Taking the Mystery out of SIP & Shedding Light on its Many Benefits!

Until very recently, I had never before heard of SIP.  To me this three letter acronym was something that people did when taking a very small drink, not a techie term describing the methods behind our usage of the Internet to connect via voice, instant messaging, and even video.

In my attempt to understand the benefit that SIP offers to me and our business here at Phoneworx, I’ve delved a little deeper into the subject. My hope is that my understanding and explanation can be of use to you and your business – that you can gain something by being, as they say, “in the know.” J

SIP stands for “Session Initiation Protocol.” It is a network communications protocol used for “establishing sessions in an IP network” (www.sipcenter.com).  Once a session is established, these can be used for quite a few things, including phone calls.  In fact, VoIP (discussed in a previous post) uses SIP as its preferred protocol.

SIP’s ability to establish, manipulate and tear down Internet sessions has greatly influenced the telecom industry. It brings together myriad elements in the communications arena and facilitates “connectivity” in today’s fast-paced business environment.  SIP helps session originators (callers) route calls to people who may have changed location or equipment and brings together multiple streams of various media. 

Overall, SIP delivers key signaling elements, which can turn a voice over IP network into a true IP communications network – a network capable of delivering next generation converged service. SIP is a powerful tool helping us to establish “sessions” over which we can connect via phone, IM chat, video conferencing, etc.  SIP does for Internet communication what HTTP does for browsing the World Wide Web.

In a nut shell - SIP is SIMPLE. 

By utilizing SIP and IP phones (as opposed to traditional analog phone lines) your business can more readily connect the dots – bringing all of its communications, voice and data, under one umbrella. It can simplify your processes and improve customer interactions.  SIP helps to eliminate redundant steps that occur when communication tools use two different platforms and eliminates cumbersome procedures that come with moving or changing traditional analog phones. With IP phones and SIP, moving offices is as easy as unplug, pick up, plug back in – there’s no need for additional (possibly expensive) service calls.

SIP is available, it’s effective, and it can be hugely beneficial to those who take advantage.

Have you used SIP today? 

Maybe you have, and you didn’t even know it...

-         Megan