Today’s organizations need simple and cost-effective technologies to seamlessly scale their communications. SIP trunking offers a flexible, reliable, and unified communication solution. A resilient cloud-based communication platform can deliver the consistent voice and messaging service companies need. These solutions can be easily implemented by developers, enhancing the organization’s systems and software with seamless communication.
Cloud-based voice SIP is an optimal solution for businesses of all sizes and is steadily gaining support among small and large companies alike. According to Global Market Insights, the voice SIP market is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 5% over the next decade. SIP trunking has many business-enhancing benefits and can make implementation and configurations easier for developers across industries. How? Let’s take a look.
What Is SIP Trunking?
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a network protocol that is designed for business Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and also carries video, text, chat, and file transfers. A SIP trunk is a service over the internet that uses dynamic channels to create connections for voice transmissions between the business and a user. Since the channels are dynamically created over the internet, they offer scalability, allowing numerous call channels to be created to accommodate incoming calls. The business is only limited by its bandwidth.
SIP allows an organization to unify its communications, including VoIP, video, and chat, on a SIP trunk. Authorized users can access the SIP trunk online from anywhere with a stable internet connection for seamless and consistent communication.
Cloud-Based SIP Vs. Traditional Carrier
While cloud-based SIP provides scalable and dynamic channel options for businesses, traditional trunking was achieved using a primary rate interface (PRI) from a carrier. The PRI is a physical copper cable with a limited number of concurrent channels for voice and data. While PRI is limited to 23 channels, a cloud-based SIP offers as many simultaneous channels as the business needs, depending on its bandwidth.
When a company requires more than 23 channels on a PRI line, the carrier would need to install additional lines to meet the organization’s needs. Installation of added PRI lines could be a significant investment for a business, and when it no longer requires the increased call capacity, the organization’s investment may be wasted.
A cloud-based SIP ensures the company only pays for the channels it uses. The technology scales dynamically and has the elasticity to scale back down to normal or lower usage levels without investing in unused channels.
How Can a SIP Trunk Benefit Modern Businesses?
A cloud-based SIP delivers several advantages over traditional trunking options from carriers. It can also provide benefits to enhance business, such as reliability and enterprise-grade features. When you implement a SIP for your client or company, you can leverage the following benefits.
Scalability
Scalability is a primary advantage of choosing a cloud-based SIP. SIP trunking is a service provided over the Internet, giving the company plenty of room to grow its communications and shrink back to previous levels as needed. This scalability comes with little investment in hardware and infrastructure. Most cloud-based SIP platforms work with the devices your client or business is already using, such as mobile phones, software phones, IP phones, and compatible private branch exchanges (PBXs).
Related: Voice SIP: How Reliable Voice Calling Solutions Can Impact Your Business
The scalability of SIP extends from the physical office, allowing businesses with remote or distributed workforces to scale easily. Users worldwide can use the SIP from a stable internet connection and communicate using the business phone system. It offers new opportunities for businesses looking to hire remotely or acquire new office locations.
Cost-Effectiveness
In addition, SIP is cost-effective. Implementing SIP for a business requires a minimal investment in infrastructure and hardware. Most organizations already have a network that can accommodate SIP trunking and devices that can access the SIP. This results in a minimal investment compared to purchasing PRIs from a carrier. The company can also use its compatible IP-PBX or virtual PBX or leverage the enterprise-grade features of a cloud-based SIP, such as remote call forwarding, CNAM (caller ID name), and phone number masking.
The cost per call or text is also lower with a voice SIP than traditional carriers, with domestic inbound calls costing a fraction of a cent per minute. With a metered plan, your client or business will only pay for the calls received or made during a billing cycle. This gives you more freedom to test out the SIP before committing to a long-term plan for your development.
Reliability
SIP provides consistently reliable voice service through VoIP. It ensures incoming calls are accommodated with near unlimited capacity. Inbound and outbound calls are routed to the fastest path over the internet, ensuring high-quality voice service. A reputable SIP platform will also deliver dynamic failover to a different physical network when there’s an issue or outage.
Cloud-based SIP providers can deliver 24/7 availability and uptimes greater than 99.99%. Since the number of concurrent voice channels scales dynamically, you can ensure your business or client can accommodate large volumes of callers.
Business Continuity
Cloud-based voice SIP’s reliability and flexibility provide inherent business continuity advantages. Dynamic physical failover ensures calls are received, even when there are network outages. SIP is a way for your company or client to make calls from anywhere in the world without needing complicated devices. Users can use a software-based phone on a PC or a mobile phone to make and answer calls.
Business continuity is critical to organizations. After a disaster, 4 out of 10 small businesses never reopen, and a significant number fail within the year, according to Forbes. SIP can help the organization continue operations offsite and easily recover from disasters like outages to maintain high levels of productivity.
Some situations that benefit from a business continuity plan with cloud-based SIP include:
- Network and power outages
- Emergencies or pandemics that require staff to work from home
- Fires, blizzards, hurricanes, and other natural disasters
- On-site construction and office closures
Business-Enhancing Features
While your client or business can use a compatible PBX to deliver the same enterprise-level features its staff are familiar with, a cloud-based SIP platform can also offer several business-enhancing features.
SIP platforms offer the flexibility to bring your own carrier and use a hybrid implementation with cloud-based SIP and the existing carrier, providing access to different groups or individuals. The leading SIP platforms offer Microsoft Teams integration, enabling users to make and receive calls using Teams to facilitate contact management and collaboration.
Related: Routing Inbound Calls Based on DID Numbers
Voice SIP is compatible with direct inward dialing (DID), a feature that ensures inbound calls are routed to the intended recipient without complicated extensions or IVR systems. DID over a SIP provides redundancy for your client or company’s critical voice applications when combined with dynamic routing and failover service. Reputable SIP platforms also offer:
- Remote call forwarding
- Voicemail
- Call waiting
- Call transfer
- Call screening
- CNAM
- Conference calling
- Phone number masking
- Faxing
Integrating SIP Into Software and Systems
SIP trunking can be integrated into your client or company’s software and systems to deliver voice, chat, text, and video communication over an application, website, or automated system. A programmable SIP API makes implementing SIP into software as simple as entering a few lines of code. A reputable SIP platform allows you to quickly port existing numbers from another carrier or create a business phone number. You can often have your client or company’s voice services up and running in minutes.
Examples of Business Uses of SIP Trunking
A SIP API allows you to easily integrate SIP into software and systems, and there are nearly endless ways in which the organization can utilize the technology. Businesses use SIP to enhance communications and customer service in the following implementations.
Integrate Seamless Communication into an App or Website
A SIP API allows you to integrate voice and text messaging into an app or website. Companies use features like click-to-call or click-to-message to make it simple and convenient for clients to communicate with the business or third parties using the app.
For instance, ride-sharing and delivery app users can contact their drivers to coordinate a pickup or delivery. Your client or business may also opt to integrate a phone number masking feature to protect the privacy of users.
Develop an IVR to Manage High Call Volumes
High-call-volume organizations like call centers can benefit from an interactive voice response (IVR) system. An IVR automatically answers incoming calls and provides several prompts for users to conduct simple transactions and reach their intended recipient.
For example, a financial institution can use an IVR to handle low-complexity transactions like checking account balances, ordering checks, or locking a credit or debit card. When callers have a more complex transaction, they can opt to speak with a representative for more personalized assistance.
Integrate Voice Calling into a CRM
Companies that rely on a customer relationship management (CRM) system can integrate calling and messaging into the CRM to seamlessly track calls. The business can leverage analytics for call time improvement and training purposes, and agents can receive and send calls and messages from within the CRM.
For example, you could integrate calling and messaging into a call center environment’s CRM. This enhancement can facilitate faster customer response and improved customer service, with analytics tied to the call and in-application communication for faster response.
How to Find a Developer-Friendly SIP Platform?
The right SIP API partner can mean the difference between a seamless integration with everything the business needs and struggling to implement a working service for the organization. Look for the following qualities to find a developer-friendly SIP platform.
API Integration
An API makes integrating SIP trunking into a client or company’s software or service simple. An exceptional SIP platform will provide the documentation you need to integrate the SIP with software development kits (SDKs), quickstarts, and use cases. The articles should be simple to follow using your preferred programming language, such as PHP, .NET, and Python. They also make it easy to implement services and features like E911 using microservices you can integrate with Docker containers or GitHub repositories.
SIP API providers use representational state transfer (REST) API architecture to minimize resources and ensure operability with various software and systems. REST APIs use simple HTTP commands, such as GET and PUT, and are compatible with common data formats like XML and plain text. They use stateless communication and store no client information on the server. When implementing an API for SIP communication, a REST architecture can ensure smooth communication and is compatible with the leading programming languages.
Security
While you can build an API from scratch or find a free and open-source API pre-built, it will require in-house security to ensure your client or company can safely communicate using the SIP.
A reputable cloud-based SIP platform secures your client or organization’s communications on the server side, often leveraging expertise and resources that are a major investment for small and medium-sized businesses. The API and microservices are kept up-to-date and secure using a version control system like GitHub to ensure you are implementing the latest version of the software.
The right partner can also provide real-time monitoring of your business or clients’ SIP. This includes enabling administrators to restrict or allow communication from certain destinations. They can protect a business from fraud and unwanted calls, saving time and resources while granting peace of mind.
Additional Features
Implementing features for your business or client is simplified when you work with a reputable SIP API platform. Instead of developing the features from scratch, you can take advantage of pre-made features. Look for add-ons like phone number masking, two-factor authentication, appointment reminders, and E911 in the form of microservices that can be quickly and easily implemented into your SIP API.
Enhance Your Business Communications With a Reliable and Scalable Voice SIP
SIP trunking from Flowroute offers a scalable, cost-effective, and reliable solution for organizations of every size with numerous business-enhancing features. Flowroute’s SIP service is powered by our HyperNetwork™, ensuring incoming calls are dynamically routed using the shortest path and guarantees delivery with physical failover. Get started with our resilient SIP trunking service to experience seamless communication.
