Does My Business Need an SIP Trunk?

There is a reason why businesses all over the world are switching to VoIP. Pretty soon VoIP will replace copper wires as the default technology for voice calls. Phone carriers are gearing up for extensive testing of VoIP only networks in many areas. Operators in some countries have even announced a cut off date for the PSTN after which organizations will have no choice but to upgrade.

If you are thinking about VoIP for your business, now is the best time to upgrade. The sooner you switch to VoIP the more time you will have to change and tweak the system to fit your business. Maybe you have already made the decision to upgrade and are now thinking about which option to choose – hosted VoIP services or your own SIP trunk?

SIP trunks are rapidly becoming popular with organizations that want to maintain control over their communication infrastructure. On the other hand, hosted VoIP can provide you with a hassle free experience and a network that requires little to no maintenance. Both options have benefits and drawbacks. So how do you know if SIP trunks are the right choice for your business?

You Want to Maintain Control

With hosted VoIP your business is at the mercy of the vendor’s schedule – whether it is periodic maintenance, upgrade cycles or deploying the latest features. Even if the provider is ahead of the rest today, there is no guarantee that it will remain so in the future. If you deploy your own SIP trunks, you can control how and when new features are introduced. You decide when to upgrade the IP-PBX and how it should happen.

You are Concerned About Security

VoIP calls are vulnerable to the same type of threats as other Internet based services like instant messaging. Your network may become the target of a denial of service attack which brings your phones down. Eavesdroppers can use packet sniffing tools to record conversations and learn confidential information.

If your business has the requisite talent or resources, you may be better off implementing your own security measures instead of relying on external parties. This is possible with SIP trunking but not with hosted VoIP. The latter by definition doesn’t exist on your premises which means it becomes much more difficult to evaluate the security of the system.

Your Business is Regulated

Certain industries like banking and finance are heavily regulated in most countries. If your company operates in such segments, you may find that hosted VoIP just cannot work for you. For instance the provider’s data centers may be scattered across the world. With privacy and data security legislation becoming more intense by the day, there’s just no way to know which countries your data travels through or where it might end up.

If your company manages confidential or sensitive data like health information, SIP trunks are the best choice since you control every aspect of the phone system. You can minimize the risk of user data falling into the wrong hands.

Your Business Needs Customization

Some hosted VoIP vendors are trying to offer more customization but for the most part you get what you see with hosted VoIP. SIP trunks offer more possibilities for customization. You can make changes to suit your business requirements without waiting for a third party. If you want to replace equipment or change the software, you are free to do so at any time.

Your Enterprise Has High Call Volume

SIP trunks work out much cheaper than hosted VoIP in the long run. But even in the short term, SIP trunks are cost effective if you have high call volume. The more calls you make in a day, the lower your cost per call. A small business might take 5 years to achieve a positive ROI but a company which makes more calls can get positive ROI in just 2 or 3 years. If you have a large tech support team or run a call center, SIP trunks are the best solution.

Your Company is Large and Geographically Diverse

Larger corporations that have multiple offices in different countries and thousands of employees should select SIP trunks over hosted VoIP. Once you have purchased and installed everything, there is not much maintenance you need to perform on a daily basis. The organization can use a decentralized configuration so that each location can function independently of each other. This way a failure in one place won’t bring down your entire network. The other units can still continue to work. You can even route calls through other lines if one of them fails or exceeds capacity.

So there you have it! If your business requirements line up with one or a few of the situations described above, then you need SIP trunks.