UC Implementation Solutions: The Basics of SIP Trunking

UC Implementation Solutions: The Basics of SIP Trunking

From a data and storage perspective, internet cloud networking offers enormous benefits, particularly for startups looking for cost-effective UC implementation solutions. However, there’s far more to cloud computing than just storage benefits. Because of the versatility of the internet and the capacity of bandwidth that’s possible with fiber connections, massive amounts of data can transfer without issue. And cloud computing allows tremendous access to these advantages at a low cost. SIP trunking and voice communications are one of the biggest benefits often overlooked by growing companies.

What is SIP trunking?

SIP trunking is a data transfer protocol that allows data to layer on top of itself, which then allows for different types of data to transmit on the same transmission lines and conduits at the same time. In short, it’s the tool that allows the internet, digital data, voice data, and other data to move through the same channel at the same time versus waiting for one to pass before the other can move through.

The SIP part of the name is an acronym for Session Initiation Protocol, a form of Internet data transferring between two points, or peer-to-peer. The data moves between peers including email, texting, SMS chat, interactive gaming, fax data, and even voice communication converted to a digital format. The key factor has a tool that disseminates and filters all the forms of data so they can be created, sent, and interpreted correctly on the receiving end. The SIP standard is the core filter.

SIP and Business Growth

So where does the SIP play in business growth and flexibility? SIP trunking allows a company to converge all types of communication through an internet access point, which is extremely low cost compared to traditional networks and phone systems. Even profitable companies can capitalize on the approach, boosting their profit margins even more by reducing operating costs. However, with the capability of SIP trunking, a company also gains another advantage: scalable control over every element of business communications.

Additional Benefits

Using SIP allows company management the ability to scale certain tools over others versus being stuck with a sunk cost and an uncontrollable share of bandwidth lost to a particular communication device. If management sees an abundance of data usage on things like streaming videos, that access can be scaled back through the network. The same bandwidth can instead be secured and dedicated to additional phone lines for additional workers and productivity and so on. SIP also allows for the addition of valuable features like automatic translation tools which can be useful for international companies, as well as speech-to-text benefits that turn messages into digital text emails or similar. Finally, SIP trunking can use existing PBX equipment, so the hardware replacement cost is minimal. The big transition comes on the software side.

So why consider SIP trunking as one of your UC implementation solutions? Well, with enough research you might be asking yourself instead, “What took us so long?!”