General IP Telephony Information
In today’s ever changing technology landscape, one subject that often surfaces for discussion is IP Telephony. In most instances, switching to a hosted IP phone system can save money, increase functionality and provides greater resilience over traditional system. Most companies should, at a minimum, evaluate IP Telephony to see if it would be a strategic solution for their organization.
IP-based telephony applications provide unified messaging and communications for tighter back-end integration between voice, email, voicemails, CRM and help desk systems. A unified infrastructure can be maintained for both voice and data which creates opportunities for organizations to reduce their operation costs while still providing new service capabilities.
Today’s services that run on internal networks or managed external networks can not only equal the voice quality of traditional telephony deployments in terms of static and noise, but they can surpass them in terms of frequency range and fidelity.
With IP PBXes that support hybrid TDM and IP networks, data centers can add new features as their networks change; as a result, they can strategically keep their traditional PBXes at some locations that have not reached their monetary end-of-life value, while also implementing VoIP in other parts of the organization.
We are often asked “Who would benefit from looking at an IP Telephony solution?” and the easy answer is almost all companies. That being said, there are guidelines the help define circumstances where updating your current telephone solution is most common.
- Business’ with older Premise Based phone systems
- Systems that have reached their “End of Life”
- Companies that are looking for a platform that will allow growth and expansion
- Business’ that may be looking at opening multiple offices
- Companies that are looking to relocate
- Any organization that is looking to reduce their overall monthly communication budget
The Real “Truths” about IP Telephony
Some of the negative misconceptions of IP Telephony comes from a basic misunderstanding or lack of knowledge. At its core, IP Telephony services and equipment rely on computer networks to carry phone calls, rather than dedicated twisted-pair wire that’s used for traditional telephone.
IP and hosted systems occasionally have a stigma that the technology is new, unreliable and shoddy. With the advances in technology, IP based solutions now equal or even surpass traditional solutions. Due to the increase in reliability, starting in 2006, manufacturers began shipping more IP systems than traditional ones.
Finally, there exists a common misperception that the transition to IP Telephony will be overly costly or complex. Depending on a company’s network and situation, there may be investments needed in the network, and there will certainly be some cost to purchasing and deploying IP phones and an IP-based phone system, whether premises based or hosted, but in many cases, these costs are offset by the flexibility that an IP phone system provides, such as managing your own moves, adds, and changes and converging voice and data onto a single network, and gains in productivity. In addition, most of the costs associated with the installation and migration to an IP based solution are onetime costs where as the savings continue every month
- Dramatic Cost Savings
- Flexibility
- Part of an overall Disaster Recovery solution
- Expandable
- Supportable Platform
IP Telephony Pros and Cons
IP Telephony Pros
- Voice and Data on a single infrastructure, allowing data centers to use existing network cabling and equipment for both requirements
- The major advantages of IP telephony revolve around productivity gains and operational efficiency improvements
- Computer networks enable calls that are less expensive, integrate better with IT systems, and can be distributed between different locations and services.
- A single cable drop at each workstation can be used for both the phone and PC, as most IP phones have a built-in Ethernet switch for connecting the user’s PC
- IP-based telephony deployments have the advantage of converging voice and data onto a single infrastructure, allowing existing network cabling and equipment to be used to transmit both voice and data
- Solutions are delivered through a unified architecture
IP Telephony Cons
- The success of IP telephony is tied directly to the data network’s reliability, if there are problems with the network, there could be problems with voice services, such as latency and jitter.
- The time and resources required to train personnel, implement the IP architecture, and manage the architecture could increase the overall cost of the project.
- IP conversion is a project that requires time and investment, both of which can be disruptive to the normal functioning of the business, upgrading network infrastructure, potentially changing service providers for voice and data. There is the potential to cause downtime or take time away from other projects or priorities.
- Basic analog telephone handsets can often continue to make or receive calls in the event of power loss where a VoIP system won’t work at all if there’s no power.
- Security is an issue due to the presence of the network—VoIP systems, just like other network-connected devices, can fall prey to network-based attacks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should we choose VoIP?
Your high-speed Internet connection is the key to strengthening the voice communications for your business. You can make and receive calls with VoIP IT Services, whether you want to use your existing phones or you want to rent our high-end hardware. You get a greater reach with lower costs and the latest available features to increase employee productivity and company profits. And your telecommuters and travel-weary staff will thank you - connecting just got so much easier.
Can we Customize our VoIP IT services to fit our business?
At their desks, or on the road, your staff can access the company's phone system wherever there's an Internet connection. Through VoIP, you keep in touch more easily and less expensively than ever before, so things stay on track and everybody's on the same page. This goes double for customers and suppliers: You can take as much time as you need to make that international deal because your technology keeps phone costs low.
Can we get the latest features without breaking the bank?
When you've got VoIP IT Services, you get an array of other capabilities. For instance, if you're on the phone discussing a sale or a project, you can send images or documents to illustrate what you're saying, all in real-time. You can even use a webcam to do a face-to-face VoIP phone call.
This kind of phone service is easily scalable and can grow seamlessly with your business. You can add users in no time, without IT intervention. With our VoIP, you get the breathing room you need to plan and execute business growth.
Do we save money and time with online phone services?
Conventional phone systems are known for their expensive delays. VoIP puts all that in the past. There's also no need to invest in phone hardware that will wear out or break in a few years, and the industry's latest features, products, and technology will be at your fingertips.
We manage your VoIP IT Services with an account rep whose job it is to get out ahead of any voice communication problems and to answer your questions in a timely way. We're local, so you never have to wonder how to find support, and we've got the expertise to deal with your global communications today and tomorrow.
Can we downgrade or upgrade at any time?
Scalability is one of VoIP's most attractive features. Even if you overestimated your needs to begin with, it's easy to scale them back. If business suddenly takes off, we can help you manage all your phone system needs around that.