There are a wide array of VoIP providers out there, with each offering their own benefits. There are cheap options that sacrifice quality for price, and more expensive, top quality VoIP packages. When choosing a service it is important to take into consideration what you will be using it for, and working out your own priorities. Here we take a look at the factors that should be taken into consideration and the difference between business VoIP and personal VoIP.

The Features Required

This is, of course, vitally important. You need to work out the features that you need from your VoIP service. Some services are very basic only offering calls, while other, more professional services, offer answer phones, call directs, and a variety of other features.

For business you are likely to require advanced features such as answer phones and internal systems for calling internally and passing calls onto others in the office. These are less likely to be considerations for personal VoIP (although you may want an answer phone). You might only need a very basic service, a cheap service to call family and friends.

Technical Support

The technical support required is dependent on both the type of VoIP you are choosing and your own technical expertise.

With the features you are likely to have with business VoIP, there are more likely to be technical issues. First of all, the set up may be complicated, especially if you want several lines and several phones so each employee can have their own. On-going support may also be necessary as technical issues are more likely to arise. It is also more important that any issues are resolved quickly as delay could spell disaster. If the phone system is down it could have an impact on the success of the company. Communication (both internally and with customers and suppliers) is very important in the running of a successful business, so if there are problems it is likely to have a negative effect.

With personal VoIP the technical side is unlikely to be as complicated. It may be possible to solve your own problems and any major problems are likely to be less common. Problems will probably be less catastrophic and your income won’t be affected as it might within a business. Technical problems would be more of an inconvenience than anything.

Budget

It is an unfortunate fact of life but your budget needs to be taken into consideration. You need to decide on the maximum you can afford to spend. It is not just about getting the most expensive service you can within your budget though, you should look for the best value for money without going over budget.

With business VoIP this budget will probably be higher meaning you will have more options. More phones and lines may be needed as well as a more advanced service. This costs more.

If it is personal VoIP you are looking for, your budget may be low. In fact, many chose to switch to VoIP solely because it is cheaper. This makes price more of a determining factor. To an extent you may be just looking for the cheapest option, with quality not so important.

Call Quality

The quality of the VoIP service may be one of the most important factors to you. It is more likely to be important to those looking for business VoIP than to those looking for personal VoIP.

In all likelihood call quality will be very important when looking into business VoIP. You can’t really get away with poor quality as it will seem unprofessional. This makes it one of the most important factors, if not the most important factor.

It may not be so important if you are looking into VoIP for home use. Of course you will want the best quality possible, but something like price may be more of a determining factor in your decision.

There are many different aspects of a VoIP service that should be taken into consideration when choosing a provider. These can vary depending on whether you are planning to use VoIP for business or at home. For business VoIP it might be about getting the best price for a good quality service, for personal VoIP it might be about getting the best possible quality for a low price.

Andrew Marshall (c)