SIP Trunking – Reuse your Existing PBX Infrastructure!

Organizations – from the very big to the very tiny – are switching to VoIP phone systems at an accelerating pace. The migration away from the PSTN may have been kicked off by households and individuals but businesses have now embraced it as well. Since the only requirement for VoIP is a high speed Internet connection and not much else, VoIP is taking off in countries around the world.

In fact quite a few telecom companies – in the US and outside – are in the process of setting up an end date for the PSTN. Some carriers are talking about the year 2020 or 2025 even! It means that after the cut off date, phone operators will stop issuing new connections and companies will certainly have to look at replacements then. This is one big reason for the push towards VoIP. In a few years, businesses will have no alternative but to switch!

Hosted VoIP vs SIP Deployments

VoIP installations for enterprises primarily come in 2 flavors. Hosted VoIP offers a number of advantages for businesses especially those that don’t have the resources of large corporations. You don’t have to buy equipment or worry about maintenance. You don’t need to set aside space somewhere to store all the hardware. There is no software subscription to purchase either. All phone services are provided over the Internet through an online dashboard.

The other alternative is to deploy SIP on the premises. This is generally more familiar to companies as it’s similar to the PSTN PBX systems. The organization has more control of the hardware, software and services. The staff in charge of the system can easily make changes as per business requirements, instead of waiting on a vendor to do it for you.

The hosted model is preferred by companies with fewer resources (financial, technical or human) while larger companies often opt for SIP installations. Corporations not only have the resources to invest in new equipment but also intend to benefit from the economies of scale. SIP deployments may be expensive when you only make a few thousand calls a day but as the call volume increases, the cost per call falls proportionately.

Reuse Existing PBX Infrastructure

Yet another reason for companies to choose SIP deployments is that you can reuse existing components. Obviously not every piece of hardware can be used with IP based phone systems. But most people and businesses severely underestimate just how much of their existing infrastructure can be made to work with VoIP as long as you make just a few alterations/additions.

For instance organizations assume that moving over to VoIP means buying brand new phones for all employees. When you have thousands of staff members scattered across a number of offices, that adds up to a lot of money. However you don’t have to buy new phones at all. While some companies do like to buy brand new phones, you can get by with much less.

Analog desk phones can work with SIP based PBX boxes with adaptors. These adaptors often have multiple ports to handle the conversion between analog and digital data. Another option is to simply use mobile devices. Often employees have work issued phones or personal devices. With SIP, you can easily use the business number to make calls. This reduces the total number of phones you need to buy.

Analog or PSTN based PBX hardware can also work with SIP trunks by using gateways to the IP network. This means you don’t have to rush out and buy an IP based PBX system immediately. Eventually you’ll have to purchase those systems when your current one reaches its end of life but it doesn’t mean you’ve to throw away a perfectly functioning piece of equipment today.

You can also use your existing phone lines to add video, messaging or other IP based services on top. Companies have often saved thousands of dollars since they no longer need separate conferencing or video calling services. You can also save on connection fees, software subscription fees and many other miscellaneous charges.

SIP allows you to use whatever provider, service or app that you want. SIP is a widely implemented standard in the world of VoIP. It means that you’re not locked into any one particular vendor solution. Suppose your existing solution is missing a particular service you sorely need. You can simply add that to integrate with the existing service smoothly as long as they both support the SIP standard.

Companies that choose SIP deployments often have the financial resources to support the project. But it doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot to get a system that works for you. One of the biggest benefits of VoIP is flexibility. You can use that to your advantage and reuse your existing infrastructure to prepare your business for the future!