Businesses and their operations are unimaginable without the advantage of communication. Communication among departments and colleagues, management and HR, and all employees. Communication between businesses amid a possible partnership. All communication is done via phone. Phones are the reason communication is alive and happening. These phones have changed with time, from simple analogue to a more sophisticated system. It’s a process, but the key element is the phone, and its evolution came with the advancements made to make it viable and reliable in the future and at present. How it went and what it looked like, that evolution, is a story to tell.
Analog Phase
It’s a romanticized time; the analog era had its charm and lasted as long as it needed to be. It’s the landlines and the copper wiring keeping it alive for decades. It’s viable and it has advantages and disadvantages. Repairs were often needed, landlines would often snap, and the time needed for it to be fixed and ready varied. But analog was simple, it could be taught to anybody at any age, and it’s described as reliable. The reliability that made it so lovable required an investment, a huge one at that. Its cost sometimes outweighs the benefits it comes with. And for businesses to communicate, there were branch exchange units installed and put in place. A lot of hardware was involved, and where there’s hardware, there’s also a lot of fixing to be done.
Digitalisation of the Analog
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Digital phones use digital transmission of signals, which makes it easier and requires less hardware. The sound was better, the calls could be forwarded and identified, and it cost less than the installation of analog communication systems. But less hardware didn’t mean no hardware at all. There was still the issue of requiring on-site installation elements and repairs. It also creates a headache when a business would like to expand beyond its current boundaries. It meant scalability issues, and it slowed down progress and aggressive expansions of businesses when there was a chance to do it.
The Internet and VoIP
The digital phase was a messenger of a new era coming soon. The Internet was available at the time, as it is now, but its potential was not recognised until recently. VoIP phone systems were the final solution to all businesses' communications and troubles. There are no lines, and no hardware because all the voice data is transmitted via the internet, widely available at all corners. No landlines also means the calls are not limited to a phone; anything acting like a phone (laptop or tablet) serves as the same means. Companies can choose from different enterprise telephony options, which makes it easy to find the most suitable. Different prices correspond to the services offered. It’s a better solution to conduct communication within the company, compared to the struggles faced in business before, from miscommunication to repairs and costly hardware, have come to an end. There’s something better and more available out there; it doesn’t require the same things as the predecessors.
How VoIP Changed Communication
VoIP made it possible to include elements impossible with digital phones, unimaginable with the predecessor. Video conferencing, a structural element of business communication, is done with VoIP. Conferences were only done in person or during the digital era, with restrictions and without face-to-face interactions. Everything conducted with VoIP is information that can be reused, transactions are safe and kept, and there are means of communication that extend beyond traditional phones. Some tools offer analytic judgment, and the information the company has is invaluable.
The availability and the diversity of the options made VoIP a natural choice for any business and more than suitable as the number one means of conducting communication within a business.
IMAGE SOURCE: PEXELS
Connection Across the Globe
Working from home, or remotely, has become a practice today. It’s a standard setting, an adjustment companies made and still make. It’s a model some companies rely on completely. There’s no rent to pay for office spaces, and all the expenses of renting a space are included. It costs less, many workers prefer it, and there’s just a discussion regarding what remote work means. Do you need to be at home working or at any place of your choosing? Remote working communication is viable only because VoIP has made communication better. VoIP is the reason why the office space is not a must for companies; the internet is available everywhere. Every home has it, and that’s all it takes to work and communicate.
The evolution of phones follows the evolution of business models and the trends that are popular at a given time. For the present’s sake, VoIP holds the medal.
