Introduction
Landline-based telephone systems are fading from the landscape of UAE businesses and at an accelerating pace. Companies across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and the larger Emirates are opting for audio-visual telephony systems built on Internet Protocol (IP) rather than limited, traditional telephone systems. Moving to IP telephony is a no-brainer for most organizations wanting to save money, provide more flexibility for staff, and create a communication system that fits their teams’ needs today and in the future.
If you’re using a traditional PBX (Private Branch Exchange) phone system, or if you’re paying for regular (PSTN) landlines, this guide will help you fully understand what you need to know about making this change by 2026.
What Is IP Telephony ?
IP telephony (also referred to as VoIP [Voice over Internet Protocol]) is the process of sending voice calls over the Internet through the use of your business’s IP network instead of through a public switched telephone network (PSTN). VoIP enables your telephone calls to go through your existing data network together with your email, video conferencing, and other data communications rather than through a separate telephone network.Your calls travel through the same IT infrastructure that handles your data, emails, and video calls.
How UAE Companies Are Switching to VoIP ?
The UAE is seeing more businesses transition to Voice over IP (VoIP) telecommunications. This change is being driven by three factors: decreased costs, increased flexibility, and the emergence of hybrid workplaces.
The overall investment in conventional PBX systems is costly; they are difficult to maintain and also costly to expand to support growing businesses. When expanding a PBX system, adding additional phone lines, moving to a new office location, or hiring telecommuters all require expensive hardware adjustments, engineer visits, and ongoing licensing costs; VoIP eliminates most of these costs. Here are some benefits :
- Historically low-rate per minute calling costs; especially when calling internationally
- No physical phone lines; additional extensions can be added in minutes
- Complete support provided for both your remote and hybrid workers
- Full integration with your customer relationship management (CRM) system, e-mail, and collaboration tools
- A single, unified communications solution can be used at multiple corporate and regional office locations.
If you own a small business in the UAE, your business can now eliminate high up-front costs associated with purchasing your company’s on-premises PBX telephone equipment; and if you own a larger enterprise, you can now grow/expand your enterprise to meet the demands of traditional PBX systems without the encumbrance of cost.
SIP Trunking and PBX Migration
If you have an existing PBX and want to use SIP Trunking for VoIP use without replacing the entire system, you can use the UAE’s SIP Trunking services to connect your current PBX to an IP network. If you want to migrate to IP from your Traditional PBX, migrating is simple when done correctly. Most of the time the migration will have the following steps:
- Audit the current phone system and call volume
- Audit the network bandwidth and QoS settings
- Determine whether to use an on-premises or cloud solution
- Port existing numbers to the new system
- Train employees and run both systems in parallel until migration has been fully completed
Avaya and Cisco are 2 of the largest IP telephony providers in the UAE. They provide both hosted and on-premise based products for businesses of all sizes.
Unified Communications: Beyond Just Calls
The benefits of calls using Voice over IP technology (VoIP) in 2022 will continue to provide cost savings on long distance calls, but more importantly they provide a way for a company to use this technology to improve their operations and remove barriers to collaboration. Unified communications unite the various communication methods (voice, video conferencing, text message, etc.), into one single environment so that a user can easily switch from communicating via a physical desk phone to communicating via video conference to sending and receiving text messages all within the same user experience, and without changing applications.
Call centres using VoIP technology can use the unified communications features available with their VoIP phone systems (intelligent call routing, real-time dashboards, and CRM integration), as well as have access to the same user experience for remote employees as they would if the remote employee were located at the corporate headquarters. Call centres using VoIP systems will benefit from the implementation of unified communications through measurable increases in agent productivity, shorter call handling times, and improved customer satisfaction.
Ready to Modernise Your Business Communications?
IP telephony is not a future technology for UAE businesses, it is the present one. Whether you are a five-person startup or a 500-seat enterprise, the case for switching is clear: lower costs, better flexibility, and a communication system built for the way your team actually works. Switching to IP telephony is simpler than most businesses expect especially with the right partner.
Book an IP Telephony assessment with our team for your current telephone system so we can make recommendations for a new system and create a detailed plan of action for you to follow in order to make the transition smoothly without any interruption to your normal operations.
Frequently Asked Questions (Faq)
What is the difference between VoIP and PSTN?
PSTN relies on traditional copper-based telephone systems whilst VoIP utilizes internet connection to transmit calls. This makes VoIP much less costly, can be scaled up or down easily, and has more flexibility than using PSTN phone systems.
How much bandwidth is needed for IP telephony?
On average regarding VoIP callers, each VoIP line requires approximately 85-100 Kbps of bandwidth. A business with up to twenty (20) total simultaneous callers will require approximately two (2) megabits (Mbps) of dedicated bandwidth, which is easily handled by all current broadband speeds offered in the UAE.
Can IP telephony be used with my company’s current software or CRM system?
Yes, many new IP telephony providers and service capabilities have integration capabilities with well known CRM software, help desk applications, and collaborative workflows, such as Microsoft Teams.
Is using IP Telephony safe from security threats to a business operation in the UAE?
Yes, but only if steps are taken to secure the voice call data with fire walling, session border controllers, and encryption; and when you work with a registered reseller of telephony products and services in compliance with UAE regulatory agencies.
