Technology is constantly evolving, and nowhere is this more evident than within the telecommunications industry.
Traditional analogue copper cable services are outdated and no longer efficient to the point where they have reached the end of their serviceable life. They are to be switched off by the end of 2027, being replaced with a digital solution known as internet telephony.
As the deadline draws ever closer, it is crucially important for businesses to understand what internet telephony is, how to utilise it, and the clear benefits it brings.
What is internet telephony?
Internet telephony is a communications technology where all types of telephony services, calls and data, are sent digitally over the internet using the Internet Protocol (IP), rather than being transmitted over traditional analogue landlines.
This includes voice calls, fax, voicemail, video calls and other forms of communication exchange.
How does it work?
Audio streams (your voice) transmitted through a microphone and video streams transmitted through a camera, are converted into digital format data, compressed, and split into small packetswhich are transmitted to the recipient over the internet.
These packets are then re-assembled when they reach their destination and converted back into audio / video streams on the other party’s device.
What is VoIP?
VoIP is an acronym for Voice over Internet Protocol and sits as an element within internet telephony. Whereas internet telephony is a broader term for the transmission of any kind of information over the internet, VoIP is an open standards technology purely for the transfer of voice calls.
What hardware do you need for internet telephony?
At the most basic level, you will need a suitable internet connection with associated modem and router (generally a single combined device these days), plus a device to make and receive calls with.
This device could be a laptop, PC, Mac, tablet or mobile running a softphone client with an optional headset or earpiece, or many users still prefer a desktop phone. These look visually like ordinary traditional phones but have many more features and greater functionality.
Why do you need to switch?
There are several obvious benefits of switching to internet telephony, such as cost savings, improved reliability, advanced functionality, greater flexibility, and scalability. However, the most pressing reason is that the telecoms industry has announced that it will retire the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) by January 2027. This is referred to as The Big Switch Off.
Don’t leave it until the last minute; start exploring the options and alternatives today. The sooner you switch, the sooner your business can start enjoying the benefits of internet telephony.
What are the advantages of internet telephony?
As it is no longer shackled to the limitations of traditional phone lines, internet telephony offers many advantages over analogue telephony.
Flexibility – Internet telephony gives you the ability to make and receive calls on multiple devices such as smartphones and desk phones, without any impact to customer experience. Although you can divert calls on traditional phonelines, it’s often a much more cumbersome process where you need to contact your telephony provider and wait for them to activate these changes.
Scalability – Whether it’s to cope with the growth of your business, or seasonal spikes in call volumes, internet telephony can easily adjust to meet your needs. Not only is the purchase of additional telecoms hardware unnecessary, but you can also add or remove devices and numbers with ease, much faster than on a traditional phone system.
Cost-efficiency – Far cheaper than landline and mobile telephony, internet telephony enables you to save money through VoIP calls, and it requires no capital outlay. Inclusive features such as voicemail, call-forwarding, conferencingand auto-attendants remove the need for previously expensive bolt-ons.
Voice quality – With a stable and fast internet connection, sound is usually clearer using internet telephony than through analogue phonelines. There will be fewer dropped calls and less chance for delays or interruptions.
Business continuity – With communication services moved offsite, running from secure and resilient datacentres, you will not be impacted by local power outages. You can make and receive calls from other branch offices, remote / home workers, and in fact anywhere with an internet connection.
How does SCG offer internet telephony?
SCG offers internet telephony through Evonex, its own unique Cloud-based telephony solution.
SCG can also equip your business premises and home workers with high-speed internet connections.
How does Evonex differ from other internet telephony or VoIP solutions?
We understood very early on that internet telephony would become the communications solution for the future, and we needed to be at the forefront of the sector. We recognised that if we wanted to deliver industry-leading hosted telephony, we had to be the ones in full control of the products and services we offered.
From owning the intellectual property and patented technology, to highly scalable and resilient infrastructure architecture, to the in-house development, operations, and support teams, Evonex is our answer.
Evonex enables you to connect with staff, customers, and prospects, by giving you the power to Be More in Control of your business communications. We have the capability and resources to continually develop and evolve it, being both pro-active and responsive to the needs of our customers, and industry trends and regulations.
Customer experience and business performance are often intrinsically linked to call handling; Evonex enables you to improve this whole process, starting with a simple cost per user per month for a single telephone number which can be across multiple devices simultaneously.
With cross-platform compatibility and feature synchronisation, plus a common user interface across web browsers, Windows and Mac clients, and iOS and Android mobile apps, it gives you greater colleague visibility, so you can see who’s available to take calls, who answers and when.
Easy administration empowers you to adjust personal and group call routing, queuing, messaging, and announcements on the fly, allowing you to adapt in real time to match changes in business circumstances.
With basic call recording storage and Insights Reporting included as standard, Evonex enables you to monitor and improve productivity through comprehensive statistical reports with a choice of formats, frequency, and automated email delivery options.
MS Teams compatibility, voicemail transcription, Click-to-Dial, integration with leading CRM systems, and local breakout in multiple international locations are just some of the other benefits available.
In addition to great functionality, Evonex also stands out from the crowd with its exceptional reputation for stability, and long history of unsurpassed reliability in the UK Cloud telephony market.This is all supplemented with Anti DDoS protection / mitigation and MFA protected account logins.
What advantages does SCG offer as an internet telephony provider?
At SCG, we understand that there’s no such thing as off-the-shelf business communications. We don’t just sell products; we take the time to understand the current and future needs of our customers, delivering bespoke solutions designed to solve the issues that they face in the evolving world of business; our goal is to develop long-term relationships where we are a trusted partner.
SCG gives you More. Not only can you come to us for all your communications needs, providing just one easy point of contact for all your requirements, but all our core solutions have the option of our comprehensive Service Assured wrapper. This provides that extra level of peace of mind and business continuity, avoiding issues such as customers ever receiving the busy or unavailable tone, and averting the potentially crippling costs of call fraud.
Customer experience is at the heart of everything we do, backed up by our outstanding service record. Not only do we have over 50 years’ experience, but we believe in the human approach; our customers know they can reach us within five seconds of calling. This is why we maintain an industry-leading 4.9-star Trustpilot rating after receiving more than 2,500 customer reviews.
The future of telephony
In addition to internet telephony being a cost-effective and futureproof solution to the retirement of traditional copper-based services, it also offers a much-improved business communications experience. Don’t get left behind by the progression of technology. Contact us today on 0800 090 1965 or sales@scgconnected.co.uk to see how easy it is to deploy Evonex across your business so you can Be More Connected.