VOIP (Voice/Video Over Internet Protocol) based business phone systems are available for everyone, or so they say. What about all of us using a Mac? Does it mean we cannot benefit from vendor deals? Do business VOIP systems include Apple users? Considering Lion OSX runs like a dream, my iPad feels like my new baby, and my iPhone works with both of them since the beginning, will I have trouble with VOIP telephone systems and my Apple based network and machines?  Or am I getting worried over nothing, just because no one is even talking about Apple Mac when it comes to VOIP? Where is the VOIP system for my company if we are using Apple?

Understanding VOIP. VOIP (Voice/Video Over Internet Protocol) technology is only an application that turns analogue sounds into digital sound and sends that data over the internet. This is the essence of VOIP. There is nothing else to it. A business phone system for your office and company is a little more complicated. A VOIP business system uses dedicated servers to supply your office and telephone system with the requirements you have ordered. Your phones are now running through those high-speed servers of your supplier.

Unix or Windows. Unless you are a total computer geek, it is pretty hard to understand the relationship between lynux, linux, unix, Mac Os, OSX. To make it as simple as possible, the servers that feed our websites and feed out VOIP phone systems, can either run on both Unix and Windows, or can run Windows based applications. There is rarely a consumer-based server that will run Linux only. This is all so complicated it will drive any normal person crazy. Simply put, Unix is so close to Linux, your Apple Mac applications will run on it (the developers will tell you it is where Mac OS came from), and Windows, well, it is for Windows only.

Running a VOIP Telephone System. If you are going to run a Mac based VOIP application it needs to work with your Apple Macbook, and iPhone and iPad. The Macbook runs OSX, and the iPhone and iPad run iOS. These applications are at your client-server ‘client’ end. Your server is the company that is providing you with your business phone technology. ‘Server’ means the computer where your whole VOIP business system is running from. That is very different from your personal device. If you want to run an application, on all of your Apple devices, your vendor must also be running their application from a Unix based server. The only other option is for you to install Windows into your Macbook.

What Will Happen? So we are entering the twilight zone with this article now. Apple will develop its own brand new state of the art VOIP phone application (client-server) with smoother options, and even better usability. They have done this from the start, what makes you think they will do anything else? Apple is Apple. That is that. Do you really need that ugly new VOIP desktop phone device when you could be using your iPhone, iPad or Macbook?

Apple laptops and other Apple devices will work with your current system. You could install Windows onto your Macbook, but that would be worse than committing a cardinal sin. Considering that Facebook (backed by Windows) has just partnered with Skype (bought by Windows), it is safe enough to assume there is a new product about to hit the market.