Top 5 Myths about SIP Trunks
Although SIP Trunking and Voice over IP (VoIP) telephony have been growing in popularity over the past few years, many organisations still don’t feel confident enough to deploy an enterprise SIP trunking service.
Here are the top 5 misconceptions about moving to SIP and the reasons why you don’t need to worry:
1. SIP Calls Sound Bad
For many people their only experience of VoIP is through free tools such as Skype. While such services are generally suitable to be used at home, companies cannot afford the glitches that are often encountered. Unlike a Skype call, which freely travels via the Internet, SIP trunking runs via private IP networks which are especially designed for quality of service and bandwidth features to achieve high quality voice service.
2. SIP is Expensive
The general perception when it comes to investing into new technology is that it is expensive. But, by migrating to SIP trunks you can achieve significant cost-savings on your telephone bills. With SIP you don’t have to pay for any ISDN lines which you don’t use, moreover, your business may get additional cost-saving benefits including reduced or even free calls to fixed landlines.
3. SIP is Untested Technology
Many decision makers assume that because they are unfamiliar with SIP technology it cannot be trusted. However, the technology supporting SIP trunking is well established and has been used by businesses for many years. Furthermore, more than one million SIP trunks are currently being used in the UK, and this figure is forecasted to triple by 2018!
4. SIP Requires PBX Hardware Upgrades
There are concerns that switching to SIP trunking requires upgrading legacy PBX hardware to a newer system which can be both time consuming and resource intensive. Some also believe that the time it will take to realise any cost savings is not worth the hassle. Most PBX systems manufactured in the past 5 to 10 years are SIP enabled. Check with your VoIP supplier as they should be able to modify your existing PBX system to use SIP trunks.
5. Existing Telecoms Provider Doesn’t Recommend SIP
If your existing telecoms provider doesn’t recommend VoIP, logically you can assume that SIP trunking is just not right for your company. However, you should know that most operators have made significant investments in their infrastructure, mostly in terms of ISDN. Thus, if you decide to switch, you may be costing them much more than your custom. So forget about your good relationship, and ask yourself if it is a good sign they aren’t recommending the latest cost-effective technologies?
