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How to Protect Your Establishment with VoIP

By Ziad Alezabi

December 22, 2023

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Voice over IP (VoIP) protocol allows for clear communication. A VoIP OrderWire system transmits voice signals over the internet. These systems can serve you in many different situations including telecommunicating with your workers and broadcasting voice messages simultaneously through multiple devices.

Voice over IP systems translate voice signals into digital signals by encoding the audio. Encoding audio is the process of converting analog sound wave signals into a digital format so that they may be transmitted over IP.

This is done by using an analog-to-digital converter such as the MARK-VI Radio Receiver to transform analog audio signals into discrete digital signals. The data is then broken into packets, which are transmitted over the network. At the end of the process, the digital data is converted back into analog and outputted to the other side.

Why VoIP Is Important To Your Establishment

VoIP can give you the flexibility and safety that your establishment requires to grow. With VoIP, you can have the required scalability, as well as instant communication that could be a matter of life and death.

Traditional phone line systems are costly due to installations and fixes. VoIP integrates into already existing internet Infrastructure which offers you a bigger return on your investment for both VoIP and your existing internet system.

This also means that you can easily scale your VoIP network by eliminating the infrastructural challenges that come with traditional phones. This can be especially helpful when you are just starting a business and don't want to worry about future scalability.

Who Needs VoIP?

If you run an establishment that requires communication in any sort of way, VoIP is a good investment. VoIP can be used in the following circumstances...

  • If you're working in a transportation department, the intercoms on the train that travel both ways are most likely VoIP with an analog fallback option. This is important so that people in transit are properly communicated with so that they don't miss their stops. It's even used in emergencies when an evacuation message needs to be instantly broadcast across the train.
  • If you are on a military base VoIP is crucial. VoIP can be secured with encryption that allows you to have safe communications that are not vulnerable to outside penetration. This is very important in military settings where classified and sensitive information needs to be transmitted over a long distance.
  • If you work in first-response municipal establishments, such as police stations, fire stations, hospitals, etc. It is important to have VoIP. This allows you to have instant communication during times when every second is important. VoIP also enables multiple municipal departments to work together. It is rare that only a single department gets dispatched by themselves. Usually, departments will couple up depending on the situation (ex. when a fire breaks out, the fire department will coordinate with the police to show up at the scene for response and then investigation).
  • Working in any area that poses safety threats (these can take any shape, such as environmental hazards for example), you must install VoIP throughout your establishment, as it can come with tracking capabilities, which lets you know where exactly an emergency call was made from.

VoIP is not an emergency single-use gimmick however, you can use it for remote controlling and monitoring your sites. When you send maintenance to look over a certain site, having a VoIP handset nearby allows you both to have instant communication back and forth, without having to worry about poor cell connection that you might deal with if you called regularly over a cellphone. This is made possible through an RTU incorporating VoIP functionality.

What To Be Careful Of When Looking Into VoIP

When looking to find a manufacturer that offers VoIP installation services, make sure that they understand that integration and flexibility are the most important things to a growing or existing establishment.

The best way to ensure this is to buy from an alarm monitoring system manufacturer. Alarm monitoring system manufacturers can counter common VoIP downfalls such as...

  1. Power outages: an alarm monitoring system manufacturer will be able to provide you with adequate remote control and remote monitoring equipment to know if your building(s) has had a blackout. If your building does have a blackout, it will let you monitor and even send signals to turn generators and generator batteries on and off.
  2. Network vulnerabilities: A good alarm monitoring system manufacturer will know to install preventative methods such as encryption and firewalls.
  3. Costly installations: VoIP installation costs can burn a hole in your pocket if you don't work with a manufacturer that is capable of system integration. Make sure you find a manufacturer that allows you to scale up as your business grows and doesn't offer cookie-cutter solutions that don't fit your budget and needs.

The right manufacturer will provide you with the correct documentation and training for you and your staff. This gives you peace of mind and ensures that you aren't left in the dark with equipment that you aren't familiar with.

What Choosing DPS Telecom For VoIP Will Help You Achieve

The pros of VoIP outweigh the cons by far. Voice over IP offers reliable communication for establishment (if you are backed by the right manufacturer). It is important for people who work in high-risk situations, or environments that are always densely populated such as public transportation.

Even though it can have certain drawbacks, manufacturers like DPS Telecom who are backed by experts with 40 years of experience can mitigate them. This gives you all the benefits without any of the worries.

DPS Telecom is an alarm monitoring system manufacturer that is capable of providing you with the flexibility you need and future-proofs your establishment's network monitoring systems for future scalability.

Choosing DPS Telecom as your manufacturer means that you are backed by experts who will directly train your in-house staff and provide you with documentation that contains intricate details on how to use your new equipment.

While we offer scalability forward, we also offer scalability backward! We completely support legacy integration.

If this looks like something that your establishment needs, contact me today. Even if we can not find a solution that sees us working together, I will do my best to point you in the right direction.

Call me at 1-800-693-0351 or E-mail me at sales@dpstele.com

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Ziad Alezabi

Ziad Alezabi

Ziad Alezabi is a Application Documentarian at DPS Telecom. He reviews successful DPS client projects and reports on the best practices that you can use to successfully reach your own project goals.