Enterprise VoIP (also known as “enterprise-grade VoIP”)refers to a part of unified communications solutions that are specifically used to meet the needs of large-scale organizations.

It’s founded on VoIP (aka, Voice over Internet Protocol or Voice over IP) technology, which is what gives us the ability to make and receive calls from any device that connects to the internet, as long as there’s strong network bandwidth. In contrast with regular VoIP solutions, business VoIP for larger organizations supports high-volume calls, multi-line telephony, SIP trunking, auto attendants, advanced call handling, and even some contact center capabilities.

VoIP also makes it easier for businesses to connect their communications systems with the cloud, which is a technology most unified communications platforms are built on.

These days, enterprise VoIP solutions are a reliable, cost-effective, and scalable way to help distributed teams stay in contact through internet-based calls, text messaging, and video conferencing.

More and more enterprise organizations are making the switch from traditional landline telephones and on-premise private branch exchange (on-premises PBX systems) to VoIP. And it’s not hard to see why.

By shifting communications from physical to virtual, businesses can enjoy all the standard telephony features of their legacy systems plus so much more.

What’s the difference between enterprise VoIP and a regular landline?

For the user, a VoIP system can provide a very similar experience to regular landline calling (if they use IP-enabled desk phones). The key difference lies in how the systems work.

Regular landline telephones are connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PTSN) through physical phone lines, whereas VoIP uses the internet to transmit voice data over a secure connection.

While they can be used on their own, VoIP systems these days are often part of a larger suite of solutions that use the internet to drive business communications. Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) employs VoIP technology alongside other advanced business communications features like SMS text messaging, video conferencing, and team chat.

VoIP can also be used to power robust contact center solutions complete with advanced customer communications features such as call monitoring, IVR (Interactive Voice Response), call routing, and analytics (just to name a few).

These advanced features make enterprise solutions flexible, scalable, and agile—and that’s not even bringing up the cost savings! In short, an enterprise VoIP system is to a traditional landline like Netflix is to Betamax.

To summarize, here are the key differences between traditional landlines and VoIP for big businesses:

VoIP technology works by transmitting call signals over an internet connection instead of a traditional landline or mobile network.

VoIP systems convert analog voice signals into tiny digital data packets. These packets are then transmitted over a broadband connection and decoded at the other end of the line so your recipient can hear your voice in real-time.

For a VoIP solution to work, all the user needs is a modem and Wi-Fi router that can provide high-speed internet connectivity and a device that can connect to both the internet and the user’s virtual phone service account.

Deploying VoIP for business

Business VoIP providers can deploy services as either on-premises or hosted.

On-premises VoIP

On-premises VoIP telephone systems involve the use of an on-premises IP PBX. They’re often located in-office in a communications room. The system links up to a series of physical VoIP phones or handsets over a local area network (LAN). These can then be linked up to other sites over private data or internet connections.

Hosted VoIP for business

A hosted VoIP telephone system does not require the same on-premises hardware. It’s the service provider that hosts the data center. Otherwise known as a virtual PBX, hosted VoIP systems for businesses are administered off-premises by a telephony service provider and accessed over any device.*

The connected devices or applications are linked over the local area network (LAN) and the call is established by the service provider.

_{* Note: A sub-type of hosted VoIP, in which cloud technology is used to build and host an online interface through which users can access and manage their accounts, is currently the standard version of this method of implementation—the cloud phone system, also known as cloud PBX.}

What devices work with a hosted enterprise VoIP solution?

1. Smartphones and tablets (via mobile apps)
2. IP phones/SIP phones
3. Laptop/desktop computer (via Softphones or software providing a Cloud PBX system/hosted PBX)

Related technology: Session Internet Protocol (SIP) trunking

SIP trunking refers to a technology used to establish multiple phone lines over the internet. For enterprise companies using hybrid telephone systems (that is, an internal phone system that uses both traditional and VoIP lines), this is what allows them to connect VoIP-based calls to phones using hardwired PBX.

SIP trunking allows businesses to have a traditional hardware-based telephone system on-premises while benefiting from VoIP telephony at the same time. In other words, they can use analog and internet-based phone systems simultaneously to eliminate redundancy and facilitate multiple channels of telephony. Many organizations also use SIP in this manner as they transition between old-school PBX and fully virtual PBX.

Another huge appeal of SIP trunking is that it supports other types of streaming media (such as video). This means it contributes to the functionality of more advanced capabilities we typically expect out of unified communications as a service, such as screen sharing for video conferencing.

VoIP phone systems are, to reiterate, a standard part of unified communications solutions. What allows it to work with this type of technical ecosystem is also what makes VoIP features that go above and beyond what a traditional phone service offers possible.

In the context of a UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) solution, VoIP telephony offers additional phone call management and call handling options for increased efficiency, alongside multimedia communications options like video conferencing, text messaging, and team chat.

Let’s take a look at some of these features in more detail below.

Call management & handling

VoIP enterprise phone systems benefit from advanced call handling and call management features. These make streamlining and managing incoming calls more efficient and user-friendly.

Advanced call handling features commonly used by enterprises include call routing (for routing calls to different numbers or departments), call forwarding (sometimes used to send live calls to another person or department), call answering rules, custom greetings, auto attendant features, call recording, caller ID, call analysis, and voicemail-to-email transcription functionality.

Web conferencing

Another fantastic feature that comes with most UCaaS telephony systems is video conferencing and conference calling.

VoIP doesn’t just facilitate great, high-quality calling and quality of service (QoS). With teams constantly on the go these days, being able to join in a video conference from your mobile device is incredibly useful. VoIP providers like 8x8 offer high-quality online audio and video meeting services as part of their UCaaS product offerings—participants don’t even have to have the app downloaded on their devices; the meetings can be launched via a browser.

Team messaging

Sometimes, all you need to do is send a quick message, reminder, or update. In these cases, you probably don’t want to waste time scheduling an entire conference call or conversation.

Luckily, the best UCaaS systems also come with messaging features that allow team members to text message and instant message each other—or clients—as and when necessary. Ideal for assigning tasks, sharing links, documents, and files.

_{Reminder: Team messaging only works with enterprise VoIP when it employs SIP and is part of a unified communications platform. This feature isn’t really available with standalone VoIP solutions.}

Integrations with third-party apps

Finally, depending on your service provider, you should be able to connect your phone system with your favorite team management and business apps.

VoIP telephony systems connect with other third-party applications (like CRMs) so teams can enhance their operational software with telephony capabilities.

8x8, for example, gives users the ability to seamlessly integrate with Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Google Workspace, HubSpot, Freshdesk, and many more.

With so many advanced features, VoIP for enterprise offers some fantastic business benefits.

From unifying communications across dispersed teams to providing increased flexibility, scalability, and support, there are so many advantages to making the switch to enterprise VoIP.

Unified communications

The first big benefit is the ability to unify communications across your entire enterprise. For large-scale organizations, business phones are just one part of the puzzle. You’ll most likely also be using a ton of other business tools that are essential to the efficient operation of your teams and departments.

These days, the best VoIP providers are actually selling unified communication solutions, which offer more than just calling capabilities. By mobilizing a VoIP service (or more accurately, a UCaaS platform) like 8x8, your business gains instant access to calls, conferencing, collaboration, and management functionalities.

Keep existing numbers and use them across devices

VoIP services—especially the ones built for organizations, at least—allow you to keep your existing phone numbers so you won’t have to worry about creating unwanted disruption to your business services.

This is particularly important for customer-facing businesses and sales departments running busy contact centers and using call center software. Look for a service provider that offers easy number porting on top of the option to choose between local, toll-free, and vanity business telephone numbers.

Support 24 hours a day

The best VoIP providers offer 24/7 customer support for their users.

As soon as you notice an issue with your system, you’re guaranteed to have resources care of the service providers themselves that will help you resolve it. With 8x8, X Series customers have 24/7 access to experts, a dedicated knowledge base, and other resources to help prevent problems, increase speed, and minimize downtime.

Enhanced security features

Many first-time VoIP users worry that IP technology is less safe than traditional telephone network security. In actual fact, VoIP is now arguably more secure than your landline telephone network. The key to ensuring optimum security is to pick your VoIP service wisely.

Look at each service provider’s security credentials and make sure that they work in compliance with all the necessary data security governing bodies. 8x8 solutions are data secure, 100% HIPAA, FISMA/NIST, and FCC compliant, and internationally recognized for carrying out best practice frameworks for information security management systems.

Work from anywhere

Finally, let’s not forget the biggest advantage it provides to organizations. Enterprise VoIP solutions help teams collaborate from anywhere, using their preferred devices. That means employees benefit from more flexible, hybrid, and remote working options. Enterprises can even start pooling the best talent from across the globe!

Location really is no object once you’re up and running with VoIP care of a provider that caters to several countries.** As long as your employees have access to data or a Wi-Fi connection and an internet-enabled device (that could be a mobile phone, desktop computer, laptop, tablet, etc.), then they can work efficiently and effectively from...well...anywhere at all!

_{** Remember: VoIP services still work for internal communications purposes. But if you want your regional employees to establish a local presence where they are on your behalf, you need a virtual phone system that can connect to that area’s PSTN. 8x8 offers unlimited calling to 48 countries (and counting).}

Ready to start looking for an enterprise VoIP system?

We bet you are!

To start enjoying the benefits of enterprise VoIP in your organization, you’ll need a VoIP solution. And the first step you’ll need to take is choosing between on-premises VoIP and hosted VoIP.

Remember, on-premises solutions require a higher level of management and up-front capital investment. The more flexible, agile, and affordable option is a hosted service.

After making that decision, you’ll need to do three things:

1. Choose an enterprise VoIP provider
2. Choose a plan
3. Ensure that you have sufficient bandwidth to support your anticipated telephony usage

Choose a VoIP provider

Choosing your service provider is really important. Look for a service provider that offers all the functionality and security credentials you require, then check if the plan’s features are within your budget. Remember, not all VoIP service providers can cater to enterprise-level businesses—so make sure that you’re picking a plan with sufficient scalability for your organization.

Which enterprise VoIP providers offer the best VoIP solutions?

This will depend entirely on your unique business needs. We recommend looking for a service provider that caters to the size of your team, the work your employees focus on, and your budget. Does your business have any specific needs (e.g., a busy contact center with above-average inbound calls or international calling requirements)? Make sure you take note of that!

8x8 offers advanced business communications features for businesses of all sizes. With 8x8, you’ll be able to access one cloud-based enterprise phone solution for your business.

Choose a plan

Once you’ve chosen your service provider, you’ll need to pick a service plan. Some VoIP service providers will offer custom quotes rather than straightforward pricing plans for very large organizations.

8x8 offers a range of VoIP plans ranging from small business phone system bundles to advanced call handling and call analytics plans. If you need a more specific suite of solutions, simply get in touch to request your own personalized quote.

Ensure that you have sufficient bandwidth

Finally, make sure that you have sufficient bandwidth to cater to all that calling, messaging, and video conferencing with clients, customers, and internal teams.

The more phone lines your company invests in care of your service plan, the more network bandwidth you’ll need. If you’ve opted for an unlimited calling plan, for example, make sure that you’ll be able to make the most of it. Plus, you’ll need even more bandwidth if you’re hoping to maintain top call quality across large call volumes.

VoIP is a popular option for enterprise organizations, and it’s not hard to see why. It offers large businesses the opportunity to unify their communications across their organization.

Thanks to unified cloud-based communications, teams can now make calls, set up conferences, and exchange messages seamlessly with colleagues and customers from absolutely anywhere. And who wouldn’t love that?