How to Explain the Difference Between VoIP & SIP Servers

At its heart, a VoIP server allows businesses to move from traditional phone line systems to a digital, online system. This uses a computer ... Skiptocontent Phone:(800)250-6510|Support|CustomerLogin BeforeUnderstandingVoIPandSIPServers,WhatIsaProtocol? Whentalkingtocustomers,agenuineconcernisintimidatingsmallbusinessownerswithoverwhelmingtechnologyterms.Yes,thereisacascadeofIT,telecomandtechacronyms.Butinformationtechnology,especiallyVoIPandSIPservers,doesn’thavetobecomplicated. Thisguidewillhelpyoulearnafewpointersforwhenyou’restucktryingtoexplaininternettelephonytoyourclients.Asastartingpoint,let’sreviewwhataprotocolissoyoucandescribeitcorrectly. “Protocol”isoneofthosetermsthateveryonehasheardthousandsoftimeswithoutreallyknowingwhatitmeans.Tokeepitsimple,considereverythingontheinternetasdata.Aprotocolisawayfortwomachinesto“talk”toeachotherandunderstandeachother’sdata. Voicecommunicationsareaspecialkindofdata.Fortwomachinestoexchangevoicesignals,thedevicesneedto“speakthesamelanguage.”Thatlanguageisaprotocol. Theprotocolcontainsallthenecessaryinformationforthemachinesoneachend(“endpoints”)tocommunicate. Related:SIPvs.VoIP:WhyisSIPTrunkinganUpgradetoVoIP? WhatIsaVoIPServer? WhenitcomestoexplainingaVoIPserver,let’salsostartwiththebasics. VoIPstandsforVoiceOverInternetProtocol.IncontrastwithtraditionalPSTN,orPublicSwitchedTelephoneNetwork,itisaformofinternettelephony. Asmentionedabove,aprotocolisawayofexchanginginformationbetweencomputers.Therefore,VoIPexchangesvoicedatausinginternetprotocol–whichactsastheinternet’spostalsystem. VoIPusuallyactivatesalongwithanapplicationsuchasFacetimetofacilitatecommunicationbetweentheendpoints.Atitsheart,aVoIPserverallowsbusinessestomovefromtraditionalphonelinesystemstoadigital,onlinesystem.Thisusesacomputernetworkinsteadofstandardphonelinestodeliveratelephonyservice. WhatIsSIP? SIPisanotherinternetprotocol,justlikeVoIP.Infact,SIPtrunkingisjustanotherwayofachievingVoIP.YoucanthinkofSIPasanotherlayerontopofVoIPoranupgradefromit.  TheacronymSIPstandsforSessionInitiationProtocol.Itisasignalingprotocoltoenabletwoormorepeopletostart,joinorendacommunicationssession(suchasateleconference).ThereisawidespreaduseofthisconceptinIPtelephony.Youcanconsolidateyourresourcesandcommunicateinaclear,high-qualitymannerbyusingSIPserverinfrastructure.  OneofthemaindifferencesbetweenSIPandVoIPisthatSIPsupportsmultimedia.VoIPcanonlysendandreceivevoicemessages,whereasSIPcanalsosendandreceiveimagesandvideos. SIPserverscantransfermostoftheprocessingsideofthingstoanindividualuser’ssystemratherthanacentralVoIPserver.Asaresultofitsdecentralizednature,SIPcanhandlelargeamountsofdatatrafficwithoutaperformanceimpact. Related:HowtoBecomeaSIPTrunkProvider WhatAreTheAdvantagesofSIPServersOverVoIP? Withthetwoprotocolsdefined,you’rereadytostartexploringtheadvantagesofeachonesoyoucanbetterexplainthemtoyourclients.Let’stakealook. VoIPServerAdvantages ThecriticaladvantageofVoIPisitsflexibility.Itcanbeeasilyadaptedtofitvariousscenarios,fromredirectingcallstosupportingdecentralizedhomeworking. AVoIPserverdoesn’tneedmuchtosetup,either.Allyourclientsneedisanetwork. VoIPisacost-effectiveupgradefromstandard,legacytelephony.Thehardwareinvolvedisn’tasexpensiveasanold-fashionedtelephonesysteminthelongrun,whichcanquicklyballoonincostwhenscalingupforalargerbusiness. Unlikeanalogphonesystems,VoIPsystemscangivemuchbetterlinequality.Old-schoolswitchboardscreatelossesinqualityduetothecoppercablinginvolved,whereasVoIPcallsarererouteddirectlythroughdigitalmeans,preventingdegradationofitsdata. ButVoIPalsohasitsdrawbacks. Forstarters,ifyou’reworkingwithoutdatedequipment,thenyoumayneedtoupgradetoanewerphonesystemcapableofhandlingVoIP.Thisprotocolisalsoheavilydependentoninternetspeedswhenitcomestoquality. Ifyourbusinessbroadbandisn’tuptoscratch,youmayfindVoIP’squalitylacking. SIPServerAdvantages SIPserversaregreatforbusinesseslookingtoadapttointernettelephonyonthefly.SIPcanbetunedupforbusyperiodsanddownforquietones,whichgivescompaniesahugedealofcontrolovertheirdeployment. ASIPserverisalsovirtual,makingiteasytomanageandscale. SIPtrunkscanoverridetraditionaltelephonelines,reducingcostsdramatically.Duetotheinternet-basednatureoftheconnection,italsolendsitselfwelltobusinesscontinuity.ButmuchlikestandardVoIPsystems,SIPtrunkingisdependentonyourbusinessinternetspeed. YoushouldalsoexplaintoyourclientsthatSIPisactuallyjustamethodofachievingVoIP.Sointhissense,there’sno‘versus’betweenthetwo.ButSIPgivesmorecontroloveraVoIPsystemandallowsformoreadvancedfeaturessuchasphoneconferencing. CompanieswithlegacyphonescannowupgradetheirvoicecapabilitiesbyusingSIPservers.TherearevariousfeaturesandtoolsincludedinSIP,suchasvideoconferencing,chat,instantmessaging,desktopsharing,whiteboards,andbusinessanalytics. Infact,SIPtechnologiesaregrowinginpopularityworldwide,accordingtoaresearchreportbyResearchandMarkets: SIPtrunkinghadamarketvalueof$13.44billionin2019.By2027,theSIPtrunkingmarketcouldbeworth$30.22billion.Thistechnologycouldgrowatanannualrateof10.8%between2020and2027. BusinessesbenefitfromimprovedtelecommunicationsinfrastructurethankstoSIPservers.Aneasy-to-use,lightweight,cost-effectiveandstraightforwarddesignenablesorganizationstorelyonfewerresourcestodeploy,maintainandexpand. WhatEquipmentDoYouNeedtoDeploySIP? Atthispoint,yourclientmaybeinterestedintheequipmentthatisnecessaryforSIP. ThegoodnewsyoucangivethemisthataSIPserverishighlyscalable.Withtherightprovider,anybusinesscaninvestasmuchoraslittleinSIPastheywant.Theactualrangeofavailablehardwareisvast.  ButonlyafewelementsareactuallyrequiredforSIP.OtherthantheirexistingIPphonesandaworkinginternetconnection,theonlyabsolutenecessityforSIPisaserviceplan.  YoucanprovideitbypartneringwiththebestSIPtrunkingresellingprogramavailable.Whyisitsosimple?SIPusesyourclient’sexistingconnections.Solongasanofficehasnetworkinfrastructure,theycanuseSIP. Ifyourclientwantstomakeandreceivevideocalls,they’llneedtoinvestinsomeadditionalhardware.Inthiscase,they’llneedwebcamstopickupvideo.Businessesarealsolikelytowantafewotherpiecesofequipment.Conferencephones,forexample,allowanewlevelofflexibilityformeetings.Usersmayalsowishtoinvestinheadsets,particularlyforcallcenterenvironments. Thisisagreatchancetoupselltelecomequipmentandservicesforabusinesswantingtodipintoadvancedfeatures. Wrappingup Ofcourse,anygoodexplanationpresentsachancetoreceivequestions.Listentoyourclientandtrytohelpthemoutasmuchasyoucan. ResellingSIPwithSIPTRUNKcanbearewardingexperience,whichcangetyoumoreclientsfast.WeofferaserviceplatformforbusinessesthatwishtobuildaSIPtrunkingpracticeandrecurringrevenuestreambyprovidingSIPtrunkingservices.WithSIPTRUNK,you’llgetasimpletechnologyplatformtosimplifythesellingandmaintainingofyourcustomerbase.Getstartednow. SubscribetoEmailUpdatesEmail* BlogCategories Announcement(5) Blog(19) Education(46) FAQ(4) Howto(43) Marketing(9) News(24) Sales(19) SIPTrunk(36) Testimonials(6) Tips(46) Uncategorized(27)