In just under two years (January 2027), the UK analogue phone network (PSTN) will be officially switched off. This means that it’s never been more important to think about transitioning your traditional landline phone number to a digital alternative.
We’ve been providing VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) systems for years to businesses throughout Ipswich and further afield. While most people think of VoIP as merely an internet-led phone system, there are far more benefits than just maintaining a consistent phone number whether you are working at home or in the office.
Artificial intelligence is having a significant impact on VoIP systems. It’s something that genuinely excites us because it allows us to explain how investing in your technical foundations can dramatically enhance your business.
But before we explain how, let’s give you a quick reminder of what VoIP is and why your Suffolk business should invest in it.
What is VoIP, and why is it important?
VoIP commercial phone systems are pretty simple. Rather than using a traditional analogue connection to make a call, your phone line will transmit across an internet connection.
This means that you and your employees can manage all communications directly from your computer. With many businesses using hybrid working patterns, this is beneficial for your team, as you maintain a singular contact point wherever you are working.
VoIP is hugely beneficial for businesses in Ipswich, Felixstowe, and Colchester because it allows you greater flexibility and scope when adapting to your business. You can easily add new lines (as required), call potential customers anywhere in the world without running up hefty bills, arrange seamless call diversions (ideal for transferring to different departments), and even create conferencing solutions.
With all of this within one package, VoIP is essential if you want to retain control over your phone bill.
Additional features within your VoIP phone line
Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg of the features you can receive within your VoIP system.
As standard, our VoIP services for businesses in Ipswich include:
- Automatic failover
- Call Forwarding
- Call Queues
- Call Transfer
- Company diverts
- Conferencing
- CRM integration
- Custom hold music
- Individual and Company-wide voicemail services
- Mobile/Remote workers
- Telephone Preference Service (TPS) screening
- Voicemail to email services
Where does AI fit into this, and how is AI improving VoIP phone systems?
This is where technology is getting exciting.
VoIP systems have been transformed by AI features and made capable thanks to the seamless integration into common CRM platforms.
Many local businesses will already know that their VoIP system seamlessly connects with Microsoft Teams, but did you know that it can also integrate into Salesforce, Hubspot, Zendesk, Zoho and many more? The development of AI VoIP means that local businesses across the East of England can benefit from the same tools and systems that larger businesses are already using.
But what does this mean for you?
Our infrastructure specialist, Jess Corley says;
“AI and VoIP are matches made in heaven. It is far more intuitive than just the technical features you would expect, such as call forwarding, improved call quality and call transcription. The use of AI means that you can start to work much smarter because it improves security through voice recognition and fraud detection capabilities while also helping you to work far more efficiently.
The advancements in AI VoIP are incredible – it’s really exciting to see how it is dramatically improving functionality for your employees, your business and your customers.”
The technical benefits of AI in VoIP systems
From a technical perspective, AI phone systems can offer far more intuitive features, such as
- Automatic language translations
- Bandwidth optimisation
- Echo cancellation
- Real-time noise reduction
- Real-time transcription
- Voice recognition
These features will naturally improve the quality of your conversations, making it much easier to communicate with your stakeholders.
Our cybersecurity team are also impressed with the improvements in fraud detection and voice recognition.
This means that your VoIP commercial phone system will also be capable of
- Identifying any suspicious activities
- Picking up any potential credit card fraud
- Alerting you to any potential spoof calls
- Encrypting your conversations
- Content analysis is used to identify any keywords or speech patterns that are connected with fraudulent activity.
As an additional layer of security, we think that this is vital – especially as hacking attempts are becoming more and more sophisticated every single day.
Improving the user experience through AI VoIP
However, from a user experience and customer service perspective, the benefits are even more substantial.
AI VoIP systems can make the most of personalisation settings. They can identify and detect when you are speaking with a known caller, automatically adjusting to that user’s preferences. They can link in seamlessly with customer service dashboards, bringing up details of past purchase histories or previous conversations.
The AI integration can start to identify the conversation intent – it can pick up a customer’s tone of voice, mood and even engagement patterns. If a customer’s tone signals frustration or a problem, the automation can pass on that call to a more senior staff member, ensuring that the matter is dealt with quicker. From a user experience, this is crucial to offering better services without significant increases in cost.
The data analysis of any conversation can also help businesses in Ipswich improve their services. It can identify any common issues or challenges that are frequently mentioned within any calls, allowing businesses to know how to address problem areas or prioritise any cross-selling opportunities. That data analysis will be key for longer-term business growth.
An AI VoIP phone system could help your business.
Your business needs to have a technical foundation that allows you to take advantage of the latest AI integrations. These tools are now easily accessible and usable for companies across different sectors and sizes.
Here at Lucid Systems, we always talk about how we get to know our clients in Ipswich and across the borders into Essex and Norfolk. We want to see how you work, what your customers expect from you, and what is going on in your sector. With this knowledge, we can ensure that you have the right VoIP system in place to help you respond to those challenges.
We never forget that when you can work to the best of your ability, you can grow your business and scale up – which is great for our region and our local economy.
VoIP phone lines are cost-effective. You can scale up (or down) easily, which makes them ideal for businesses experiencing seasonal demand. They allow you access to incredibly automated features, ranging from the technical to the user experience, and you can use those insights to transform your business.
We believe that it’s an absolute no-brainer, and with the forthcoming switch-off of analogue phone lines, now is the time to start making the most of the features you already have at your fingertips.
If you’ve already installed a VoIP system but would like to know how to maximise the new AI features that are available, please talk to us. We want you to get the most value for money, and a key part of that is learning how to maximise the use of your IT systems.
