Making Calls From Your Computer - Why the VOIP Industry Is Blossoming

It's easy for everyone to see the impact of VoIP on the telecommunications industry. Even if one is not aware of the developments, one still uses VoIP unknowingly when a call to any professional call center is made. The reason is that customer service centers require specialized ways of working with incoming and outgoing calls and these needs are simply not met by traditional PBX systems. Even the telcos who sometimes fight tooth and nail against VoIP use a hefty amount of VoIP technology in their own centers.

The principle behind VoIP is simple. Calls are placed over the Internet instead of using dedicated voice lines to do the job. This is easy to understand once we realized that all information can be digitized and sent as a signal over a wire. In fact, this also happens with regular voice - your sound signals are encoded and sent over a wire. With the Internet, such things become easy and voice communication can happen in real time just as with a normal phone.

While it's true that there is quite a long way for VoIP to go before it becomes accepted as a mainstream communication channel for consumers, it's getting there fast. The primary reason for this is its cost. VoIP calls can be so cheap as to barely cost anything - or they can be completely free! In fact, network effects come into play here and the more people using VoIP, the greater chance of your call being as free as email!

Clearly this is a massive paradigm shift in voice technology. For decades now, people, corporations and the government have gotten used to paying for telephone calls by the minute or by the second. With consumer VoIP however, all the rules of the game change.

Businesses have an important role to play in the adoption of VoIP. Because of their size and complexity, they have a greater need for VoIP than consumers whose motivation is just the cheaper plans. Businesses are attracted to VoIP for its flexibility and its ability to improve relations with customers through a variety of techniques such as HD voice.

Hosted VoIP is one of the fastest growing industries. Because of its flexibility and scalability, businesses are beginning to make a rapid transition from traditional PBX systems. These are the companies that will lead the way to eventually bring VoIP to the masses in an easy and convenient manner.

Bhagwad is an expert in understanding a Hosted Business Phone Service. He also specializes in Hosted PBX systems in a business.