VoIP has become quite popular and it has done so with remarkable speed when you consider how new a technology it is.
However, while big businesses have rapidly adapted to this technological change, small business still seem reluctant to let go their old analog PSTN phone. This is surprising because when VoIP was first introduced most services providers had expected the small and medium sized businesses to be the first to embrace it due to the added features and lower costs of a VoIP phone.
There are several reasons as to why small and medium businesses have failed to respond to something that was meant to be of special advantage to them.
• Not knowing how VoIP works
This might not sound like a big deal but you should remember that the regular telephone is something that we have been used to through generations of use and consequently we are sort of self-assured about it. With new technologies the question is natural as to what exactly makes them tick and how reliable is it? Most people have a bunch of "what if this happens or that happens" type of baseless fears that can easily be cured with a quick session. They need to be told how PSTN works (people do not know this either but long usage makes them feel confident about it) and how VoIP works and what are the benefits (and drawbacks, they should be told about them) of the newer technology.
• Lack of customized packages
Business users, even small and medium business users, are not home users. However, the VoIP service providers seem to have overlooked this small point and they are busy providing the same monthly packages to the whole world. A business has more volume of calls, a need for much higher Bandwidth to avoid internet-traffic congestion problems that might affect transmission/reception, and so on. Consequently, the popular packages (even the unlimited ones) are simply too limited in their scope to be of any serious advantage to a PSTN user.
In fact, the last point could be applied to nearly everyone. At present, VoIP service providers themselves seem a bit unsure of how to go about promoting their services apart from imitating each other. That is why there are no customizable options for home users and small to medium business owners. Everyone is treated alike though their requirements are vastly different.
Right now, the only small and medium businesses that can profit from switching over to VoIP are those whose requirements fall within the scope of the service packages offered by the providers.
Stuart Drew is the owner of the popular PimpMyPageRank Blog, which deals in all issues technology, especially content, and income, generation in the online world.
