What is a soft client?
Have you heard the term “soft client” before? No, it’s not a client that is going soft and about to jump ship to another competitor! In the VoIP phone systems world a soft client represents an application that is installed on your desktop or mobile phone that emulates a telephone. The soft client can be used to place or receive calls to the public voice network over the Internet, and most soft clients have video support. Louisa Voice incorporates soft clients and remote access into its VoIP business phone solutions for small businesses.
Voice over IP Solutions for the Remote Workforce
For some companies, VoIP soft clients are used to replace physical phones in the office. The user will install the soft client on a laptop and then register to the enterprise voice network from any company office location. If the user is travelling or working remotely from home, a virtual private network (VPN) is also provided, allowing secure remote access to the company network. The user first launches the VPN client, and then the soft client to access the corporate voice network. The company is providing mobile access to the corporate voice network while also saving the cost of physical phones.
Small businesses use soft clients on their mobile phones to field business calls from anywhere. An incoming call on a mobile phone softphone application distinguishes business calls from personal calls – the user is then able to differentiate between business versus personal calls and adjust their greeting appropriately. For outgoing calls from the mobile softphone application, the business’s telephone number is published and hides the personal cell phone number for business calls.
What’s Involved in Setup for Soft Client VoIP Services
All soft clients require integration testing with selected VoIP servers or carriers to ascertain that soft client functionality works properly, particularly when used from remotely venues such as public WIFI and voice over cellular data environments. Using your soft clients remotely can be solved in one of two ways – as described earlier, one way is to use VPN technology to access the enterprise network securely before launching the soft client. The other method is to place a specialized gateway called a Session Border Controller (SBC) accessible to the public Internet that communicates with soft clients and securely passes signaling and conversations to the voice server residing in the enterprise.
Louisa Voice, located in Waldwick, New Jersey works with corporations and businesses to understand their remote business phone requirements. We deliver cost-effective, leading-edge phone solutions that provide accessibility to users working remotely or at the office. Request a complimentary assessment or call us at 914-417-2270.