VoIP services in Australia

What is a VoIP service?

So, what is VoIP, exactly?

VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is the telephony technology that makes internet-based communications possible. Rather than making calls via the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), VoIP enables voice calls over an internet connection.

Business VoIP telephone services are delivered via hosted VoIP providers, or (as is the case with Dialpad) they’re built into a unified communications platform and offered as part of a UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) solution.

UCaaS providers don’t just offer VoIP phone calls—they also let you centralise all your communication channels (like SMS, video conferencing, and instant messaging) in a single app.

How VoIP phone services work

Your VoIP provider takes care of all the technical aspects and maintenance for you, but if you want to know a bit about how VoIP works, here's a quick overview.

VoIP (also known as Voice over IP) uses packet-switching technology to transform audio signals into digital data. This is sent to the receiver over an internet connection.Picture your voice as an analogue signal or “sound wave.” When you speak down the phone during a VoIP call, VoIP technology splits this into digital data packets. The compressed packets are sent to your router via your broadband line.

Once the data packets have reached their destination (i.e, the person on the other end of the phone), VoIP converts the digital packets back into audio signals. This all transpires in milliseconds (hence why VoIP is said to provide “real-time” communications). As long as both parties have a good internet connection, callers can enjoy the same impeccable call quality you’d expect from a traditional landline.

Because VoIP doesn’t run over traditional copper phone lines, you don’t need to be chained to your desk to conduct productive business communications. You can make and receive calls via any internet-connected device like your computer or mobile phone. All you need is a fast internet connection and a VoIP provider.

Today, a good business VoIP calling service or UCaaS solution will come with a huge variety of features that you may not even find in traditional PBX phone systems (like easy-to-use IVR systems, live call transcriptions, and integrations with other software you're using).

Dialpad: Not just the best VoIP service for businesses

Beyond just VoIP calls, Dialpad lets you do a lot more, including video conferencing, team messaging, and even contact centre management.

The benefits of choosing a UCaaS platform like Dialpad with built-in cloud VoIP phone services

Quick and easy deployment

Every second of downtime comes at a cost. That’s why our entire deployment and migration process has been optimised to cause minimal disruption.

Once you’ve signed up to Dialpad, installation and user management are a breeze. You can do pretty much all of the setup and management on your own (although our Professional Services team is available to help should you need it).

Configure your main line routing rules right inside your online dashboard, and you can add and remove users at scale in just a few minutes.

Dialpad’s cloud-native UCaaS platform is designed to provide a seamless transition and intuitive navigation experience. Our comprehensive online Help Centre is jam-packed with guides to walk you through almost every task you can think of.

Truly unified communications

Do all of your business communications revolve around phone calls and phone calls alone? Probably not!

These days, businesses use multiple communication channels like instant messaging, video calls, SMS, and more. Whether it’s to collaborate with colleagues, talk to clients, or chase leads, businesses are leveraging the strengths of communication channels beyond your typical audio phone call.

But without a UCaaS solution, all these essential communication channels are siloed. This means a lot of toggling back and forth between windows and apps, which can be a continuous drain on productivity. Dialpad’s UCaaS platform centralises your communications by integrating all your communication channels into one unified app. This includes an in-built VoIP phone system, video conference calls, SMS, and instant messaging, as well as screen-sharing, file-sharing, and visual voicemail.

The result? No more tedious copy-and-pasting, tab-switching, or the frantic hunt for information stored on another app entirely.

Instead, agents can enjoy streamlined workflows and more productive collaborative experiences. What’s more, they can do so from anywhere in the world on their preferred desktop or handset. Dialpad works across all major operating systems including iOS, Android, Mac, and PC.

Contact centre functionality, fully integrated

Lots of business VoIP services claim to be full-powered UCaaS solutions, but many of them overlook one critical detail: customer communications.

A truly unified communications solution should support internal and external communications. Your customer support team still needs to be able to liaise with colleagues, while your marketing or sales team may need to make outbound calls to customers or manage large volumes of inbound communications.

If you’re using two separate platforms for internal and customer communications, you risk creating silos between channels. This makes for poor user experiences that end up harming your productivity.

Dialpad Ai Contact Centre is fully integrated into its UCaaS platform (not white-labelled or resold, which is the case for lots of other providers). It has uniform call controls and one robust user interface, meaning teams can intuitively access whatever functionality they need from a centralised platform.

How do I choose the best VoIP services provider for my business?

To choose the best VoIP service provider for your business, you need to evaluate your current and future needs.

Cost

Which VoIP service provides the best value for money? That depends on what you need! Free Australian VoIP services are rarely suitable for business use, while cheaper options have limited features (and often make you pay extra for basic features as add-ons). You also need to consider things like service quality, uptime, customer support, etc.

Features

What are the features and functionalities that really matter to your business? Is it an all-in-one desktop and mobile app? Hyper-accurate call and voicemail transcriptions? Advanced call routing? (Dialpad has all three!)

As you consider different VoIP phone features, try to differentiate the nice-to-haves from the essentials. After all, there’s no point paying extra for advanced features you’ll never use!

That being said, remember to look to the near future and frame your decision in alignment with your business needs and goals. For example, if you’re exploring the option of hybrid or remote working, you’ll want features that accommodate remote collaborations. Therefore, you’ll require a unified communications solution rather than a standard business phone system service.

If you can, take advantage of free trials. Dialpad offers a 14-day free trial that you can sign up for in minutes (it even includes a VoIP number).

Integrations

Integrations are vital for streamlining your day-to-day processes, so this should be a huge deciding factor. Naturally, the best VoIP service for you is one that can be integrated with your essential business tools.

Dialpad seamlessly integrates with the most popular apps on the market, from CRMs like Salesforce and Zoho CRM to other tools like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and more (if you want to build your own integrations, you can do that too with Dialpad’s open APIs):