Compared to the old PSTN landline, VoIP is the technology that converts your voice into a digital signal, allowing you to make a call directly from a computer, a VoIP phone, or other data-driven devices. Simply put, it’s phone service delivered over the internet quite a few functionalities in addition to those described above. If you want to get the most out of your VoIP setup, it is a good idea to know about VoIP features and what purpose they serve.
6 Core VoIP Features:
Call Forwarding
In the simplest terms, call forwarding can be described as a facility to divert incoming calls to one number to another alternate number if the originally called number is busy, dead, not responding or otherwise inaccessible.
You may also intentionally configure calls to be forwarded such as after office hours or when you are traveling or when you activate DND. The number to which you forward incoming calls may be located in the same country or in any country. Calls may be forward to another VoIP number, a landline or a mobile phone.
Call Transferring
Call transferring is one more compelling answer to the question why switch to VoIP. You can simply press a button on an IP phone to transfer an incoming call to voicemail or to another phone. The caller does not have to call that number. They are simply put on hold, and their call is routed. If it is a softphone, you can use the software.
This is ideal in larger enterprises or call centers where calls need to be transferred from one employee to another. It comes in handy when a caller dials a wrong extension and needs to be redirected to the right department or to a remote employee.
Call transfers may be of different types:
- Blind transfer when a person who picks up the call simply transfers it to another person without informing the individual about the caller and the issue.
- An attended transfer is one in which the individual who transfers the call makes sure that the caller and the target connect.
- Attended transfer with hold is another type in which one employee may transfer the call to another but before doing so informs the recipient about the issue in hand.
Call Recording
VoIP telephony systems such as IP PBX or call center software include a call recording feature. Administrators may configure the system to automatically record each conversation, whether it is an inbound or outbound call. Then again, it may be optional in which case the agent may hit the record button to record the ongoing conversation. Call records may be used as evidence or to review employee performance or for quality improvement.
Call Screening
Call screening is one of the desirable VoIP features that can save you a lot of headache and time. Call screening allows you to block specific numbers. You can even create lists of approved numbers from where calls are acceptable and numbers that go into the blocked call list. One can set up screening to block entire area codes.
Activate this feature and you can see the caller’s ID before the call is connected. You can accept or reject the call or you can simply fit it into the screening list to automatically reject that call. If you are busy you can activate this call screening feature to work with a recorded message.
Voicemail
If you keep answering the phone you will not get any work done. The solution is to use voicemail. If you are out of office and the phone rings, the caller can be put through to voicemail. Voicemail feature services two purposes. One is to answer an incoming call, and the second is to send a message to a user’s mailbox.
You can retrieve inbound voice messages in much the same way you listen to the answer phone or you can configure the VoIP phone system to send it to your email address. You do not lose a single call. Caller is kept happy. You can check mail or your voicemail and respond fast to urgent message. Voicemail may be distributed within your team.
Caller ID
This is a pretty standard feature and it is free in VoIP. Whenever you receive inbound calls, your computer screen (if you are using softphone software), or the IP phone, displays the name and phone number of the caller. The ISP verifies the number. You can configure your VoIP system to create whitelists and blacklists that will enable calls to come through or be rejected.
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