Pros and Cons of Office VOIP

The Pros 

VoIP Helps You to Save Money on Subscription and Start-up Cost
That's what first gets everyones attention, the lower cost.  Be careful though, not all plans are the same and a poor choice can actually cost you more and lock you into a long term contract that's tough to break.

Wireless VoIP Equipment is available at consumer level prices.
That can be another savings but resist the urge to go ctoo heap and use superstore discount consumer grade equipment.  There's a lot more at stake at the business level than at home.  Grandma will forgive a dropped call, your prospective client may not.

You can potentially save money on message units and long distance calls
Depending upon the provider, you will probably not be charged for long distance calls so if you make a lot of those, your on-going cost savings could be significant.

The Cons

VOIP is Highly Dependent on Bandwidth and Power
With VOIP everything depends on your broadband connection. I f the connection goes down, your phone line goes down as well.

Unlike the traditional telephone (POTS) lines, you need to plug your modem or router into the electric power supply for it to work. If there is a power interruption, your phones go down as well.

Mixing VoIP and Data Can Potentially Degrade Call Quality
Since voice and data share the same bandwidth, unless properly provisioned you run the risk of one service negatively impacting the other.  This is probably the most common complaint we hear about VOIP services providers.

Security Might Be a Concern Over WirelessIf you're going to blend VOIP and wireless network, the security complications can get pretty intimidating.  This isn't something you want to do without professional help.

International Calls
If you make International calls, be very careful.  We've seen instances where the rates for these calls can actually be higher not lower than traditional phone rates.

911 Calls
Make sure your VOIP provider can handle emergency call properly.  Unlike traditional phone services, the PBX handling your VOIP service may not be local and routing calls to 911 can be a problem.