Services Blog

What Everybody Ought To Know About Our Little Friend The SIP Gateway

Written by John Ciarlone | Aug 21, 2013 2:30:00 PM

Keeping your company's IT and communication systems current used to be an important part of staying competitive in your industry, but with the rate at which the technology is evolving, staying up to date is increasingly crucial to conducting general business operations.

Traditional telephony options are inflexible and restrictive compared with what can be accomplished using the internet – but running your communications systems through an SIP gateway doesn't mean you have to abandon those traditional options. Using internet-based communications simply gives your business more flexibility.

 

Getting to Know the SIP Gateway

An SIP (session initiation protocol) gateway is a system that controls and enables multimedia communication using the internet. They are hardware devices that connect to your internet modem and allow your computers, telephone systems, and other devices to communicate with one another. There are some software solutions that replicate some of these functions as well. One of the major functions of a gateway is to streamline your communications system, allowing you to do more without taking up more of your work-space. Choosing the right gateway for your business's needs is a matter of understanding what you want your business to be able to do.

If your company wants to employ VoIP telephony solutions, choosing the right gateway is essential. VoIP (voice over internet protocol) telephony allows you to make telephone calls over an internet connection rather than conventional phone lines, and includes a variety of types of communication. You can use a traditional telephone to make calls normally, but without the added expense of a telephone carrier, and you can use video conferencing software to conduct video conferences or conference calls from your computer. Many types of conferencing software enable the user to call any mobile number or landline directly from the computer, and even receive calls this way.

Improving the way your company handles telephony is only one of the benefits of finding the right gateway for your business. Other important networking and business tools, such as instant messaging software and presence information, file transfers, streaming media, account management programs, and even some video surveillance devices, also rely on SIP gateways. These options allow employees to communicate with one another and with clients, share documents and multimedia presentations, and monitor secure areas for unauthorized activity.

Implementing SIP Gateway Solutions

By incorporating gateways into your network architecture, your business will be able to accomplish more with less effort and expense, and streamline a variety of communication functions into a more intuitive and convenient system. At Hummingbird Networks, we provide everything you will need to establish or upgrade your network architecture, from next generation VoIP-compatible phones to the routers and power systems that your gateway relies on. Our gateways also have digital and analog ports that enable them to support your existing traditional telephone equipment. We include robust routing, firewall, QoS, VPN capabilities, VQM (voice quality monitoring), and remote management options, giving you the ability to maximize the quality of your communications and maintain optimal control over your system.

Our team of experts at Hummingbird Networks can help you determine what hardware is right for your business's needs, and will assist you in incorporating it into your existing network architecture or redesigning your network from the ground up. We provide complete installation services and technical support, making sure that your business's networks are up and ready to work. Ensuring that your company's network has the flexibility and functionality to respond with agility to your clients' needs and the demands of your business gives you an important advantage over less tech-savvy competitors.