Why Voice Over IP (VoIP)?

How VoIP is Commonly Used for Business Purposes

At ServiceMark we are strong proponents of Voice over IP technology, and we are also strong proponents of traditional telephone technology. We are not advocates of technology for technology sake. We help our customers explore which technologies (such as Voice over IP) are relevant for their business and which technologies may not be needed, then recommend deploying the technology that is the best fit. We are enthusiastic about applying technology for our customers in a meaningful way that produces greater efficiency and better customer service.

What is Voice over IP?

VoIP is an acronym for Voice over Internet Protocol, and a brief definition is “talking over public or private IP data network”. In some applications the technology involves talking over the public internet. However, VoIP is not limited to the public internet, but also includes connecting IP telephones to a local data network (LAN) inside a single building or campus environment, or talking over a private data network (WAN) that connects multiple office buildings.

Why Voice over IP?

The applications of VoIP technology are numerous, but we’ll limit our comments to how VoIP is commonly used for business purposes.
• VoIP technology can provide a reduction of long distance charges.
• VoIP technology can deliver cost effective telephone and internet services over a common connection such as coax cables, T1s, or fiber optics.
• VoIP telephones and desktop computers can share a common data network connection which may reduce wiring costs inside a building.
• It is now affordable and reliable to deploy wireless technology to connect VoIP phones and computers in multiple buildings located on a single campus which eliminates the need for overhead or underground cables.
• VoIP can provide the ability for telephones in multiple offices to work together as one telephone system.
• VoIP can extend the high end functionality of a business telephone to a person that works from home.

Is Voice over IP Reliable?

Today VoIP is a mature technology and is very reliable if best practices are followed. Conversely, VoIP can be deployed best effort with no guarantees of quality.

Examples of VoIP best practices that are very reliable and can be guaranteed are as follows:

• Voice and data service delivered via T1’s or Fiber over “dedicated” bandwidth is very stable.
• Voice connectivity over a carrier’s network (such as Windstream or AT&T) that does not rely on the public internet to transmit phone calls should be very reliable
• Connectivity of VoIP phones to data switches that deploy Quality of Service (QoS) insures quality phone conversations

Examples of VoIP best effort deployments that are not always reliable are as follows:

• Cable TV companies utilize VoIP technology to deliver telephone service over a coax cable. Quality of phone conversations over coax cable can vary because the bandwidth is not dedicated bandwidth and is shared with your neighbors. When others in your neighborhood get busy on the internet the quality of phone service can suffer.
• Voice connectivity over the public internet is not guaranteed. Common problems include echo, jitter, latency, cutting in/out, overall poor voice quality, and disconnects.
• Connectivity of VoIP phones to data switches that are not equipped with Quality of Service (QoS) can result in poor voice quality.

When I buy a phone system, should I configure the system with all VoIP phones?

“Why VoIP?” should be discussed and vetted. While we have mentioned several reasons to consider VoIP, it’s important to note that it’s commonplace that we install digital phones as opposed to VoIP phones for many business customers. For more insight click here to view a video that profiles three of ServiceMark’s customers. One of the customer’s in the video utilizes VoIP phones, and two of the customers utilize digital phones. It’s worthwhile to discuss what a company hopes to achieve now and in the future, and which solution (VoIP phones or digital phones) is the most cost effective solution based on a customer’s specific circumstances.

We welcome the opportunity to discuss in further detail how you can realize cost savings, improve customer service, and help discover which technologies are relevant for your business. Please call us at 816-478-2000 and press 2, or e-mail us at support@servicemark.net for a free, no obligation consultation.

Client Testimonials

      EXCELLENT  
   Based on 22 reviews 
    
 
 
 
   
 
 
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   Tim Porter 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. This team really knows their business. If you are looking for a solution that is designed specifically for your business, this is it. Bruce and his team handle everything from small businesses like mine, to multi-location setup. You will not find anyone more down-to-earth than here! Update 11/2023: Bruce and his team helped me as we outgrew a traditional phone system. He helped us to convert to NEC's Univerge Blue VoIP system. This system can do as little or as much as you want it to. It is perfect for a team who has different skill levels. This system allows you to work from anywhere you have internet access or just use a desk phone like we did 30 years ago. The Install was on time, as-scheduled, the training was thorough with recordings of our training, and follow up on the phone with my questions afterwards was easy. No attitude of "I told you" kind of tone, but a pleasant helpful manner to help me through my needs. I couldn't be happier!
  
 
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   D Edwards 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Our business still had Southwestern Bell & AT&T phone wiring from the 1980's and 1990's with our handsets at least 20 years old-way past time for an upgrade. We contacted ServiceMark to get "new phones" and from that first phone call the end of June, all new cabling in our building installed the end of August then going live on the new system the second week of September, it has been nothing but professionalism, everyone has been extremely friendly, attentive to detail and communication to make this overwhelming (to us anyway) transition very easy and a pleasurable experience. We would highly recommend ServiceMark for your business communication needs. Oh and if you would have an issue like we had one at 6am the other morning when the businessowner got to the store and it appeared that there was an outage, placed a service call and the issue was answered and fixed within 15 minutes!!! You just can't beat that!  Auto Color
  
 
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   Austin H. 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I am an on-site IT technician that is contracted to a school district. The school district was in need of a new phone system and decided to partner with ServiceMark. I have to say, they made the whole project super easy! They were amazing when it came to preparing for the project. The communication and collaboration was amazing! Top notch customer service all around. Everyone is very friendly and professional. I'd like to thank Marty, Patrick, Dave, Shelby, Jenny, Ryan and  Bruce. I look forward to continue working with everyone.
  
 
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   Emily Brockhaus 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Bruce, Shelby, Jenny and Marty have all been monumental in making our transition to a new phone system EASY and PAINLESS. This was a huge undertaking, but with their help and expertise we were able to roll out this project very smoothly.
  
 
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   Fawaz S 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Great company with outstanding customer service. They have been managing our phones (150+ lines ) for a few years and just completed a project to move us to a cloud solution. On time, On budget (to the dime!), No surprises! Looking forward to continuing our long term partnership with them.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Mister Giggledrops 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Good group of people
  
 
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   Antony Ritho 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Great
  
 
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   Andrew Morgan 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Top notch! 10 stars
  
 
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   Laura Nennig 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Excellent training and customer service. We've used Service Mark at our business for over 15 years and they've only continued to improve their technology, and features. I love that Jenny creates videos for training for us to review if there are features we need a refresher for or new staff to train on their phone system. They have a technician on call 24 hours a day and helped us when we upgraded a few months ago. We were never without our phones and someone can out on Saturday to help us use a new feature we didn't understand. I could not recommend hem enough!