An IP phone, also called a VoIP phone, is a phone that uses internet protocol, rather than the circuit-switched PSTN. An IP phone connects through an Ethernet cable, rather than a phone jack, to the internet, where it connects to the IP address of either the VoIP provider or the hosted PBX provider. From a user’s perspective, it works just like a traditional phone, but better.
IP phones come in a variety of different shapes and with a variety of operating systems. Some look and feel like traditional business phones, others have more in common with an Apple or Android tablet. Another style of IP phone is a conference phone, which has a speaker on top and has three microphones around it. A telepresence IP phone is more like a miniature television studio, with one or more cameras and one or more screens of various sizes. Videoconference phones encode and decode into video formats, rather than audio formats, but the method they do it is via internet protocol, so a video phone is an IP phone. Software, like Skype, can also be an IP phone, although usually it’s just thought of as a softphone.
IP phones also have Ethernet pass-through, meaning that you can plug one end into a router and the other end into a computer; some IP phones have gigabit pass-through, while some only have high-speed pass-through.
Cisco is one of the largest makers of IP Phones. Neo Data Technologies is one of the Cisco distributors in Dubai. The benefits of IP telephony in corporate environments are numerous but are mostly narrowed down to cost considerations related to infrastructure and monthly telecom bills.
The use of VoIP and SIP trunk service providers means that phone bills are greatly reduced. This is because companies can easily connect branches in other cities and countries, making calls within the company free. Long-distance charges are slashed and overall call rates are much cheaper.
Business telephone systems are now able to offer much more to companies than standard telephone calls. IP telephony has ushered in the development of unified communications solutions that can provide a complete communications package all in one, to be run over a single network and on one platform. This means that businesses can easily manage calls, use video conferencing, collaborate, chat, and more through a single service. These solutions have also allowed users to make VoIP telephone calls through their smartphones and computers, either with the use of apps or web clients.
Neo Data Technologies is known for being one of the prominent Cisco Partners in Dubai, offering a wide range of Cisco networking and enterprise solutions and products. Get in touch with them to find out why Cisco IP Phones are best suited to your needs.
