Recent research finds that more than one-third of all businesses are now using a VoIP phone system, with the vast majority of those being businesses with fewer than 50 employees.

How do you know if VoIP is right for your business?

“With VoIP, voice data is sent [via an Internet connection] in digital form rather than plugging into a traditional phone jack like you would over the public switched telephone network (PSTN),” Tina Liu, senior product marketing manager for 8×8, told Business News Daily.

First introduced commercially in the 1990s, VoIP technology has improved significantly since then, and so has its popularity. In the early days, users complained that the sound quality wasn’t as good on VoIP as it was on a landline, but those issues aren’t a concern today.

VoIP offers several advantages, such as lower cost of entry, reduced operation costs and advanced mobility features. In addition, VoIP excels at multi-site applications. This allows a business to link remote locations into one communications network.