Session Initiation Protocol or SIP is a signaling process that establishes sessions on an IP network. What does that mean to you? (Well, for a proper technical explanation please click on the SIP 101 link located under Quick Links.) In this article, we want to highlight what SIP can do for your business. SIP is allowing phone companies to create new services and benefits for businesses large and small. Engineers can now design applications that directly affect your business in ways that weren’t possible in the past. Phone company regulators and copper wire can’t prevent the development of software programs. SIP allows these programs to reach you directly via your Internet connection. Now, the T1 is a platform for more than simple phone calls and web browsing.
For instance, a T1 circuit using SIP protocol can utilize web applications that touch your business phone system. If you want to have your calls ring to certain phone numbers at certain times of the day, simply go online and program your choices. If your office has an emergency, you can go online from your blackberry device and reroute your inbound calls to another location -instantly.
Here’s a tremendous marketing benefit. If your business advertises in different communities you can now buy local and national phone numbers in those areas without the expense of paying remote call forwarding charges. The numbers can be assigned to your SIP-based T1 in your office. It’s also more cost effective than using traditional 800 numbers.
These benefits are the tip of the iceberg. Countless applications are being created. The big telecommunications players agree this technology is critical. Cbeyond, PAETEC and manufacturers like CISCO, Toshiba and Avaya have all established compatibility standards to ensure SIP performs reliably now and in the future. The best part is your company doesn’t have to use IP phones to get started with SIP. Many of today’s phone systems can still be used to take advantage of these features. If you would like more information on SIP and its leading hardware and service providers, contact us today.
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