SIP can be a thorn in your side if not done correctly.
With BT's deadline of 2025 to move all traditional lines over to SIP, this is something we want to help you to address within your organisation sooner rather than later.

Read on for a guide to SIP and how Portal can help you.
 

What is SIP?
Session Initiation Protocol, (SIP), is a powerful and efficient communications protocol which can be used to send multimedia messages to multiple parties. 
SIP trunks route over internet connections and offer a fantastic range of call savings and flexibility when done right.
There are approximately 300 varieties of SIP currently available. Portal can help you decide which is the right flavour for your organisation.

When should I switch?
Triggers for switching could include a cost review, or a review of your internet or telephony provision.
Portal can supply both your internet services and SIP without having to go back and forth between different suppliers, as we have our own data network and expert engineers on hand for installation.

Cost Saving Possibilities
The bad reputation of SIP has been driven by sales people abusing the idea of cost savings to secure contracts.
The first step in looking at SIP is to decide what quality of calls you need; equivalent to current, better than current, or worse. Portal prefer not to supply a solution downgrading your call quality.
The second step is to decide whether you’re comfortable routing voice and data on the same connections. Portal will happily advise based on your specific needs. Thirdly, you need to decide whether your organisation needs resilience. 
In conclusion, if you have a simple requirement and are open to sharing connectivity with data, then cost savings are very likely. 

Click this link to talk to our expert team, or call them on 01603 228501

Security
You can have encryptions and authentication protocol added to keep your network secure and avoid the risk of hacking or other attacks; Session Border Controllers (SBCs) are part of a standard SIP deployment and provide perimeter defence capabilities comparable to a network firewall. We also apply a firewall to our core router, adding security at the base level. 

Easy to Switch?
Often porting numbers to SIP is straightforward.
However, as with any significant change there is a risk involved. The risks are much lower if you work with an organisation with the technical expertise and experience to help you through any snags.

• Portal offer a fully personalised service and can lend our expertise at every stage of the switching process.
• We are a Cisco Select Partner, of which there are only 3 in Norfolk and Suffolk.
• We offer 24/7 support which is given by staff directly employed by Portal.
• We have two offsite diverse routers, with a 20 second failover.
  This is a fully resilient solution; this means if a router fails any calls in progress are very unlikely to be dropped.
• The routers are connected to our primary SIP provider in two locations, Birmingham and Manchester.
  If our primary SIP provider has a failure, then that also has automatic resilience.
• The SIP service we offer is at the same standard as ISDN or higher.
  Most of our competitors’ offerings equate to lower or similar quality to ISDN.
• If you are currently operating an ISDN system with IP capabilities, we can upgrade you to SIP without expensive hardware updates.
• Portal can give you a complete end-to-end service, supplying the phone system, data networking and SIP in one easy transaction.
  Our expert staff will support you through the whole process.
• We use SIP for our own operations here at Portal.

If you think now is the right time for your organisation to switch to SIP, or if you just want to discuss your options for the future, please contact our team at the below email address or phone number for some no-obligation advice.