When running a business in the modern age, it’s pretty likely that you are going to come across all kinds of different technologies. On top of that, there are also likely to be plenty of confusing acronyms, too! Voip is just one of them – and SIP, while closely related, is another. In fact, some business owners may find that they struggle to tell the two concepts apart at first – so what are we looking at in terms of the main differences?

Crucially, the differences lie in the types of Communication service you set up. VoIP is simpler than SIP, all around, but they are actually part of the same puzzle. Essentially, SIP and VoIP work to help make your corporate communications more efficient and more reliable in the face of growing customer demands.

Therefore, let’s take a little bit of a closer look at both of these concepts, and why it’s worth making sure you know the difference.

What is VoIP?

VoIP is the modern standards for corporate telephony. For contact between businesses and consumers, VoIP streamlines traditional telephone standards and allows you to make and receive calls via data connection. Essentially, rather than rely on a copper line or PSTN service, you are communicating via the internet. However, instead of this being IM or email as you might normally expect through the web, it’s a voice-based service.

VoIP allows businesses to keep lines open for longer and to make sure there is little risk of calls dropping out or disconnecting. Crucially, it is all about ensuring that your calls are clear, reliable, and that you are providing your end users with as much fantastic support as possible. VoIP is also flexible, in the sense that you can run it completely from the cloud, and that you won’t have to worry about muddling around with awkward cables and connections along the way.

However, it’s worth remembering that VoIP is more of a communications concept, rather than a technology outright. This means that VoIP may refer to all manner of programs and connections, albeit through a data basis. Therefore, you might have a conferencing system set up through VoIP, or a simple set of B2B channels. It’s almost limitless in its flexibility.

What is SIP?

SIP, or SIP trunking, is a little different in that it is a method of bringing together multiple different platforms and multimedia sharing standards into one place. It is rather like taking the core concept of VoIP and using it to its full potential. To get into the full technical jargon, SIP is a protocol – one which actively manages all manner of communication sessions.

SIP, as opposed to VoIP alone, tends to offer a little more in terms of scope and flexibility. Therefore, instead of just offering voice calls via data connection, SIP will endeavour to bring together video sessions, image sharing, document collaboration and more besides. Setting up SIP trunking means that you are effectively streamlining your business communication centre through a variety of helpful programs and suites.

The way in which we all communicate has been evolving for many years now. It is therefore hardly surprising that SIP has come along to change the game even further.

Should I Opt for VoIP or SIP?

This is a question that many business operators are likely to ask themselves when overhauling their communication systems. Crucially, VoIP is the core principle behind data calling. A simple VoIP setup will allow you to connect to businesses and customers through the internet and to take on clear, uninterrupted calls. SIP takes this one step further.

SIP takes the data calling standards of VoIP and develops a communication suite which allows commercial businesses to collaborate through a variety of different tools. SIP handsets and hardware will, for example, be more flexible and more adaptable than standard VoIP. This is because they are, crucially, able to do more.

SIP can be a bespoke process, meaning that you can easily pick and choose which services you feel will fit your business and your team the most. Therefore, while VoIP will work on a basic level, you should consider SIP if you have increasing B2B and B2C communication needs, and you feel you will stand to benefit from the collaborative tools which arrive alongside trunking.

However, that said, VoIP is a great place to start. It is a superb steppingstone from PSTN to more flexible communication standards, and what’s more, it is extremely easy to manage. Therefore, many businesses may wish to start setting up a VoIP service to simply streamline and boost the efficiency of their daily calling and communications.

What’s Right For You?

It’s important to look carefully at your current communications centre and to think about which options are likely to work best for you in the long run. Could VoIP or SIP help to make your calls and collaborations run that little bit smoother? Could you stand to enhance the quality of your calls, or to pick up more communications to build more leads?

Streamlining your corporate communications might seem tricky at first. However, it’s worth remembering that all the major businesses out there – small to large companies included – are making use of these fantastic new standards.

Therefore, it’s always likely to be less complicated than you may imagine. When you work with the team at Planet Numbers, you can be sure that you benefit from a VoIP or SIP trunking standard which will ensure your business is ready to handle and support more customers and clients than ever before.

Take Advantage

Ready to set up a fantastic modern communications system? Time to get in touch with the professionals. Call us now on 08000 886 886 or take a look at our VoIP services and packages online to get started. Let’s make sure you’re ready to reach out to businesses, customers and clients with efficiency and readiness – and that means leaving some of the older, clunkier PSTN and copper wire services behind. That’s no bad thing!