If you’re anything like us, the word ‘softphone’ whisks you back to the ‘90s. A time when inflatable furniture was a very real thing. Novelty fuzzy telephones were a must have for any teen wishing for their own private phone line. (Hands up; who remembers telling their sibling to get off the line and stop listening to their very private calls?). But the reality of a softphone is, thankfully, much cooler than that.
Softphones aren’t actual physical phones through which your calls are made. They’re a nifty bit of software that allows you to make and receive calls via your smart device. Some of you out there might wonder why you’d need such an application. Why not just use a landline or smartphone? Agreed, it might seem a bit excessive to have a phone app on your phone, but hear us out.
Why are softphones better than your standard landline and mobile?
You have an office full of phones and desktops. Then there’s the mobile phones for remote working. The laptop for remote working and all the different numbers to remember. It makes sense that you have all the equipment to hand. This ensures that your staff are both contactable and enabled to continue their job. No matter where they are – office, on the road or working from home.
But that’s a lot of tech. A lot of numbers to remember. Not to mention the cost of maintaining the landlines and the monthly bill. There’s also the countless mobile devices that each have their own data plans. It may feel like the more physical options you have, the more flexible your working day becomes. But in actuality you’re creating more resources than you need.
Softphones are portable. Your number stays with you no matter which device you’re logged in with (whether it’s a computer, tablet, or smartphone). There’s no need to set up call forwarding each time you leave the office. As long as you have connection to the internet, you’re connected to your telephony network. Better still – by keeping the same phone number for your business, you can maintain a professional front. Your clients don’t have to use multiple numbers to get hold of you.
The next great benefit is one of our favourites. Softphones cost you absolutely nothing from T4COM as they are part of our Hosted Telecoms service. There’s no connection fee, no need to buy physical handsets or swish new tech to make your calls from. It’s a simple case of downloading the app, and away you go. No need for the newest gadgets or gizmos or swish new add-ons. However you want to make your call is entirely up to you.
Okay, but what about VoIP phones? Aren’t they the same thing?
It’s very easy when talking about using VoIP systems to confuse VoIP handsets with softphones. However, VoIP phones (handsets) are a thing in themselves.
Similar to your landline handset, a VoIP phone is a physical desk phone that connects to VoIP via the internet. It connects via the office, and then to the internet to access the service.
Available as both traditional desk phones and cordless handsets, VoIP phones are high quality. They work with dedicated hardware meaning that your call will always be crystal clear. (Softphones will be dependent on the quality of the microphone and speaker on the device that you are using). Our VoIP phones also connect directly with our system (hosted in our secure, offsite data centres) via the internet.
But I thought you said I didn’t need a physical handset?
You don’t! VoIP phones are a great option if you’re running a more traditional office or call centre (for example). But they’re not a necessity when switching to VoIP telephony. Each option has its own pros and cons. We can help get you set up with whichever solution works best for you. For the best of both worlds you can even have both – use your VoIP phone in the office and our softphone when you are working remotely.
It’s not just softphones that our package offers. We at T4COM believe that our clients should have the best service. After all, businesses don’t run themselves!
So how can T4COM work for me?
We have clients from all fields and sectors who have made the switch to cloud-based telephony. They’ve never looked back! At T4COM, we offer a package tailored specifically around yours and your business’ needs. We work with you to help you get the best out of all the services that we can offer. Our packages encompass all you might need with no add on charges or additional costs. What you see is what you get.
Just some of the reasons our customers love working with us are…
- We can save you up to 50% on your current telephony costs.
- There are no added extras and no hidden fees.
- We’re dedicated to working with you, and we manage all of our systems ourselves. This means there’s no waiting on another supplier or tech provided to troubleshoot and solve problems. Just call our dedicated team and we’ll fix it.
- Scalable systems mean that as your business grows, so can your telephony. No matter how big you grow, we will grow with you!
- We take security VERY seriously, and we know that you do too. There’s no onsite hardware required as everything goes through our secure data centres. All video calls are end-to-end encrypted. The only people listening to your very important sales pitches are the ones who are supposed to be there.
- Disaster recovery is built in. Dropped a call? With our data service we can access the call log and see what went wrong. International pandemic means you can no longer access the office? Not to worry – the portability means you can log in from anywhere and not lose any information in the process.
- You pay nothing for the entire set up. We can get everything set up for you in as little as 24 hours. All you have to pay is the monthly fee for your package. How brilliant is that? Better still – we can port your old number meaning that there’s no need to update your marketing collateral.
Sound too good to be true? It’s not, and we’d be delighted to tell you more about how we can help you today.
