s Security, Trust and Assurance Registry (STAR).

And if you need to fax—as many do in the financial (and legal) world, Dialpad lets you send e-faxes in the same app as your other communications.

Healthcare

Just like in finance, healthcare institutions need secure and reliable communications—they’re handling personal information and urgent conversations, after all. Patients don’t need delays when they’re calling for test results or organizing Medicaid payments.

Within hospitals and clinics, an efficient phone system is crucial. Dialpad is HIPAA-compliant and helps you streamline communications and make sure there’s always someone to answer the phone or take a message.

Travel

The travel industry covers every corner of the world and every mode of transport, so it relies on good communication. VoIP systems help travel businesses make those connections and find the best deals for customers, as well as saving money with cheaper long-distance calls. Travel agents also need quick access to customer details and existing bookings, so Dialpad’s integrations with CRMs are super-useful. As is call forwarding, which enables callers to reach agents when they’re away from their desks.

Ecommerce

The ecommerce sector is doing big business—which means online retailers are handling an ever-higher volume of customers. You might get calls about stock levels, product details, or delivery options, and you also need to stay in touch with suppliers and shipping carriers. VoIP solutions help you handle all this and more, from streamlining workflows so that customer issues are sorted quickly to making sure customer data such as credit card details are secure.

Real estate

Real estate firms often have branches in multiple locations, while realtors are constantly on the road visiting properties and closing deals. They need VoIP tools to keep everyone in the loop, while high security is also crucial for handling financial information. With a VoIP solution, agents can stay in touch wherever they are, and have important calls forwarded to their mobile phones. Voicemail transcription is also useful, and you could even use video conferencing for virtual house tours.

Education

Large educational institutions like colleges need to connect all the locations on a campus, from the dean’s office to residential halls. A cloud-based VoIP system makes this so much easier, not to mention more affordable for schools on a tight budget. Video conferencing enables remote learning, and staff can set up messaging groups to share information and advice.

And beyond virtual learning, higher education institutions that have contact centers or call centers running their Enrolment, Admissions, or Fundraising departments are using contact center platforms with built-in VoIP to connect with students and prospective students.

VoIP providers typically charge on a per-user per-month basis, costing around $25 on average. Dialpad beats this with a basic price of $15 per seat, which includes an unlimited calling plan and unlimited SMS/MMS (US and Canada), call controls, custom voicemail greeting, voicemail transcription, and plenty more.

Installation is free, because there’s nothing to install! You get a free local number when you sign up. You can buy dedicated IP phones if you want to (from as little as $129), or just use a special adapter with your old phones.

Cost

It’s possible to get a VoIP service free of charge, but most aren't not ideal for business use. And some “cheap” VoIP options, such as Vonage and Grasshopper, make you pay for basic features as add-ons. Do your research and make sure you’re getting the best value for your money.

The features your business needs

There’s no point paying good money for a phone system if it doesn't have what your business needs (for example, Ooma Office doesn’t have video conferencing and RingCentral doesn't build its own AI). Even if a phone system has advanced features, if you don't end up using them, that'll end up being a waste anyway. And if you don't have plans to have remote or hybrid workers, then you might end up being fine on an on-premises system. Always sign up for a free trial if possible to test it out yourself first.

The mobile app

If you want flexible working options, then you’ll definitely want one of these— it’ll make life much easier for remote workers, whether they use company or personal mobile devices. An app like Dialpad’s enables you to work from anywhere with all your communications in one handy platform. It’s available for iOS, Android, Chrome, and as an Extension.

Ease of integration

Integrations bring all your most-used apps into one place, streamlining all your tasks and saving you from having to do repetitive data entry. Dialpad integrates seamlessly with popular apps such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and Salesforce, and also has an open API for building your own integrations.