Multiple Endpoints with VoIP – How Does it Benefit You?

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Making the decision to switch to VoIP can be a tricky business. An organization has to evaluate its current and future needs to select the phone system that will serve them reliably. Apart from the technical aspects (hosted vs. SIP, topography, security etc.), managers have to take into account the features that are necessary for the business, as well as the price point at which they’re available.

Naturally, not all businesses need every single feature offered by VoIP – no matter how state-of-the-art or innovative it is. For instance, an enterprise may already have a specialized conferencing solution in place that negates the need for video chat over VoIP. However generally speaking, an enterprise will be able to replace disparate systems with the unified solution offered by VoIP vendors while also reducing costs. Where the organization previously needed two or three different tools, VoIP can offer all those benefits through one system.

Multiple Endpoints with VoIP

Multiple Endpoints is one of those common features that is practically a standard with VoIP – it’s normally included even in the most basic hosted plan and goes by the name of “Multi-Device Ring” or “Simultaneous Ring” (or some other variant of the two phrases). At first glance, the feature may not sound very innovative but it’s a significant improvement over the traditional business phone system.

How Does It Work?

Multiple endpoints means that the user can assign several devices to ring when a call comes through. For instance, an employee may have a work phone, a personal mobile, a desk phone in the office, and at the client’s site as well. A prospective caller – whether it is a customer, a team member or manager – may not know the exact location of the employee. When a call is made, all the devices will ring until the employee answers one of them. This way, employees are not tied to any single device and callers can reach them no matter where they are.

Benefits

Suppose your employees telecommute for a few days every week. When such employees are working on a project, clients may not know if that particular worker is in the office are not. Using VoIP with simultaneous ring means that client calls can be answered promptly at all times regardless of where they are.

Simultaneous ring works extremely well for those working on the same project. A part of the team may be working on-site, some members may be in the office, while others are working from home. In such situations, it can reduce the time wasted by team members trying to contact one another. Instead they can focus on getting work done.

Once upon a time, simultaneous ring would probably have been a premium feature that was only necessary for large multinational corporations. Nowadays, even a small business has a need for it with employees working from home, on the move and from remote locations. VoIP providers offer this advanced feature at a fraction of the cost charged by traditional operators, thus enabling any entrepreneur to take advantage of it.