Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone systems use the Internet to route phone calls through a much cheaper network than traditional landlines use. However, simply picking a VoIP provider and forgetting about it doesn’t make the most out of a business VoIP phone system. There are many ways to save with VoIP, and one of the best is with SIP trunking.
Hosted PBX servers are common because they mean that companies don’t have to spend the money to purchase or do maintenance on their own Private Branch Exchange, since the VoIP provider will do all the management for them. The only downside is that with hosted PBX VoIP services, users have to pay a monthly fee for each phone line. While this is still extremely cheap, after a company hits 40-50 phone lines their expenses start rivaling what they’d normally pay for their own PBX system.
SIP trunks upgrade on-site PBX systems into standalone calling platforms for cheap VoIP service. SIP trunking is unique because multiple phone lines can take turns sharing a single SIP trunk one at a time. That means that businesses only need to pay for enough SIP trunks to handle their maximum call volume at any given time, although they will need an IP-PBX server to manage their extensions.
Businesses that already have on-site PBX servers are the most obvious candidates, since they just upgrade to cheap Internet phone calls using their existing hardware. However, growing companies that use Hosted PBX services may want to consider using a SIP trunk as their workforce increases.
The magic number to consider lies somewhere around 30 users. Businesses that have more than 30 employees using the phones are unlikely to have all of their phones in use at the same time, and the monthly fees for that many phone lines is close to how much the combined price of SIP trunking and PBX maintenance would be.
As an example, let’s assume a business has 40 employees. Even at a cheap rate of only $19.95 per line, this phone system would cost nearly $800 each month. If the company determines that they only have 10 phone lines in use during peak calling hours however, they will only need to pay for 10 SIP trunks. At around $15 per trunk (depending on the provider), that’s only $150 a month - more than ¼ of the cost.
Businesses with lots of employees and a good idea what kind of maximum phone traffic they receive should seriously consider using SIP trunking, even if it means spending thousands of dollars on a PBX device. In a very short time, the savings will pay for themselves and more.