What are SIP Trunks and How They’re Used in UCaaS

Collaboration technologies like Zoom, Webex and Teams have shown themselves to be business critical in the recent years, especially in the face of workforce movement. They’re vital to ensure we can take orders, sign contracts and engage in “face-to-face” meetings. Fundamental for these technologies is the voice calling function, enabled by Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

What is SIP and SIP trunking?

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is an application layer protocol that lets you run your phone system over an internet connection instead of traditional phone lines. “Trunking” in “SIP trunking” refers to the structure of phone lines used by multiple users that connects to a telephone network.

The purpose of SIP is to bring the benefits of a cloud-based system to your existing landline system. This gives your telephone system features including softphone apps, outbound calling, inbound calling, advanced analytics and cord-cutting features via the cloud. SIP Trunking, the main network backbone, also increases flexibility for call capacity and lowered costs, compared to costly analog systems.

Your SIP Trunking service and network is maintained by your SIP Provider, making your experience hassle-free. You just need to provide the internet connection and your existing PBX.

What are the benefits of adopting SIP trunking?

• Cost-efficiency

With a traditional telephone network, long-distance and international calls can have high rates and the maintenance of equipment can be costly. You may also be paying for extra lines that aren’t in use.

SIP trunking has simplified pricing, charged on a per-user basis. It also gives you predictability in recurring expenses.

• Virtual Presence

SIP creates centralized communication, allowing you to be present in multiple devices in as many locations (or more). Your log-in on any device grants you access for all your devices and applications, giving you freedom of movement.

• Scalable for growth

When your company grows, your communication network expands to accommodate it. With SIP trunking, you can combine communications across channels and offices to a single network. Adding new users will be on-demand and will not require new IP infrastructure or physical phone lines.

• Reliable and diverse network

Calls are less vulnerable to quality-affecting factors such as damaged poles, bad weather and phone failures. With VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), your network has more options to resume connection.

How does it work with unified communications?

SIP trunking takes your business calls online, moving from traditional analog systems to internet telephony. It’s capable of sending all types of media and is already configured to work with text, images, voice and video. This scope opens up your telephony and communication possibilities for integration with leading unified communication software and technologies worldwide. Your telephony system can now exist with various functions including voice, video, messaging, conference etc.

While most businesses will start with hosted VoIP or SIP trunking in their digitalization, unified communications software (SaaS or UCaaS) is an upgrade for your enterprise telephony to include multimedia and collaborative communications.