SIP vs VoIP: what's the difference? If you’re setting up a new VoIP business phone system, this question will sound familiar. You've likely run into the acronyms SIP, or Session Initiation Protocol and VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, together. In fact, navigating the world of business phone systems can often feel like an alphabet soup of acronyms.
Still, given "businesses that switch to VoIP reduce the cost of their local calls by up to 40%, and save up to 90% on international calls" it's crucial to understand what each acronym means so you can choose the best VoIP services.
In this guide, we’ll define the difference between SIP and VoIP, outlining how each service works together and benefits your business phone system.
Businesses that switch to VoIP reduce the cost of their local calls by up to 40%, and save up to 90% on international calls
SIP.US
What is VoIP?
VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol and is essentially a digital phone service. Instead of sending audio through traditional phone lines, VoIP phone systems digitize your voice and send packets of audio over the internet.
In some ways, VoIP is a lot like making a video call—except that you’re only sending audio, not video, back and forth.
According to Nextiva, "More software buyers go with VoIP than any other type of voice service". Why? As a cost-effective alternative to the traditional analog phone system, businesses are enjoying significant savings with cloud based telephony systems like VoIP. With free quotes from the best VoIP phone providers, your business can too.
Now you know what VoIP is, learn all about VoIP Quality of Service importance in our article: What is VoIP QoS and how can it improve your customer experience?
Thanks to a rise in remote working and customer preference to contact businesses by phone, popularity for VoIP software is set to keep growing.
With VoIP phone systems, you can add as many phone lines as your business needs without having to bring in an electrician. You can also integrate with software to automatically route your calls between departments or to keep a digital recording of every call that comes into your business.
What is SIP?
SIP stands for Session Initiation Protocol. It's an open-source communications protocol that is deployed by VoIP phone systems to function. For VoIP business phone users, SIP is critical to initiating, maintaining, and terminating a phone call between two or more devices.
VoIP is a communications system, and SIP is a signalling protocol used to support that communications system.
Michael Graw
It’s particularly important to understand the word protocol in order to understand SIP. In this context, a protocol is a set of rules used by digital devices to communicate with each other. A protocol like SIP regulates how the exchange of data packets is synchronized between devices and how those data packets are interpreted.
The usefulness of Session Initiation Protocol isn’t limited to enabling VoIP phone calls. SIP software can also be used to conduct video conferences, exchange instant messages, or distribute multimedia files and other data.
SIP vs VoIP: What’s the difference?
Trying to compare SIP and VoIP directly doesn’t really make sense. Why? Comparing the two is like assessing a magician and their assistant side by side.
One, VoIP, is the principal performer while the other is a support act. VoIP is a communications system, and SIP is a signalling protocol used to support that communications system.
SIP is one way to deploy your VoIP phone system. It's favoured by telephony managers as it directly connects PBX (private branch exchange) users with public network phone users. VoIP business phone systems which use SIP rely on the protocol, to relay information between VoIP-enabled devices.
You may notice SIP and VoIP have become somewhat synonymous, since SIP is easily the most widely used protocol for supporting VoIP communications.
SIP trunking explained
With a single SIP trunk, you can have as many incoming or outgoing phone calls as your business requires.
Michael Graw
To run a VoIP phone system using SIP, you’ll need a SIP trunk. If you're wondering 'what is a SIP trunk and how does it work?', panic not. A SIP trunk can be defined as the piece of hardware that enables all the SIP-enabled phones and devices in your business to connect to the internet.
If you're opting for a hosted VoIP service, your SIP trunk will likely located at a nearby data center. Or, if you are self-hosting your own VoIP business phone system, the SIP trunk may be or installed as part of your business’s internal network.
The great thing about using SIP trunks is that they enable you to connect an unlimited number of lines. Practically, that means with a single SIP trunk, you can have as many incoming or outgoing phone calls as your business requires. The most significant limitation on the number of simultaneous VoIP calls your company can handle boils down to your internet bandwidth.
Choosing the right hardware for SIP and VoIP
To run a successful VoIP business phone system based on SIP, you need to have compatible SIP hardware. What does that include? Individual desk phones, which must be SIP-compatible. Analog phones, for example, won’t be able to connect to a SIP trunk to make and receive calls. The same is true for office phones designed for a protocol other than SIP.
The good news is that since SIP is so widely used for VoIP phone systems, the majority of business handsets and other VoIP-enabled devices are compatible with SIP. So, you don’t have to spend a fortune to upgrade your business’s phones to a hard-to-get model. Always check to be certain.
The advantages of SIP
Why do so many VoIP providers and businesses use SIP as the protocol supporting their phone system? This protocol has become the most popular VoIP protocol because it offers a number of advantages over alternatives, including these:
✓ SIP is a highly flexible, integration-friendly protocol software
Data packets sent using SIP can be interpreted by other communication protocols, which opens the door for integration with non-SIP software. This allows VoIP calls running on SIP to be automatically recorded using third-party software, for example, or for businesses to integrate their digital phone calls with a proprietary internal app. SIP’s flexibility also means that your business is unlikely to run into compatibility problems if you change software platforms in the future.
✓ Quality-first, SIP processes VoIP call data individual devices
...is another reason why SIP is ideal for businesses, particularly enterprise-scale businesses. This benefit reduces the amount of network bandwidth being used by an individual call. So, you can have more employees making more digital phone calls without experiencing connectivity issues or poor call quality.
✓ The protocol of choice for VoIP
SIP’s popularity has also made it the protocol of choice for new VoIP phone systems. Almost any service provider that offers VoIP supports SIP-enabled handsets, so you’re free to switch providers in the future. You’re also unlikely to have trouble finding SIP-compatible software to expand the functionality of your phone system.
Alternatives to SIP
SIP may be the most popular protocol for operating a VoIP phone system, but it’s not your only option. H.323 is another common protocol found in VoIP systems. In contrast to SIP, H.323 is built to work with both analog phone systems and cloud phone systems.
Most businesses shy away from H.323, however, because it’s difficult to implement and highly complex. And unlike SIP, H.323 is not compatible with a wide range of productivity software applications.
Other alternatives include Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) and Skinny Client Control Protocol (SCCP). MGCP is somewhat complex and doesn’t support caller ID, which is a major drawback for many businesses. SCCP is a proprietary protocol used by Cisco, and the company has largely been phasing it out in favor of SIP.
Summary
It’s easy to get confused about the definition of SIP vs VoIP when trying to upgrade or replace your business’s phone system. In short, VoIP is a type of phone system that enables you to place calls through the internet rather than through traditional, analog phone lines. SIP is a communications protocol that enables VoIP calling.
While there are other VoIP protocols available, SIP is by far the most popular, for good reason. It enables VoIP-enabled phones to integrate with a wide range of productivity software. SIP also reduces the burden that a VoIP phone system places on your company’s network so that your employees can make and take more calls without a drop in quality.
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