What is a Softphone & How it Works: Pros & Cons

Desktop softphone apps that allow you to make phone calls over the internet are becoming increasingly popular. There are numerous advantages of using a softphone application for making calls, including contact synchronization, reduced costs, and no dropped calls. 

A softphone is an application that runs on your computer, smartphone, or tablet and can be downloaded instantly. A softphone is different from a telephone as it offers some very specific features that a telephone cannot. For example; you can video chat with a softphone and enjoy the geographic flexibility or you can use it as an attendance record for your employees. Not to forget, all these great features require a high-speed internet connection to let you avail of what they offer. You may contact AT&T customer service in case you are in search of a highly reliable and high-speed internet provider at an affordable rate.

Geographic Flexibility

A softphone allows you to make unlimited calls from anywhere using a computer, provided that you have a stable internet connection. This feature increases the productivity of your company because it enables your employees to stay connected to the organization even if they are not in the office. In addition to this, a softphone application makes it possible for you to cut expenses because, with softphone applications, all you need is a good headset to ensure effective communication. 

Save Time and Effort

Most softphone applications automatically fetch your contacts from other sources like an email account and phone and computer contact lists. This feature saves time because you don’t have to enter and save the contacts manually. Sometimes, companies provide their employees with complete contact lists so that they can easily update their softphones and communicate with their supervisors and colleagues regarding work assignments. 

Video Calls and Messaging 

Two of the most important aspects of softphones are video calling and messaging. Video calling improves the quality of communications because of the instant feedback and these calls are more effective because you can share laptop screens and have better engagements on the call. Video calling can take place on a one-to-one basis or on group calls where all the members of the team are present to make the most out of the situation. 

Messaging, on the other hand, ensures precise conversations that can be sent at any time. When you have to communicate with another person in the middle of the night, you might not feel comfortable about video calling but you can always send a message, telling them about the work assignment. Messaging is an effective form of communication as well, and this can be illustrated by the fact that they have a response rate of 45%. 

Team Efficiency and Employee Availability 

Softphones ensure real-time employee visibility so that you know if they are available or not. You can see the status of the users as Online, Busy, Offline, or Do Not Disturb. These statuses also show the ‘Last Seen’ message which reveals their last availability on the messenger. This helps cut the wait time for the employees as they will know when to call or message the person they are trying to reach. 

Cons of Softphone

While software phones provide apparent benefits over hard telephone technology which will soon be obsolete, there are certain possible inconveniences to take into account when evaluating hard phones against softphones. The major difficulty here is that it depends solely on your Internet connection to make and receive incoming and outgoing calls. This will influence the audio quality and general availability of power outages, storms, or just your current bandwidth. Therefore, you could desire a traditional telephone system backup at your workplace but can also make outbound calls using your mobile device.