Technology is always growing and advancing in too many areas to keep up with at once. One such advancement that may prove vital to businesses is the voice over internet protocol (VoIP) industry. VoIP essentially uses the same protocols used by the internet rather than phone lines; VoIP is often referred to as IP telephony due to its ability to unite an organization’s many locations into a single communications network at an unparalleled range. The VoIP industry is expected to continue growing as more businesses adopt this model; here are three ways that VoIP helps businesses.

Video Security Systems


Closed circuit video surveillance systems are essential to the security of a business; the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that employee theft alone costs employers between $20 billion and $40 billion every year. There are a number of issues relating to traditional video security systems including but not limited to: low resolution; the need for constant, stationary monitoring; and a high expense. Switching to VoIP video security systems reduce costs, increase functionality, and free up space taken up by large multi-camera closed circuit television setups since the switching and routing is done though a computer instead of a video matrix switcher. There are a number of companies that sell low cost, cloud-connected security cameras with resolutions ranging from 720 to 1080 pixels; combined with the remote access capability enjoyed by VoIP video security systems, companies are able to enjoy cheaper, more reliable security.

Modern Telephone Systems

There are up to 64 million employees in the United States that hold a job that relies on some kind of telecommunication; this is 50% of the American workforce. Companies that replace traditional phone lines and switch to a VoIP system typically save 20% to 50% on their monthly phone bills. In addition, a survey conducted by Sage Research found that the increased productivity enabled by VoIP telephone systems could add up to 3.9 hours of productivity hours per week per employee. This begs the question as to why anyone would continue to use traditional telephone lines.

Web-Based Conferencing

There is no doubt that the internet is bringing people closer together than ever before. To this end, businesses are able to meet with partners, co-workers, and clients without the need to be in the same room. Anyone who has ever used a webcam prior to 2005 knows the difficulty associated with low broadband connectivity — in some cases it is nearly impossible to hold a conversation. Businesses that use VoIP technology can enhance their Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) to better support multimedia for a higher-quality web-based video conferencing experience on the whole. Since there are over 11 million meetings in the United States every day, it is paramount that professional businesses keep up by improving their infrastructure; VoIP services show no sign of slowing down anytime soon as they become the new standard for telecommunication and video conferencing.