VoIP vs SIP: What Are the Differences?

The way in which business connect and communicate with one another is evolving. While plenty of companies are still using traditional phones and copper line connections, the time has certainly arrived for you to be using data to reach out to clients and customers instead. Much as you might connect with people through data via video calling, VoIP is fantastic at allowing you to maintain clear calls through an internet connection.

What’s more, VoIP is smooth to set up, and you can scale it up and down as you wish. There’s never any need to fumble around with clunky new lines or hardware demands. However, when you first start looking into VoIP, there are perhaps a few terms and bits and pieces which might seem a little confusing. For example, what on Earth is SIP? Is SIP any different to VoIP, or is it part of the same technology? How could it all benefit you?

If you’re new to VoIP in any way shape or form, we certainly don’t expect you to know everything right away. Let’s take a look at VoIP, SIP, and what the benefits are of using one, the other, and both.

Breaking it Down

An important thing to remember about VoIP and SIP is the fact that SIP is an extension of the former. While VoIP actively refers to the technology and service in use, SIP refers to ways in which you can use and manage data calling. Think of them as two halves to one larger whole. However, that’s not to say you can’t use VoIP without SIP – though SIP, naturally, relies on VoIP.

SIP is what professionals refer to as a trunking service. It is a management and connectivity option which allows you to roll VoIP out across your business to all your team members. Crucially, the best SIP trunking will allow you to blend several communications platforms into one easy-to-manage switchboard.

If streamlining your calls and comms is high on your list of priorities, then you may wish to look at VoIP with SIP trunking. However, there’s nothing to say that you can’t make use of VoIP on its own. Which method is likely to fit your business use best, however? Let’s break this down even further.

The Benefits of VoIP Alone

VoIP on its own is hugely recommended, especially comparable with traditional phone lines and connectivity. VoIP is designed to be quick to use, easy to set up, and cost-effective. Crucially, it is a case of setting up VoIP-ready phones in your business to connect to a flexible, cloud-based communications server.

Rather than having to rely on outdated wires, lines and clunky hardware, VoIP allows businesses to tap straight into the internet and to start speaking with clients and customers on a streamlined, clear, and easy to manage basis. Crucially, it’s the best way to make sure that your calls are easy manage, that you can clearly understand what’s being said, and that you can scale up your hardware and call management whenever you need to.

VoIP is great for growth and for instant communication – compared to standard phone lines, it is inarguably the modern standard all businesses should follow. However, some companies may find that they benefit more from SIP trunking and advanced interfacing. Depending on the size of your business, as well as your goals for the years ahead, you may wish to look into SIP as a priority. However, for the most affordable approach – one which is still efficient and adaptable – VoIP will more than support you in the years to come.

The Benefits of Using VoIP and SIP

VoIP and Sip together will help you take your communications strategy that one step further. This means that you not only benefit from smoother communications and cost-effective call management, but that you can also roll together a variety of collaboration tools and platforms. For example, if you already rely on specific video conferencing software and work-sharing tools, you will be able to blend everything into an impressive SIP system.

SIP, as a concept, is user-friendly. It’s the act of harnessing VoIP to help unify everything you rely on when reaching out to clients, and when they reach out to you. SIP will help to make connecting to people and managing calls more efficient, and therefore, you can also expect productivity and revenue to increase in the years to come. Beyond this, using a SIP service is likely to be massively painless for anyone worrying about needing to train up. It’s super-intuitive.

Beyond this, however, you’re going to need to think about costs and other demands. Using VoIP with SIP means that you are going to need to increase pressure on your data connection, and beyond this, maintaining and operating SIP trunking with VoIP is always likely to be more expensive than just running VoIP alone.

Making the Right Choice

VoIP and SIP together work brilliantly for those companies who are desperate to make the running of their comms more efficient. However, SIP has greater demands financially and in terms of data management. Therefore, providing you have the resources and budget oversight already, there are no real reasons why you should need to worry about the long-term effects. If anything, you are likely to notice benefits almost straight away.

Beyond this, VoIP alone is a fantastic solution. It will allow you to take greater control of the calls you make and receive, and what’s more, your calls will be clearer across the board. It is a long-term corporate calling solution which is quickly becoming the standard worldwide.

Whether you choose simple VoIP or SIP services, it makes sense to set up a plan of action to replace those old, clunky telephone connections. Why not take a look at what we have available here at VoIPer? Our team will be happy to look into your call and connection needs, and will make sure you can hit the ground running with a brilliant communications relay that will allow you to grow your business as you desire.