Small Business Solutions - Voice Over IP

Small Business Is Our Only Business John Reichert: When Cindi Gardner, owner and partner of CGA Mortgage fixed up her phone to talk to a customer, she isn’t using the telephone lines. She’s using her internet connection. In the ever growing, rapidly changing telecommunications market, there’s a new kid on the block and it’s changing the way many small business are handling they’re communication needs. It’s called Voiceover IP, a technology that allows phone or fax indication over the internet. Huw Rees: V.O.I.P is Voiceover Internet Protocol, and it’s really just a method of making telephone calls over the internet. You make and receive telephone calls in exactly the same way you always did. You dial the same numbers, you are, and anyone can call you in just the same way as they always did too. But the difference is that when you’re making and receiving those calls, those calls are traveling over the internet and then retranslated at the other end back into the regular voice lines so that you can contact anybody in the world. John Reichert: Huw Rees of Packet 8, a leader in the technology says the advantage to a business using Voiceover IP is considerable, saving both time and money. Huw Rees: Well probably the biggest single advantage that people will immediately see is the cost of cost savings and traditionally we’ve said you’re going to save something like 50% of your telecommunications cost by using Voiceover IP. For small businesses that could be a significant cost saving. John Reichert: For Cindi the savings was a very real and a very practical concern. Cindi Gardner: We couldn’t put off growing up in our phone demand. We needed to have a line, we needed to somehow create voicemails for everybody and the other thing it is about Betty the receptionist. Well Bobby the receptionist if you will. You don’t understand that you’re talking about another employee. So when I found out about Packet 8, Voiceover IP Company and when I called them, I mean literally I could have every single thing I wanted, eliminate a receptionist by having an auto attendant for probably less than half of what I would’ve had to pay to a you know, the normal phone company. John Reichert: New system also provides her and the staff a variety of options and how they can manage their calls in both traditional and new ways. Cindi Gardner: But now everybody has their own voicemail, we have one of the great features is that when you get a voicemail it’s emailed to you so when you’re not in the office you can check your email and click on the attached WAV file or MP3 file and listen to the voicemail. So when you’re traveling whether you’re doing it or you know for vacations or whatever, you can still stay connected. John Reichert: And with its internet based technologies, there are other additional features that set Voiceover IP apart. Huw Rees: A lot of other kind of innovative services that you can also use with the Voiceover IP, simultaneous ringing is a good example where may be you set your Voiceover IP phone to instead of just ring your phone when somebody calls you. You may be set it to ring your phone plus it rings your cell phone plus may be your home phone simultaneously. John Reichert: The service also offers features including Fax over IP, number transfer or the PC based soft phone that allows subscribers to receive voice and video calls directly from their PC without the need of an analog phone. And for Cindi and her business, Voiceover IP offers a flexibility that’s hard to beat. Cindi Gardner: For me, you know keeping my phone cost at that level and I have room to expand with what I’m doing. I mean I can do a lot more than I’m not doing right now without spending anymore money. John Reichert: I’m John Reichert reporting for SBTV where small business is our only business.