Many of our business decisions, for any size office, are based on the need to cut costs. But before you go to the drastic measure of shrinking your staff size, let us suggest a more creative way to lower your business overhead. Our solution is VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Internet phoning. VoIP technology takes analog audio signals, the kind you hear when you talk on the phone, and turns them into digital data that can be transmitted over the Internet.

We provided some suggestions on incorporating VoIP into your business in our July 2005 issue. And now, it’s time for an update. Your next telephone may not actually be a telephone. It may look and work like a phone, but it will connect to the Internet, not a telephone line, and the operating costs will be much less than today's traditional phones. You'll also get better features and a much more fluid ease of use. VoIP is a booming online industry, meaning there's really no need to wait — today's batch of VoIP products have useful features that can save your business communication costs, starting now. This issue of PJ is going to show you how.

All the best,

Jeff Moore
Senior Editor — ProductivityJournal.com

Hold the Phone on Expensive Overheads

Skype (startup kits from $9.99)

If this were a perfect world, according to Skype, all phoning would be free — and this company has gotten pretty darn close. Skype’s amazing new service allows you to talk to anyone in the world, at any time, free of charge if they use Skype, too. Never fear, there are programs in place to talk to friends who still use traditional landline or mobile phones, starting at the very low cost of $9.99 per month. Also, for those of us out there with employees all over the world conducting business from home, Skype offers you the benefit of being completely cyber-based, with downloadable updates available directly from its website. This is an exciting new company in the world of Internet phoning indeed.

Vonage (a small business basic package starts at $39.99/month)

If there’s one major leader in the field of VoIP technology, Vonage is it. Vonage is an all-inclusive VoIP phone service, meaning it gives you local and long distance calling anywhere in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and Canada for one low price. How can they do that, you ask? They connect your existing telephone to your high-speed broadband Internet connection using the Vonage phone adapter. You still get to pick up the phone and use it just like you do with a traditional phone, but at a fraction of the cost. Thanks to its incredibly easy set-up, helpful staff, and informative website, you can be up and running within minutes after receiving your Vonage phone adapter.

VoIP.net (as low as $12.95/month)

VoIP.net is committed to improving and providing optimal VoIP solutions for all your calling needs. The company is founded on the belief that this ground-breaking technology will completely revolutionize the world's phone systems, and it is really putting its money where its mouth is. With monthly plans starting at a mere $12.95 for basic packages all the way up to $44.95 for more advanced business plans, VoIP.net and its friendly staff are committed to you. It has even gone so far as to offer international calling in and to the United States and Canada absolutely free on most plans. Now that’s tough to beat.