Integration of Different Communication Devices: IP Telephony System and Computer Telephony Integration

IP Telephony System and computer telephony integration are two communication processes that combine various communication devices. An IP telephony system uses the integration of different telecommunication systems such as computers, facsimile machines and telephones into a single device. Computer telephony integration coordinates computer and telephone actions. It permits a free computer-to-computer or phone-to-computer call for your business. Both of these communication processes give your company a unified system of transmitting and sending information to your customers, business partners, employees and suppliers.

An IP telephony system is a telecommunications system that uses the Internet as its medium to relay communication transmissions. It is a technological advancement in telephony that enables you to send and receive calls, messages, faxes and other forms of information via the use of the Internet rather than the traditional PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network). It uses packet-switch connections to transfer such information, and then sends these communication processes via the Internet by changing them into digital format. This process is reversed when you are at the receiving end of an IP telephony system transaction. This phone system is much faster and more effective than traditional telephones, which uses phone lines to exchange communication.

This type of telecommunication process is very much useful in today's business world. Transactions and deals happen in just a matter of minutes and companies need to have a phone system that would assist them in keeping pace with the demands of their customers and also enable them to maintain their advantage over the competition. This is where IP telephony system comes into the picture. It not only enables you to have a faster flow of communication for your organization but it also is cheaper than traditional phone systems. Calls made via IP telephony system have no rental line costs or tariffs per minute because you only pay for your Internet usage. It saves your company from unnecessary expenses and at the same time provides you with an efficient phone system.

With the ability to combine different communications system into one, it is not surprising that IP telephony system is the most used phone system nowadays. Because of its popularity, there are now many service providers that provide companies with hosted IP telephony. It is a telecommunications system that gives your business phone lots of features that would greatly aid in improving its quality. Among its well-known features are: toll free numbers, voicemail and Internet faxing among many others.

Hosted IP telephony can be tailor-made to meet your needs and demands depending on your specifications. This type of telephone system gives you convenience in choosing appropriate features and services that best suits your company. It also enables you to have a toll free number with your preferred area code number regardless of your location. It also grants you the option of selecting your own area code to use, wherein you can have a number that has the area code of Chicago even though your business is based on Houston. Toll-free numbers are a set of numbers that charges the called party for the call made and not the calling party. This number can also be taken with you, if ever you plan on relocating the place of your business. This is because hosted IP telephony gives you a non-geographical number that is not bound on any location, thus it is able to travel with your business as you relocate. This eliminates the trouble and the expenses of adding a new phone number. It also removes the hassles of having a new number which you need to disseminate to your customers, partners and suppliers.

One of the most helpful feature of hosted IP telephony with regards to addressing the needs of customers is voicemail. This feature enables your clients to leave their messages if there is an instance when you cannot attend to the call. This feature assures your customers that their calls will properly be attended to as soon as possible. With the voicemail feature, messages relayed are 100% non-altered. This is unlike messages that are relayed from mere word of mouth which can be affected by the messenger's memory and preference. This guarantees your customers that the messages that you will receive is the message that they want to convey. Another key feature that it has is Internet faxing. It allows you to send and receive faxes via the Internet, thus making fax transactions faster and efficient. This feature enables you to send multiple copies simultaneously to different recipients, thus saving you time and resources. This feature helps your company have a step ahead over your competition.

Computer telephony integration is a communication process that gives your company great savings on communication expenses. Since it is able to integrate the actions of your computer and your phone, you are now able to provide your customers with free calls. This ability enables you to save on long distance and international call expense. This phone system is beneficial to those companies that have customers, business partners and suppliers that are abroad. This is also a great help for keeping the lines of communication open for organizations that have sites based offshore. Moreover, businesses done through the phone and computer are increasing. This type of communication system gives your company advantage over your competition.

As different forms of communication processes have been brought about by technology, computer telephony coverage has also expanded. Computer telephony nowadays includes email, web and fax among many other applications. It has two forms, first party call control and the third party call control. First party call control computer telephony operates like a direct connection of the user's computer and their phone. This allows the computer to control the functions of the phone, though only one computer can do this. This makes it very conducive for singular usage but is non-viable for bigger use. On the other hand, third party call control computer telephony has a server that is dedicated to integrate the user's phone network with their computer network. Any computer included in the network has the ability to control any phone in the network, which makes it productive for large scale applications and corporate use.

Both IP telephony system and computer telephony integration are telecommunication systems that provide innovative solutions for businesses. These also give your organization a lot of savings because it is able to integrate different communication devices, thus allowing you to remove unnecessary and redundant equipments. Both of these deliver your business a system that gives you more control and management of the flow of communication in your company.