What is SIP trunking and how might it help my business?

You may have read about many benefits of switching your business phone system to a completely online-based VoIP service. You might, for example, have learned of the considerable cost savings – which, for most users of our VoIP service, touch or exceed 75%.

The advertised flexibility of a VoIP system in comparison to a PBX-based alternative might also have added to the former’s appeal in your eyes. Still, if you aren’t yet ready to let go of your PBX system and standard handsets, SIP trunks let you tap into many benefits that come with VoIP.

The undoubted appeal of VoIP systems

With BT preparing to shut down its PSTN and ISDN networks as businesses in rising numbers adopt comparatively modern, internet-based telecoms systems, your firm must be ready. Exactly how it readies itself right now is up to you – and depends on whether it still uses a legacy system.

If your business still relies on BT’s PSTN and ISDN infrastructure, you could follow the example of many companies that are taking up full, internet-based VoIP systems. An alternative option, however, is arranging for us to implement SIP trunks to be used by your company.

Why might you want to choose SIP trunking?

Our team at Planet Numbers offers a complete VoIP system which your business could start using within just a few days of placing its order. The system would enable you to do away with your existing PBX system completely; the only fresh hardware necessary would be VoIP handsets.

However, you might still be reticent about transferring your corporate telecoms operations entirely to VoIP quite so soon. This could especially apply if you fear that your personnel would need time to get to grips with the new system; their time spent on learning could hamper business continuity.

In this situation, initially opting just for SIP trunking rather than a comprehensive VoIP solution could help smooth the transition to eventually taking one up. With SIP trunks, you would still be getting a cloud-based telecoms systems with which you could tinker to account for your firm’s structure.

As explained in a No Jitter article, SIP trunks are not what are traditionally defined as trunks. Instead, SIP trunks are real-time IP voice or video data services the connections of which the SIP protocol manages. However, the term “trunk” remains convenient shorthand for describing the concept of these pipes, given that their throughput can match that of a typical trunk.

Slimming trunks: how SIP can streamline your spending

For many businesses, perhaps the most immediate and obvious benefit of SIP trunking is its ability to deliver impressive financial savings. As these trunks will connect your PBX system to the internet, you can have your voice, data and videos transmitted across the same line.

Your earliest round of spending on SIP trunks wouldn’t have to be hefty, as SIP trunks are much less expensive than standard analogue circuits. After spending that money on SIP trunks from our company, Planet Numbers, you can realistically anticipate savings of 75% or more.

Those are the savings which would apply to your company’s monthly expense of using its business telecoms system. Even if your broadband internet provider drags down the cost efficiency of using this system, you could switch to Planet Numbers as your ISP and potentially reap even more savings.

Productivity benefits also await in abundance

Choosing a SIP trunking system from Planet Numbers could also unleash significant flexibility in your corporate operations. Plenty of automated call handling features – such as call recording or call queuing – could be switched on from an online dashboard just seconds after you log into it.

Another major plus point of SIP trunking is that, through it, you can manage unified communications and, thus, use SIP trunking for instant messaging and video conferencing. This creates an environment conducive to boosted productivity as employees speedily send messages to each other.

A SIP trunking system can also be integrated with mobile devices. This means that, as Information Agepoints out, workers can use devices with which they feel especially comfortable. They also have the option of communicating from off-site locations of their choice.

This is yet another example of the impressive standard of flexibility which SIP trunks can unlock; you don’t have to resort to limiting all of your company’s day-to-day routines to just one familiar office.

The more things change, the more things stay the same

You could feel aggrieved by the idea of having to change your company’s numbers – especially if they already feature widely on publicity materials. Fortunately, you can continue to use your current numbers even with a Planet Numbers SIP system.

This is an undoubted boon for business continuity, as is the short duration of time that you would need to wait for the SIP system to become operational. After ordering SIP trunks from us, you are likely to be able to use them within five working days, if not sooner; it depends on what size of network is required.

Has reading this article whetted your appetite for learning more about our SIP trunk systems? We maintain a free-to-call helpline for customers on 0800 088 6543. Calling this will bring you into touch with a member of the friendly Planet Numbers team who can tell you more about how these systems might be able to help you in taking your organisation to higher levels of cost-efficiency and productivity.