Distributor Nimans says the flexibility of SIP presents a compelling argument when companies require a ‘belt and braces’ approach to their communication infrastructure.
“When SIP first launched people taking traditional ISDN lines were tending to get a couple of SIP lines as back-up. But now it’s the other way around,” said Head of Networks, Mark Curtis-Wood. “Many businesses are adopting SIP as their primary infrastructure with ISDN in the background. The shift in SIP confidence has changed dramatically, based on many key advantages. Business continuity and disaster recovery are becoming much more crucial in today’s demanding corporate world.”
He pointed out: “Cost and number flexibility are also crucial factors. For example if a business moves location they can take their own numbers with them. Equally lines no longer have to be specific to any geographical location, so you can imply a local presence even though you may be based hundreds of miles away.
“These are essentially virtual numbers through The Cloud, so from a business continuity perspective they can’t go down and will always be available, even if you have to divert them to another site. There’s far more flexibility than traditional lines, where if there was a problem you would have to wait for the fixed line provider to apply a divert. SIP can provide a much smoother running business operation.”
He says remote working is another key area where SIP also shines. “You can set someone up at home pretty easily with just a PSTN line and broadband. Layer SIP trunks for full functionality; dial into the office, make free inter-site calls or add Microsoft Lync for a full UC suite.”
He continued: “With SIP you can add or take off lines as and when you need to. If a business installs 25 ISDN lines then it’s far harder to remove them, even if a customer is only using half of them. Lines can also generally be moved in and out much quicker. New SIP trunks are generally installed in half the time of ISDN whereas additional SIP trunks can often be provisioned in a couple of days. It’s a much faster turnaround to enhance business performance and help companies forward plan and implement new ideas. Any business will have peaks and troughs and SIP is a much more nimble way of operating.”
Mark says mobile data is becoming an increasingly important consideration where workers can access emails and perform their work as if sat at their desk. “People are on the move much more today, using tablets more as opposed to being desk-based. With Microsoft Lync, it’s a quick and easy overlay, part of full office functionality even though users are much more dispersed.”
Mark added: “Word is spreading and momentum building. Today’s businesses demand much more continuity and flexibility and SIP is leading the way. It’s an ideal fit as the SIP snowball grows bigger and bigger.”
The hosted market is also making good traction according to Mark who concluded: “A hosted PBX is another important continuity consideration. If a customer has a problem with their normal phone system and the lines go down for example, then if it’s hosted via The Cloud, these issues don’t exist to the same degree. We’ve noticed a noticeable increase in this sector, via our flexible service from SIPCOM.”