- VoIP may provide a cost advantage over traditional phone systems.
“I believe the children are our future.”
So sang the late, great Whitney Houston. We all might agree with Whitney, but unfortunately, it’s difficult to invest in our future given budget crunches facing schools. And with tighter budgets, school officials are having to discover how to do the same things they’re already doing, but with less money. To achieve this, they’re turning to technology, and many school districts are beginning to say, “We believe VoIP is our future.”
VoIP, or Voice over IP, may be the cost effective answer to traditional telephone systems, according to a recent SmartBusiness article that focused on schools in Ohio.
“It[VoIP] allows schools to take advantage of their data circuits and helps them avoid some of the recurring charges that are associated with traditional telephone systems,” the article states. “For most schools, VoIP can lead to tremendous cost savings over the long run.”
Because VoIP technology requires very little hardware management, more financial resources can be allocated elsewhere, according to Smart Business. VoIP benefits also extend to enhancing education itself by increasing communication between teachers and parents. Teachers could contact parents without access to phones and would nearly always be available for parents to reach.
Businesses are already using VoIP technology to reduce the cost of communication. In a direct comparison of traditional phone systems to VoIP offerings, companies were seen to save up to 75 percent, according to a recent Channel Partners blog post. Although the post highlights high savings by companies with international offices, it recognizes significant cost reductions (more than 50 percent) offered by VoIP versus traditional phone offerings.
Do you use VoIP? Do you think the technology offers enough sound quality to be useful in business and education environments?
