Any CEO knows that running a business is every bit as competitive as coaching a professional sports team. That may not be the best analogy, however, as the CEO for many companies is so involved in driving for success that their position more likely includes components of coach, trainer, owner, scout and player. The net result is that companies succeed or fail based on the vision and drive of their CEO. One thing that’s caught the attention of many corporate leaders, especially those at the helm of small and medium sized businesses that are pushing to make it into the Fortune 1000 leagues, is the opportunity that VoIP technology offers.

Significant companies have not only a physical presence, but their clients and prospective customers expect a certain presence when contacting the company, especially when that contact is by telephone. The Internet has been a great equalizer for many smaller companies; after all, it’s relatively inexpensive to create an impressive looking web site and visitors might have a hard time discerning a home-based business from a multinational firm based solely on the appearance of respective web sites. Having to call long distance to talk to a company representative, getting a busy signal or reaching an answering machine are dead giveaways to prospective customers that the company they are calling maybe isn’t what they were expecting. This is one area where large, established companies have continued to enjoy a significant advantage: large operating budgets and correspondingly large IT departments have allowed them to deploy and maintain costly, sophisticated telephone solutions. The capabilities of these systems have given the companies that can afford them a significant edge over their smaller competitors and served to create a delineation between established and “small potatoes” for risk-adverse customers.

The current generation of VoIP solutions

is becoming a secret weapon that CEOs of emerging companies are pushing as a cost-effective way of competing on a level playing field with their bigger and better-financed competitors. A VoIP solution developed for smaller companies can offer all the features of enterprise-level systems, including 800 numbers, auto attendant, call conferencing

, remote access, dial-by-name, call queue and music on hold. These systems can be literally plug and play, with no installation and offsite hosting, meaning no additional IT staff required to maintain the system.

VoIP can literally be a game changer for smaller businesses.