The first real VOIP service, VocalTec, reached the market back in 1995. The market has changed remarkably since then. There are many VOIP changes that can be traced to advances in big data. VOIP providers use big data directly in their own platforms, while also relying on third-party tools like Movavi to improve functionality and customer service.
Big Data Improves Connectivity and Service Quality of VOIP Solutions
VOIP services have improved dramatically since the first VocalTec products were released to the public. Many of these changes can be attributed to new features that were only made possible with big data. These benefits include:
- Big data has enabled VOIP providers to create extensive databases of their global customers. This makes it easy for users to search directories of customers to find other people that they can engage with.
- VOIP providers regularly track customer experiences and find ways to improve on it. They can use big data to identify problems that cause people to abandon the service. They can also find bugs that cause service downtime, which can be quickly rectified.
- VOIP providers often use ads for monetization. This allows them to offer free SaaS services. Unfortunately, some ads are not very engaging and can discourage further adoption from new customers. Big data is useful for helping control ads that are displayed on the platform and improve user engagement. Entrepreneur covers this in their article “How Big Data Analytics is Solving Big Advertiser Problems.”
These big data solutions are significantly beneficial for VOIP providers. They are going to drastically improve customer adoption rates, which will give them an even larger pool of data to work with.
What Are Some Other Ways that Big Data Playing a Role in the Future of VOIP?
The implications of big data for VOIP are multi-dimensional. On the surface, it seems that the real benefit is that big data is improving the quality of VOIP services. However, there are less publicized benefits that are equally important. Big data also enables brands to utilize VOIP technology to collect more data, which can be highly valuable for a wide range of applications. One of the biggest benefits of merging big data with VOIP is that it leads to a number of ancillary services, some of which are provided from third-party tools. Movavi is one of the services that can be integrated with VOIP. The company is a leading, multimedia software developer that has been around since 2004. They are a leader in cutting edge technology and willing to invest extensively in big data, using tools like Avangate which increased their revenue by 12%. Movavi also uses big data to create its own tools, including a Flash video recorder that enables users to:
- Convert different types of media
- Capture screenshots
- Edit photos
These features have proven to be extremely useful for many customers. They wouldn’t be available without big data. According to the VOIP Desk from Toolbox, one of the main ways that big data is changing VOIP is with customer service. Brands can use VOIP systems to collect new data on customers every time they call. This can deepen their customer intelligence database, which should make it much easier for them to create custom service offerings, improve their outreach strategies and develop customer retention tactics. Big data is also playing an important role in improving security of VOIP platforms.
James F. Ransome and John Rittinghouse of TechTarget touched on some of the security concerns with VOIP in one of their posts. They pointed out that data scalability has created some of these concerns, but big data could also be an important solution. “The convergence of the voice and data worlds — and the inheritance of IP security risks into the traditional voice side of the network through the implementation of VoIP — require that VoIP implementation also include measures such as encrypting voice services, building redundancy into VoIP networks, locking down VoIP servers and performing regular security audits to secure the network. As with traditional IP networks, it is also important that VoIP equipment is properly locked down, placed behind firewalls, patched against vulnerabilities and frequently monitored using intrusion-detection systems.”
Big Data is the Future of VOIP
Big data has played a very important role in the evolution of VOIP services. It is integral for everything from security, media sharing, customer engagement and monetizing. A growing number of VOIP services are going to use their own data driven solutions and turn to third-party tools that rely extensively on big data to better serve their customers.