A softphone, as the name suggests, is a software program that mimics the features of a phone on a PC or other computing device. Such apps are now commonplace in (voice-over-IP) VoIP office phone services for small to midsized businesses (SMBs). These programs appear to be made to look like a desktop phone, complete with a dial-pad and standard phone functions like Mute, Transfer, and Hold. They don’t require user training because they are so simple to master. But since they are software, these apps frequently contain more functionality than most users ever utilize.
For starters, your phone will ring wherever you plug in your device and launch the app, which is really helpful given that so many of us work from home. But there is also a great deal of additional intricacy, much of which can assist firms in navigating COVID-19. The manual must be cracked now.
The capability of voice calling and call handling features make up the majority of this lengthy laundry list of functions. For instance, the majority of vendors include conferencing, visual voicemail management, chat, and SMS functionality; however, when deploying to users, IT frequently forgets about these features because users are primarily interested in replacing their current phone system with a new, less expensive option. Additionally, VoIP business phone system can significantly affect local network management, thus IT sometimes prefers to provide new capabilities more gradually to prevent the additional traffic from stifling other apps.
Let’s go through the additional features the VoIP business phone system has to provide.
Features That Make VoIP Office Phone Stand Out.
Video Calling
With employees staying put owing to the coronavirus, the ability to conduct phone calls is frequently a significant feature that draws SMBs to a VoIP service. Having your business number readily available at all times is great for quickly establishing a virtual business presence, but the ability to add a video to that call can help replace social interaction, not just for clients or business partners but also just for internal, employee-to-employee conversation.
Faxes sent and received
As odd as it may seem, faxing is still required for many traditional business workflows, particularly those that are centered on the legal, insurance, healthcare, and real estate industries, among others. Receiving faxes fast on a PC or smartphone beats having to locate an outdated fax machine, or in these post-corona days, locate an independent outdated fax machine for each employee who is confined to their house.
File Sharing
One benefit of using a cloud-based VoIP service is that developers can improve their softphone applications to handle additional data because the service can manage voice and video data streams. Thus, VoIP developers can include functions like the faxing mentioned above or even just the capability of file sharing for business. For businesses to be able to operate more efficiently without having to move between different services, VoIP providers have started to offer such integration in addition to fundamental file sharing features.
Collaboration and Group Messaging
As voice, video, and data sharing are existing features of VoIP business phone system, it is only a short design leap to include team messaging and collaboration features. As a result of user demand, a number of business software manufacturers are currently incorporating additional capabilities into their products. VoIP systems will probably continue to incorporate different collaborative features.
Calendar Management and Access
Numerous VoIP systems already interface with users’ contact lists, including personal contact lists saved on PCs and mobile devices as well as company-wide contact databases. This makes it simple to keep track of, locate, and place calls to contacts. It is appropriate to also enable access to calendars for quick scheduling given that such a feature is already present.
Conclusion
VoIP office phone do a wide range of tasks in addition to making calls. These apps are incredibly adaptable and have the ability to assist close the communication gap during the COVID-19 crisis because of features like team chat, file sharing, and calendar integration.
