What is VoIP? Understanding the main terms and jargon

VoIP means Voice over Internet Protocol which is the alternative system now used as an alternative to the traditional landline. In order to clearly understand what this new systems entails our clients need to understand all the jargon that goes with it. At Artery Management Group we help our clients to understand exactly what VoIP is all about, because the technical jargon can be over whelming at first and in understanding the jargon our clients can make an informed decision about implementing VoIP in their business.

So what is VoIP and how does it work? 

This is a system that enables users to receive and send voice communications over the internet. Compared to landlines, VoIP calls are cheaper because the calls are not transmitted through dedicated copper lines but through the internet. VoIP systems convert phone conversations into data packets and transmit them over a broadband connection and then reassemble them at the receiving end.

At Artery Management Group, our trained technicians work with our clients to assess that their bandwidth is sufficient for the volume of data which needs to be carried over a connection in a certain amount of time. We ensure that the risk of jitters, dropped calls and delays are taken into account by determining the correct amount of bandwidth that needs to be installed to ensure that our clients can make high quality calls. We also ensure that we install the appropriate Private Branch Exchange (PBX) systems providing multi-line capabilities for businesses. PBX systems switch calls between the internal phone extensions in an organisation and also give access to shared phone outbound lines for outbound calling within the organisation.

The software programs and applications used in VoIP systems are called Softphone. This software enables VoIP users to use their mobile devices, PC or laptop to make and receive calls. In order to make or receive calls users need a headset or a microphone and speakers. This is a great option for employees who are mobile and who do not have space for desk phones.

We assist our clients to configure their QoS settings to minimise delays and provide maximum efficiency. QoS means quality of service and this is the ability of the client’s network to deliver calls efficiently.  These QoS settings ensure that the systems gives priority to VoIP traffic over other types of data being transmitted in and out of the organisation to avoid congestion over the network and prioritizing less-important types of traffic from competing for bandwidth. This ensures that other functions such as data transfer still proceed at a slower rate while providing crystal clear calls.

Other services provided by the Artery Management Group include Unified Communications (UC) within the organisation.  UC integrates a variety of communication tools such as desktop and data sharing, voice, instant messaging, fax, email and video into a single service. This gives our clients access to important tools regardless of the device they are utilizing to increase throughput, streamline communication and encourage collaboration.

We also install important mobility features such as Find me/ follow me to ensure that important phone calls are not missed. This feature sends all incoming calls to an explicit set of devices or numbers that ring in sequence. Calls can be sequentially forwarded to the mobile phone and then the user’s home phone.

Lastly,Artery Management Group, ensure that the amount of time it takes for an audio signal to transmit from one designated point to another is monitored, this is referred to as latency and our VoIP systems monitor that everything is functioning as expected.