Why do businesses pass on VoIP?

Why is it that some businesses have passed on the opportunity to implement Voice over IP (VoIP) even though VoIP has been proven to be able to deliver significant benefits to the organization. Many businesses have sited fears of potential unforeseen implementation costs, quality issues or possibly putting their network at increased risk.

Research has shown that many companies, both large and small are uncertain about the benefits to their organization that a VoIP telephone system offers. 55 percent of North American and European companies reported that they did not understand the value that a unified communications solution can deliver to their organization.

Many individuals in the position to make or influence the telecommunications decision do not fully understand the benefits a Voice over IP telephone system can have for their organization. These individuals generally understand how VoIP works, the improvement in ROI, and some of the features made available by VoIP. But, unless truly embrace how VoIP enables Unified Communications and think through all the possibilities a VoIP system brings to the organization, they are unlikely to implement VoIP.

Even though, VoIP companies are fairly new as compared to the traditional telephone companies, many of these newer VoIP companies are not effectively making the case for VoIP to their clients. The biggest mistake these new companies make when discussing the benefits of VoIP is the cost savings over their current telecommunications solution. I call this the “Vonage syndrome”. While cost is important, it should not be the primary selling point. In fact, existing telecom companies are still competing with and winning new deals against VoIP providers. It is the IP PBX features and functions that a VoIP telephone system brings that set VoIP apart from traditional PBX systems.

Business VoIP vendors must first educate their customers as to why VoIP makes sense for their business, AVAD Technologies offers affordable business VoIP solutions specifically designed for small to medium-sized businesses. With AVAD Technologies, all the essential business VoIP features, such as PBX, Auto-Attendant, Hunt Group,Voice mail, Call Forwarding and find me/follow me, are included in its business VoIP packages.

When speaking with a perspective client, it is important to stress that VoIP technology has dramatically improved, especially call quality and reliability. More importantly, VoIP companies must stress how VoIP technology can be used to help the customer improve customer service and efficiency. At AVAD Technology, our sales people are put through training exercises where they are not allowed to use VoIP cost savings as a sales point. This has really forced them to think about the real reason VoIP a customer should adopt VoIP technology.

Forrester (News - Alert) Research has determined that mobility is a top priority for companies in 2008, with 64 percent of respondents citing it as a priority and 23 percent calling it a critical priority. In order to continue to increase mobility and extend to companies the functionality they want to be efficient and productive, a move toward business VoIP makes sense. If you notice, cost savings was not in the top 2 reasons.

Companies such as AVAD Technologies, which focus on delivering business VoIP to the enterprise, design products and support options that ensure that the needs of the business are met in a single solution. In doing so, the company helps to promote greater adoption and satisfaction.