VoIP Price Quote Comparisons

By Catherine Hensley
Updated: July 05, 2011

With more and more companies doing business with partners and clients around the world, securing the most efficient and cost-effective communication options is a vitally important task. Many business owners have turned to VoIP technology as a simple and reliable tool for staying connected. There are a variety of ways to request price quotes for VoIP services, and it’s important to figure out how your business will benefit from VoIP before agreeing to purchase a system.

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is a telecommunications technology that transmits various forms of communication (i.e., voice, fax, video, and data) over a single Internet connection. The interface and apparatus function similarly to traditional landline telephones, and the simplicity of setting it up and maintaining it make it an extremely attractive option for companies with multiple geographical locations, as well as those with budget concerns. The flexibility of VoIP is one of its key selling points, whether it’s mobile-to-mobile capability or video seminars transmitted across thousands of miles.

If you’ve decided that VoIP is right for your company’s telecommunications needs, there’s a wide variety of online options available for requesting price quotes from vendors. Many price-quoting websites offer online “questionnaires” that you can fill out to get quotes tailored to your company’s specific needs (http://www.resourcenation.com/business/voip?version=C). On these forms, you answer a number of preselected questions intended to determine, based on your answers, exactly what you’re looking for from VoIP technology. Questions range from pointed ones like “How many users will need access to the phone system?” to more general inquiries like “How would you describe your current phone system needs?” Based on your answers, the team behind such a website will gather and send you information from vendors in your area who offer services related to what criteria you enter.

Similarly, many other websites provide price-quoting services, often with online forms as well. Some are vendor-specific, meaning you enter your contact information and telecommunications/VoIP needs into one form on the actual vendor’s website, and they will get back to you with a quote. Others, meanwhile, will gather price quotes from a range of relevant vendors just by you filling out a simpler form than those of the lengthier questionnaire-variety.

If you know exactly which vendor you’re interested in, it’s best to seek a price quote from a vendor-specific website. But if you’re just beginning the search into VoIP technology and expanding your company’s communications abilities, going with a questionnaire-type or other such website that gathers quotes from multiple vendors is the way to go.
 

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