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VoIP integrations
Are your agents still scribbling down names and numbers during phone calls?
Is critical phone call information failing to enter your CRM or business workflows?
VoIP integrations can change all that, giving your employees the tools to avoid simple mistakes, improve communication, and do double the work in half the time.
Contents
- The case for VoIP integrations
- Popular VoIP integrations
- Benefits of VoIP integrations
- Integrating VoIP into your tech stack
The case for VoIP integrations – important considerations
Imagine owning a smartphone but only using it for regular calls and SMS. Using your business VoIP phone system without software integrations is no different: you have billions of unused bytes of voice data to streamline workflows and deliver a superior experience for your team and customers.
VoIP integrations can use your VoIP call data to solve many kinds of problems, including:
| Problem | VoIP integration solution |
|---|---|
| Manually entering call data into your CRM system. | Call details, transcripts, and outcomes are logged automatically, saving hours of administrative work. |
| Dialling numbers from your contact list manually. | Call contacts instantly from tools like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, or your CRM. |
| Team members missing important customer context before calls. | Integrations display full customer history and recent interactions before the call starts. |
| Struggling to recall key points from a mobile VoIP call. | Post-call transcripts and summaries are automatically sent to your email or collaboration tools like Teams. |
| Forgetting to follow up after calls. | Follow-ups are streamlined with automated reminders or pre-scheduled emails based on the call’s outcome. |
| Clients calling after hours without proper responses. | Virtual assistants or auto-responders manage queries and book callbacks around the clock. |
| Requiring live attendance for training or team updates. | Recorded calls and meetings can be uploaded to shared platforms for easy access anytime. |
| Wasting time analysing team call metrics manually. | Real-time VoIP analytics dashboards provide key insights into performance, response times, and more. |
Popular VoIP integrations for your business to consider
The range of VoIP integrations is rapidly growing as AI tools and cloud-based software-as-a-service applications continue to develop.
Here are some of the most common VoIP integrations used by UK businesses:
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) integration
Most businesses using CRM software like Salesforce, Hubspot, or Zoho unknowingly use outdated workflows that lack automation and integrations with key digital components like VoIP.
For instance, picture being a real estate agent and receiving an unexpected call from a lead that went cold long ago. Without context, you will be left scrambling for words, trying to recall previous discussions.
With a VoIP-CRM integration, your discussion history, preferences, and recent interactions appear on your screen alongside your call. Any salesperson would agree this level of preparation can be the difference between losing or closing a deal.
Helpdesk integration
Syncing VoIP with helpdesk tools like Zendesk or Freshdesk can boost query handling and customer support by connecting call data with robust ticketing systems. Besides ensuring agents access customer history during calls (like in CRM integrations), ticket creation and tracking can also be automated.
For example, when a customer calls about an issue, a VoIP helpdesk integration can automatically log the interaction, link it to an existing ticket, or create a new one with all relevant call details. This allows employees to focus on resolving the issue rather than managing administrative tasks.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system integration
VoIP integration with ERP platforms like SAP or Oracle NetSuite can streamline the job of employees involved in large-scale logistics operations.
Imagine staff initiating supplier calls directly from their supply chain management software and having an AI transcribe calls for record-keeping and protection during claims disputes as it automates leaving a long paper trail.
Email and calendar integration
Linking your VoIP with your Microsoft Outlook or Google Calendar ensures employees receive VoIP-related notifications and reminders directly in their inbox or calendar. No more forgetting to follow up with clients, customers, patients, leads, etc.
For instance, an NHS clinic could use VoIP to automate follow-up emails after patient consultations while scheduling appointments directly on the doctor’s calendar, eliminating missed reminders and improving efficiency.
Click-to-call integration
Click-to-call VoIP functionality allows users to initiate phone calls directly from web browsers or integrated apps with a single click. Not only is this convenient from the customer’s perspective, but it’s also a powerful tool for gathering customer data through VoIP integration.
Imagine a large car dealership embedding a simple Click-to-Call link on its website. When a visitor clicks the number, the VoIP system can route the call to the appropriate local sales team based on their IP, log the call on the CRM and track the lead source as “website inquiry.”
Unified communication
UCaaS platforms like Teams, Gmail, and Slack are great for internal communication but lack support for traditional phone numbers, which only a VoIP system can handle (learn more in our article on VoIP vs UCaaS).
Sure, you could keep Teams open in one tab and your VoIP system in another, but until you try integrating them, you won’t realise how much friction it removes.
For example, you can instantly ping your team in Slack or Teams during a call, share files, or even pull a colleague into the call—all from a single interface.
Analytics and reporting tools
Platforms like Power BI are significantly more capable than any standard VoIP system, making them essential for businesses that heavily rely on VoIP communications.
For example, call centres can explore metrics like average call resolution time, call abandonment rate, peak call hours, or agent performance trends, which are usually unavailable on standard VoIP systems’ standard dashboards.
E-commerce platforms
VoIP integration with e-commerce systems like Shopify or WooCommerce enables businesses to link order details with call interactions. This means your agents don’t need to put enquiring customers on hold; they can just tell the customer the status of their order there and then.
It lets you start building customer profiles, identifying those trying to game the system (e.g. excessive product returns after short use) or problematic ones with a long call history.
Benefits of VoIP integrations
VoIP integrations can bring numerous benefits to business workflows. Here is a summary:
| Benefit | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| More efficiency | Automates tasks like call logging onto CRMs, follow up scheduling and other manual tasks. | A law firm automates call logging and client updates in its project management software via VoIP. |
| Easier team collaboration | VoIP integration with tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Zoho helps teams work more seamlessly. | A marketing team integrates VoIP with Microsoft Teams, allowing live transcription and instant task creation during calls. |
| Improves customer experience | Uses customer data from databases to personalise interactions and provide more informed support. | A call centre integrates VoIP with CRM, instantly displaying customer history to agents, enabling quicker, personalised support. |
| Centralises Communication | Combines calls, messages, and other communications into a single, unified platform. | A property agency manages calls, emails, and messages through a single VoIP-integrated platform. |
| Improves data insights | Provides more advanced analytics and reporting tools than standard VoIP tools. | An enterprise sales team integrates Tableau with its VoIP system to get next level dashboards for decision making. |
| Can save costs | Integrated VoIP bundles cost less than acquiring VoIP and software individually. More efficiency from, integrations also leads to less costs. | A small business replaces separate phone systems, video conferencing, and messaging apps with a single VoIP solution, cutting expenses. |
| Can enhance security and compliance | VoIP integrations with cybersecurity software, cloud storage for backup and disaster recovery, Authenticators for MFA, can greatly boost security. | A trading firm integrates their VoIP system with Google Cloud to backup transcripts from all conversations and Google Authenticator for 2FA on all apps. |
Integrating VoIP into your tech stack
All businesses in the UK are gradually transitioning into cloud-based systems, namely:
- Business phone lines are being replaced with VoIP in preparation for the PSTN Switch Off scheduled for 2027.
- CRMs, ERPs, or e-commerce platforms are replacing expensive self-hosted systems.
As these technologies inevitably converge, the next step is to prepare for their integration. Here’s how to ensure a smooth transition:
1. Audit your tech stack
Start by assessing your current systems and workflows:
- CRM: Confirm whether your CRM (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) or ERP natively supports VoIP integrations and what systems it prefers.
- Workflows: Identify pain points. Are sales teams manually logging calls? Could sync call histories to improve customer support?
- Network: How much of your broadband is dedicated to your VoIP system? How is your VoIP call quality?
- Custom integrations: Consider if APIs are needed for bespoke tools or advanced use cases.
2. Consult with experts EARLY
VoIP providers are experts and can guide you through what’s possible and practical. Request a callback from our VoIP experts and get this scheduled as soon as possible.
Here are a few things you should ask about:
- Experience: Have they implemented VoIP in similar businesses using the same tools?
- Features: Discuss must-haves like click-to-call, call logging, voicemail-to-email, AI transcripts, business VoIP analytics, etc.
- Scalability: Delve into your future needs to ensure a cheaper, long-term integrated VoIP contract.
- Bundles: Consider bundled packages like VoIP + leased line broadband, or VoIP + SD-WAN.
- Costs: Ask for a brochure. These usually explain how VoIP features affects the total business VoIP costs.
3. Upgrade your network
A network upgrade often accompanies VoIP integration to handle the increased demand. Consider the following:
- Broadband connection: Bandwidth, reliability and SLAs.
- Broadband router: To handle increased broadband speeds or redundancy necessary for a VoIP system.
- Network switches: Essential for VoIP system segmentation (a cybersecurity essential) or to support more VoIP devices.
4. Train and engage your team
Not only is training the only way to ensure your team can take full advantage of your VoIP integration’s benefits, but most contemporary cybersecurity threats rely on social engineering techniques like ‘Vishing‘, which can only be countered with the appropriate training.
If you can’t fulfil training internally, contract a VoIP provider that ensures regular training for existing and any new staff that joins.
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