Beginner's Guide To Hosted VoIP Sales

By Dan Foster, President, Business Markets, MegaPath

What is the most significant trend in hosted VoIP that solutions providers should be aware of?

The most significant trend in the hosted voice market is its rapid adoption rate. Numerous analysts point to the dramatic penetration across all business segments. So, hosted voice really is replacing traditional telephone service for SMBs.

Another key trend is that it's easy for a business to digest the costs of hosted VoIP versus a new phone system. There are is PBX or key systems to manage and lease, long distance is free, and new advanced features that make it easy to use a single number for all calls regardless of a customer's location.

What makes one hosted VoIP solutions provider more successful than other solutions providers?

The availability of Quality of Service (QoS) is an important and competitive advantage for a provider. With QoS, voice packets are given a priority over data packets, ensuring clear call quality. The provider also has the ability to monitor the system.

Another provider advantage is the ability of a provider to add hosted voice to an integrated voice service (existing PBX system) for key employees that are remote workers.

Finally, feature sets are becoming increasingly compelling and will be the norm in the future, whether it be mobile integration, portal administration or unified communications.