How Enterprises Can Pull a Bigger ROI from SIP Trunking

SIP trunking, a VoIP and streaming media service by which providers can deliver telephone services and unified communications to customers, has been touted as a reliable, scalable, and very dynamic alternative to running PRIs through a PSTN network.

Most companies switched over to a SIP-run network particularly for its cost savings and the added convenience. However, each company’s ROI mileage may vary depending on a variety of factors.

In some cases, savings are very low compared to the price of new equipment and changes to infrastructure. Most of the factors affecting one company’s ROI have to do with the way SIP trunking is implemented as well as the size of the firm itself.

For example, a smaller firm will not experience a large amount of savings considering the fact that there isn’t a lot to replace in the first place.

Companies doing major infrastructure overhauls can also make mistakes during implementation that may cost them some of those returns. For one, if you’re running a distributed network through many branch offices, it may be wise to group the circuits into one regional trunk. Delegating bandwidth to multiple SIP trunks within one region may become rather costly and will fail to accomplish your goals.

You don’t really have to use one provider for everything. You can use different providers for different services. This allows you to avoid paying a premium on certain services from a single provider. It’s just a little added burden on your accounting department, but well worth it when your opex gets some relief.

To put the icing on the cake, one of the best ways to increase your returns is by using any number of metrics tools to analyze the performance of your trunks. Assessing your level of service can help determine whether the provider you’re using is really giving you what you pay for. Maybe nothing is wrong with your company, but there is definitely something wrong in your provider’s end that’s not giving you the cost savings you envisioned.

Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all way to determine how exactly to pull the most bang for your buck. There’s a large number of factors that can negatively affect your ROI. Ultimately, the goal should be to determine what’s going on rather than giving up entirely on SIP.