New technologies like software-defined networking (SDN) are making it an ideal time to upgrade to Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking for communications. Combined with network functions virtualization (NFV), your IT team may be starting to wonder if you can afford to justify your legacy phone system any longer.
SIP trunking offers far more than just an upgrade to how you access voice calls. Its agility, flexibility and scalability demonstrate clear benefits over a legacy private branch exchange (PBX). SIP trunking enables your users to make a direct connection to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) through an Internet Protocol (IP) connection.
One key benefit of SIP trunking is that it not only supports voice communications, but also offers video, images and texting. Because of technologies like SDN and NFV, companies can also leverage cloud solutions that offer as-a-service communication solutions. This allows for better control over applications, as well as the following benefits:
Business continuity: Any interruption to communications can be costly. While legacy trunking services are limited in their continuity capabilities, SIP offers a rerouting option to alternate endpoints. This prevents you from missing calls during a power outage or a natural disaster and allows you to continue business as usual.
Seasonal scalability: If your business has a seasonal component, such as those found in retail, tax accounting and HVAC services, your legacy system has to account for those peak communication times. This means that for much of the year, you’re paying for hardware, network and licensing for phone lines that are only accessed for a few months. SIP trunking allows you to adjust the number of users you need, and also supports bursting for instances where you max out on the number of available users. Scaling up and down takes minutes, with no need for on-site installation or management to increase or decrease the number of users.
Thinking ahead: Traditional PBX systems are declining, while IP-based PBX investments are increasing. SIP is not only a good fit for today’s technology, but it will also support the growing focus on collaboration tools that stream audio and video. SIP is also aligned with software-defined technology that opens up visibility into networks that help companies optimize their network performance.
As companies’ legacy PBX contracts come up for renewal, you can expect to see many making the upgrade to SIP trunking and other IP-based communications. With SDN and NFV solutions to support it, SIP trunking is likely to experience continued growth.
If you’d like to learn more about the types of benefits your company might see with SIP trunking, contact us at Cory Communications. We can help you identify the right provider based on your specific business objectives.
