If your company is looking for a new calling service, you may not know which service is best for you.
If you choose to buy a service that may not be the right fit for your organization, you may find yourself feeling buyer’s remorse after purchasing.
It is important to research calling services before purchasing so you know what service is best for your organization.
Finding out the differences between two of the most popular calling services in UCaaS and SIP Trunking will help you along your buying journey.
Coeo has sold thousands of calling services, both UCaaS and SIP Trunking, and knows just how important it is to purchase the right calling service for your organization.
We want to make sure you have all of the information you need to make the best buying decision.
By the end of this article, you will know what UCaaS is, what SIP Trunking is, the features each service offers, and how you can determine which service is the best fit for your organization.
What is UCaaS?
Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) is a cloud-based phone system that provides an all-in-one communications package to clients.
As a whole, it gives the ability to have the collaboration of communication in the business world.
Unified communication means the integration of multiple communication tools such as voice calling, video conferencing, instant messaging (IM), and content sharing into a single, streamlined service to improve user experience and productivity.
While businesses used to have to use separate entities such as phones, desktops, and laptops that specialize in different tasks, merging these technologies into one platform is part of what makes UCaaS so easy to use.
Depending on the level of service or what provider you have, you can have voice calling, video conferencing, and messaging all in one service.
This makes using these services very convenient while simultaneously giving you a more reliable service.
Features of UCaaS
When it comes to UCaaS, there are a few features that UCaaS has that SIP Trunking does not. These features include instant messaging and video conferencing.
Instant messaging
UCaaS allows you to instantly message co-workers and employees within your company through your UCaaS service.
This allows you to communicate with your co-workers who may not work in the same location as you more efficiently.
Video Conferencing
If you are working in a remote or hybrid remote environment, chances are video conferencing is a tool that you need.
If you don’t have video conferencing in a remote setting, you can find yourself failing to communicate efficiently.
Video conferencing is a tool that many people have relied on since remote work emerged due to the pandemic in 2020.
Many companies still have a remote or hybrid remote work environment and still need video conferencing.
Video conferencing allows you to have meetings with co-workers or customers who live long distances from each other and with tools like screen share, you can demonstrate or show things to other people in the meeting virtually.
If you would like to know more about UCaaS, check out our UCaaS Buyer's Guide for more information:
What is SIP Trunking?
Session Initiation Protocol Trunking, or SIP Trunking, is a protocol that allows you to run your phone system over the internet rather than traditional landline phones.
This allows you to make and receive local, long-distance, and international calls over an internet connection rather than a standard phone line.
SIP Trunking is more scalable and reliable than a standard phone line. This scalability can allow you to set up new phone lines or take down old phones on demand and much faster than standard phone lines.
SIP Trunking is a cost-saving solution capable of delivering voice service for either cloud-based or on-premise environments.
Because SIP Trunking utilizes internet bandwidth as opposed to legacy copper technology, it will save you a bit of money.
Additionally, SIP Trunking can be flexible as to what equipment you want to use. Since it is not a landline, you can use just about any equipment you want.
Much like UCaaS, you can use existing equipment like desk phones you may already be using for your current call service or a softphone such as a cellphone or other device if you do not want to purchase new desk phones for each user in your organization.
Features of SIP Trunking
Some of the SIP Trunking features include equipment flexibility and scalability.
Equipment flexibility
With SIP Trunking, you can use just about any updated equipment that you want if any at all when it comes to desk phones.
Like UCaaS, SIP Trunking is cloud-based so you can use a softphone such as a cellphone if you want.
If you want to save money and use already existing equipment from an old calling service you can do that as well. However, older legacy phones like ISDN systems will not be compatible with SIP Trunking.
Scalability
One of the biggest advantages that SIP Trunking has over a regular phone system is that it is much more scalable. SIP Trunking allows you to add more channels or take away more channels with ease.
Coeo has a SIP Trunking online portal that allows you to add and subtract channels to your account. This makes it much easier to add and subtract phone numbers whenever you want.
Which service is the best fit for your organization?
In a lot of ways, SIP Trunking and UCaaS are very similar.
The main difference between the two is that SIP Trunking is a protocol for delivering voice communications and UCaaS services whereas UCaaS is more of a platform that ties in business communications.
SIP Trunking is mainly used to deliver and receive voice specifically whereas UCaaS brings a variety of communication tools such as video and instant messaging in addition to voice all on one platform.
If your organization has all employees located and working in one location, you may only need a SIP Trunking service to make voice calls to customers.
However, if your organization relies heavily on video conferencing or instant messaging because employees work in different locations, you may want to invest in a UCaaS service.
Additionally, these two services are not mutually exclusive. An organization can benefit from both services at the same time.
SIP trunking may be used to connect on-premise platforms at a larger office or contact center but the same organization could leverage UCaaS services for remote users or smaller branch locations.
Next steps to choosing the right calling service for you
Now you know what UCaaS and SIP Trunking are and a few of the main features of each service. You also know which calling service is the right fit for your organization.
Now you can make a better-educated decision on the calling service that is right for your organization.
Without information on the differences in calling services, you could end up frustrated if you choose the wrong service for you.
Coeo has sold thousands of calling services, both UCaaS and SIP Trunking, and knows just how important the right calling service for an organization is.
We want to help you along your buying journey and provide you with all the information you need to make the best decision for your company.
If you would like to speak with our team to learn more about UCaaS and SIP Trunking or ask any questions you may have you can schedule an appointment. 
Now you know the differences between UCaaS and SIP Trunking. Read this article to learn about cloud communications and the different cloud communication solutions:
