3 Essential SIP Trunking Features Your Business Needs
In today’s digital age, companies must modernize their communications to be available for their customers and reach out to them when, where, and how they expect. Consumers now expect multiple methods of effortless communication. This, along with the ongoing need to reduce business communication expenses, is one of the leading drivers of the move to SIP trunking. In addition, there’s a growing need to create a work/life balance for hybrid and remote employees. In all these areas, the many modern features that SIP trunking technology makes possible is a significant benefit for businesses of all sizes.
The first step to modernizing your business communications is finding a quality SIP trunk provider. Your business reputation depends upon being available to your customers and connecting your employees no matter where their offices are located. That’s why It’s essential to explore the features and reliability that you’ll be gaining with modern technology. In this post, we’ll look at some of the most popular and important SIP trunking features offered by the best vendors.
Reasons to Modernize Your Communications with SIP Trunking Features
Even if you’ve made up your mind about upgrading your phone system to SIP trunking, you may not yet understand exactly what it can do for your business. Not only will you gain multiple touchpoints with your existing and potential customers, but you’ll also get the peace of mind of a resilient network for business continuity even when the unexpected happens.
Related: How SIP Trunking Shapes Effective Business Solutions
Let’s take a deeper look at the top SIP trunking features that are driving the trend for businesses to upgrade their communications systems.
Feature #1: Customer Service
Understanding customer needs is paramount to building a thriving business. It’s already too late if you’re finding unfavorable reviews online that your customers had trouble contacting a service representative or getting problems resolved. The following features help ensure your customers’ satisfaction and business reputation:
- Business SMS – Many modern customers want quick and easy answers without having to make a call. Ensure your business can provide seamless interactions through instantaneous, hassle-free messaging with a cutting-edge business SMS solution
- Real-Time Call Data Records – Call Data Records (CDRs) bring visibility into your usage and true communication needs. View your CDRs in the control panel in near real time. You can also view today’s records or those from the past year online or download them as a .CSV file.
- Widespread DID Coverage – SIP trunking uncouples the physical location of the phone from the phone number. This feature makes it possible for businesses to have phone numbers that appear local to a specific market without having a physical office in the area. Look for providers who offer a large database of domestic and international numbers and who make it easy to search and order numbers. The best providers can provision most DID numbers instantly and backorder numbers if they are unavailable in your area.
- Fast And Easy Integrations – The faster you get set up, the quicker you can respond effectively to your customers. Because SIP is the industry standard protocol for voice, it’s supported by most modern VoIP equipment and software, including IP PBX systems, desk phones, and VoIP gateways. You have the freedom to choose the right hardware and software combination for your business. The best providers support any SIP-enabled PBX system from popular carriers, can integrate with any open-source telephony application, and will help you configure the trunks so you can be up and running in minutes.
Feature #2: Security
Protecting your business requires both physical and digital safeguarding. It’s imperative that businesses consider information security as well as the safety of their employees.
Related: VoIP SIP Trunk: Harnessing the Power of Advanced Telecommunication for Business Success
These SIP trunking features keep your business and your staff secure:
- Nomadic e911 – A service called “nomadic 911” or “e911” gives users the peace of mind that their calls to 911 will be automatically routed to the local emergency center associated with their physical address. Applying nomadic e911 to any US DID number works by associating a valid USPS address with any US phone number. This association provides the emergency services operator with the correct physical address for dispatching help.
- International Toll Fraud Protection – Be sure to select a SIP trunking provider that offers automated toll fraud protection. These systems are designed to recognize suspicious calling patterns and temporarily suspend international calling to reduce the impact of fraudulent attacks. Look for a system that monitors for international call fraud in real time, kills unauthorized calls in progress, terminates international calling on your trunk, and alerts you and a network operations center of suspicious activity.
Feature #3: Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
Whether it’s a natural disaster, an accident, or other unplanned interruptions, your business needs a way to keep running when the unexpected happens. These features make sure you can continue serving your customers:
- Tier-1 Redundant Network – Choose a provider that uses only Tier-1 upstream providers to route your traffic. This ensures you get the best voice quality on a redundant platform for optimal performance and reliability. Your provider should also employ multiple gateways across the US to eliminate any single point of failure.
- Fault-Tolerant DID Routing – In an emergency, power outage, or other event that prevents employees from getting into the office, SIP trunks can be rerouted to other locations so that business can continue uninterrupted. Route inbound DID calls to a secondary IP-PBX in the event that the primary PBX is busy or fails, or forward the call to a backup PSTN number.
Leverage the Best SIP Trunking Features With the Best Provider Partner
Customers who choose SIP trunking don’t have to compromise between value and functionality. SIP is designed to support modern communications and offer businesses all the features they need to be productive and profitable. When you need a trustworthy and reliable provider partner, SIP.US is the one to choose. Get started today to find out how SIP technology can help your business streamline its communications.