The Future of VoIP Technology

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) represents the backbone of how businesses communicate and has been around since the 90s. This article will explore what it is and the impact it will have on market and industry trends in 2023.  

Make no mistake: real-time business communication is critical for every business.

Communications technology is advancing at lightning speed. As a result, the way businesses operate has changed substantially. While the future of VoIP technology might not be a daily agenda topic, Global operations, remote offices, the hybrid workplace, and a geographically dispersed workforce are the norm in today’s business landscape.  

What is VoIP

What is VoIP and what older technologies does it replace?

  • Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology allows individuals and businesses to make phone calls using the internet. With a VoIP service, calls are routed through a provider's broadband network and then delivered over the internet to the caller's device (Further reading: What is VoIP?)
     

    A VoIP phone service is practical because it allows people to make calls that may not have access to a landline or cell phone or because they are outside of an area covered by traditional telephone service.

     

    The two main technologies that VoIP replaces are on-premise Private Branch Exchange (PBX) telephone systems and ISDN. While reliable and practical, on-premise PBX phone systems are historically expensive and leverage older technology.

     

    The Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) network technology was created to support digital transfer of simultaneous voice and data traffic, and to also accommodate video and fax transmissions over a public switched telephone network. ISDN was popular in the 90s as a broadband alternative to dial-up and has been replaced by modern long-distance networking technologies.

5G Technology will Impact VoIP issues

  • 5G Technology will Impact VoIP issues

    Before 5G, modern mobile network architecture could not accommodate the enormous amount of data and traffic required for doing business today. Skyrocketing network demand due to a wave of new connected devices — along with the growing popularity of remote and hybrid work — is stretching network capacity.
     

    But by adopting 5G, businesses will no longer be constrained by internet speed and bandwidth. 
     

    With 5G, businesses can take advantage of improved call speeds, reduced latency (lag), and greater capacity, resulting in clearer and more reliable VOIP calls.
     

    5G provides better video conferencing (think 4K or 8K resolution) and even opens the doors for companies to embrace new technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR).

VoIP cybersecurity

A brief primer on VoIP cybersecurity

  • When it comes to using VoIP, taking cybersecurity into account is crucial for any business. While securing a VoIP system is beyond the scope of this article, generally speaking, VoIP offers a secure and private way to communicate.

     

    VoIP also provides security benefits over traditional methods of communication such as telephone calls. By encrypting your VoIP traffic, you can protect against cyberattacks by creating a secure platform that is difficult to breach.

     

    The most common form of encryption used to secure VoIP communications is Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), which was originally designed to secure online transactions and implemented into the web browser. SSL works by encrypting the connection between you and your business VoIP provider, creating a secure channel. 

     

    Ultimately, the future of VoIP technology can only succeed when security is built-in to any business deployment. 

Business VoIP

From basic phone services to advanced cloud-based “as a service” voice solutions, we’ve got you covered.

Learn more

Higher Increase for Unified Communications and hosted VoIP solutions

  • The concept of Unified Communications (UC) includes IP telephony, instant messaging apps, audio/video, and other web-based communications. This increased demand for connectivity, which includes the rise of IoT, has led to the evolution of 5G. 

     

    Unified Communications and collaboration aims to increase individual users' productivity in an organization by streamlining communications tools and optimizing processes.. UC reduces latency and interruptions caused by device dependencies. With the speed of 5G and the power of edge computing, computing takes place closer to the action and communication can happen in real-time. 

AI on VoIP

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on VoIP Technology

  • Artificial intelligence has the potential to revolutionize the future of VoIP technology. By automating specific processes and tasks, AI enables VoIP providers to offer businesses better call quality, lower fees, and an upgrade on reliability. 
     

    Additionally, AI can provide significant improvements to existing business functions like conference calls, call centers, and chatbots.


    Conference calls

    Consumer devices already boast features like real-time language translation and speech recognition technology. But when this type of AI is used with VoIP, clients and employees all over the world can communicate more effectively without the language barrier.

  • Contact centers

     

    Using an AI-integrated VoIP system, companies can leverage the technology to analyze the recordings to determine a customer’s moods and emotions. Agents can leverage this data to improve the customer experience.

     

    Chatbots

     

    While chatbots are common today, AI bots will only get better at understanding customer inquiries, scheduling meetings, and even doing all the tedious conference call tasks like setting things up and inviting/welcoming attendees.

VoIP with IoT

VoIP Interaction with IoT Solutions

  • Internet of things (IoT) and VoIP are a perfect match, as they both rely on IP communications to interact. Like AI, the best way to demonstrate how VoIP and IoT solutions can integrate is with practical use cases. 

     

    Imagine a smart home or office where you can call in and manage appliances or heating systems using only your voice — even if you don’t have internet access.

     

    Or what about an IoT sensor installed on the factory floor? That sensor can make a VoIP call to relevant stakeholders who need to be updated on what’s happening for safety, productivity, or efficiency concerns. 

Future of VoIP

The Future of VoIP on Cloud Computing

  • The future of VoIP technology in cloud computing is promising. By moving to the cloud, businesses can cut costs and improve communication. In particular, cloud-based VoIP systems can provide a number of benefits, including scalability, reliability, and flexibility. With the right provider, businesses can enjoy all the benefits of VoIP while freeing up their IT staff to focus on other projects. 

     

    Cloud-based VoIP systems are commonly deployed in medium-sized businesses and enterprises. These organizations typically have hundreds, if not thousands, of users who need to communicate with each other frequently.

     

    There are many benefits to moving VoIP services to the cloud. For one, businesses can take advantage of economies of scale, getting more bang for their buck by leveraging the pooled resources of a larger pool of users.  In addition, businesses can enjoy greater flexibility and scalability, quickly adding or subtracting users as needed and scaling up or down as traffic ebbs and flows.

     

    Businesses can also take advantage of security measures that are built into SaaS platforms. These platforms offer a number of security layers designed to protect against many types of attacks. 

VoIP Services with AT&T Business

  • From basic phone services to advanced cloud-based “as a service” voice solutions, AT&T Business has got you covered with a wide range of VoIP phone services and products tailored specifically to your business. 

     

    Related Resources

     

    What is sip trunking?
     

    Get the most from voice and collaboration solutions with a world-class network
     

    Can cloud calling solutions really deliver greater flexibility and control?

Your feedback will help us to improve AT&T Business so you continue to have a great experience when visiting us!

This survey is conducted by an independent company ForeSee for AT&T.

Yes, I’ll give feedback!