Is VoIP Right For you?
How You Can Benefit (or Not) From Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), in Layman's Terms
It is very likely that you have heard someone talk about Voice over IP or VoIP before. Voice over IP is of special interest to those who work in offices that rely a great deal on the phone for their business, such as law offices and financial service centres. This article seeks to offer an unbiased view of the benefits and drawbacks of Voice over IP.
What is VOIP?
Put simply, Voice over Internet Protocol, or VOIP, is a relatively new technology that has recently been adopted by businesses worldwide. A Voice over IP program uses the Internet to make and take phone calls without using the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
Why use VOIP?
There are several benefits commonly listed by companies to using VOIP over traditional analogue phone lines, including:
*Cost Advantages
*Call Quality
*Reliability
*Mobility
*Functionality
1. Cost Advantages and Disadvantages
Pros: Many businesses gain an immediate decrease in their phone bills by over 50% after converting to VOIP. The reason for these cost savings are simply - Voice over Internet Protocl providers do not have t use the big telephone companies for their call routing and they pass these savings onto their customers. Suchtelecom fees - especially line rental - are very expensive and the cost of renting a line form a landline company frequently exceeds the total costs of the calls made on that line. VOIP line rental prices are lower across the board, and most company's phone bills instantly reflect that after they switch to VOIP.
Cons: VOIP systems may require an initial investment for purchase of IP phones, each handset of which can cost a hefty sum. If an enterprise is looking to slowly migrate from analogue to VOIP and use a hybrid (mixed) system for awhile, they will need hardware such as an analogue gateway to convert phone signals into digital during that period. These considerations should not be overlooked, and must be factored into a decision to convert to Voice over Internet Protocl, but equally important is to factor in the potential savings over time.
2. Call Quality
Pros: In the early days of Voice over Internet Protocol technology, Quality of Service (QoS) could vary depending on how the traffic was routed; however, modern improvements in QoS provide for better prioritization and routing of voice traffic prior to the digital handoff of a Voice over IP calll. Almost every experienced provider has maintained setups to provide customers with adequate bandwidth to prevent any signal loss and often have dedicated Internet pipelines in place that are solely for voice communication separate from other data traffic. In other words, non-voice Internet data traffic will not directly interfere with the transmission of your voice signals, allowing you to continue Internet usage with no degradation of call quality at all times.
Cons: If youre operating a Voice over Internet Protocol system off a single connection that shares traffic with networking or other data and is not large enough to cope with the influx of information, your call quality will likey suffer. Similarly, if you opt for lower-priced hardwre that lacks advanced features such as QoS management, trafic shaping or prioritization, you may see degradation in call quality and management capability. Another factor to keep in mind is that the number of concurrent connections can weaken or even degrade the quality and performance of each connection.
3. Mobility
Pros: A key component of Voice over IP is it ease and rapidity of mobility. When someone moves their desk to a different location in the office, there is no need to re-patch phone lines to ensure continued use. After moving, just plug the VOIP phone into a data point and it will resume functioning just as before.power outlet). You are also able to take your VOIP hardware anywhere and use the same number anywhere that there is an Internet connection - ideal for businesspeople who travel, domestically or internationally - to ensure you are always able to receive that important phone call when it is most needed.
Cons: Locally, Voice over IP mobility is dependent on your distribution of ethernet cable. Ethernet cable is very cheap, but it can look unsightly when strewn for long distances around an office or home. You also need to make sure that each handset has access to an ethernet port in order to function; the use of hubs, splitters and other hardware can help to alleviate this issue.
4. Functionality
Pros: A Voice ove IP system offers all of the core elements of a conventional telephony system and many intergrated additions. Standard included functionality includes Voicemail with multiple inboxes, Fully Customizable Extensions, Detailed Call Reporting and other optional elements. Since Voice over IP is all-digital, it can also integrate easily into other computer applications such as e-mail, faxing, web and video conferencing, and so on.
Cons: For wide Voice over IP deployments, learning the technology and its functions can take a significant amount of time and energy.
5. Reliability
Pros: Often raised as a significant issue for VOIP systems, reliabilty is one of the noted concerns for businesses. As with any internet data technology, the level of reliabiltiy is dependent on many factors, including the hardware running the system, the software used to manage it, and the bandwidth available. One or another flavour of Linux is generally regarded as the gold standard for any serve, including a Voice over IP backbone, due to its reliability and adherence to standards. Failover systems such as automatic rerouting of failed outbound calls over alternative routes, or even falling back to analogue lines in the unlikely event of a provider outage or network blackout, can be configured to provide for redundancy,
Cons:A VOIP system is very dependent on the quality and consistency of your upstream internet providers. Backup and redundant systems are recommended, particularly for mission-critical systems and enterprises.
Choosing to switch over to Voice over Internet Protocol telephony ultimately depends on a few criterion, including your budgetary goals and current limitations, as well as your technological infrastructure. If you are already in an environment that is equipped with high-speed data communications, Voice over IP is a flexible and very cost-effective alternative you should look into. On the other hand, a configuration lacking either the needed up-front investment or the technological infrastructure may not be ready at this time for Voice over IP.
It is very likely that you have heard someone talk about Voice over IP or VoIP before. Voice over IP is of special interest to those who work in offices that rely a great deal on the phone for their business, such as law offices and financial service centres. This article seeks to offer an unbiased view of the benefits and drawbacks of Voice over IP.
What is VOIP?
Put simply, Voice over Internet Protocol, or VOIP, is a relatively new technology that has recently been adopted by businesses worldwide. A Voice over IP program uses the Internet to make and take phone calls without using the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
Why use VOIP?
There are several benefits commonly listed by companies to using VOIP over traditional analogue phone lines, including:
*Cost Advantages
*Call Quality
*Reliability
*Mobility
*Functionality
1. Cost Advantages and Disadvantages
Pros: Many businesses gain an immediate decrease in their phone bills by over 50% after converting to VOIP. The reason for these cost savings are simply - Voice over Internet Protocl providers do not have t use the big telephone companies for their call routing and they pass these savings onto their customers. Suchtelecom fees - especially line rental - are very expensive and the cost of renting a line form a landline company frequently exceeds the total costs of the calls made on that line. VOIP line rental prices are lower across the board, and most company's phone bills instantly reflect that after they switch to VOIP.
Cons: VOIP systems may require an initial investment for purchase of IP phones, each handset of which can cost a hefty sum. If an enterprise is looking to slowly migrate from analogue to VOIP and use a hybrid (mixed) system for awhile, they will need hardware such as an analogue gateway to convert phone signals into digital during that period. These considerations should not be overlooked, and must be factored into a decision to convert to Voice over Internet Protocl, but equally important is to factor in the potential savings over time.
2. Call Quality
Pros: In the early days of Voice over Internet Protocol technology, Quality of Service (QoS) could vary depending on how the traffic was routed; however, modern improvements in QoS provide for better prioritization and routing of voice traffic prior to the digital handoff of a Voice over IP calll. Almost every experienced provider has maintained setups to provide customers with adequate bandwidth to prevent any signal loss and often have dedicated Internet pipelines in place that are solely for voice communication separate from other data traffic. In other words, non-voice Internet data traffic will not directly interfere with the transmission of your voice signals, allowing you to continue Internet usage with no degradation of call quality at all times.
Cons: If youre operating a Voice over Internet Protocol system off a single connection that shares traffic with networking or other data and is not large enough to cope with the influx of information, your call quality will likey suffer. Similarly, if you opt for lower-priced hardwre that lacks advanced features such as QoS management, trafic shaping or prioritization, you may see degradation in call quality and management capability. Another factor to keep in mind is that the number of concurrent connections can weaken or even degrade the quality and performance of each connection.
3. Mobility
Pros: A key component of Voice over IP is it ease and rapidity of mobility. When someone moves their desk to a different location in the office, there is no need to re-patch phone lines to ensure continued use. After moving, just plug the VOIP phone into a data point and it will resume functioning just as before.power outlet). You are also able to take your VOIP hardware anywhere and use the same number anywhere that there is an Internet connection - ideal for businesspeople who travel, domestically or internationally - to ensure you are always able to receive that important phone call when it is most needed.
Cons: Locally, Voice over IP mobility is dependent on your distribution of ethernet cable. Ethernet cable is very cheap, but it can look unsightly when strewn for long distances around an office or home. You also need to make sure that each handset has access to an ethernet port in order to function; the use of hubs, splitters and other hardware can help to alleviate this issue.
4. Functionality
Pros: A Voice ove IP system offers all of the core elements of a conventional telephony system and many intergrated additions. Standard included functionality includes Voicemail with multiple inboxes, Fully Customizable Extensions, Detailed Call Reporting and other optional elements. Since Voice over IP is all-digital, it can also integrate easily into other computer applications such as e-mail, faxing, web and video conferencing, and so on.
Cons: For wide Voice over IP deployments, learning the technology and its functions can take a significant amount of time and energy.
5. Reliability
Pros: Often raised as a significant issue for VOIP systems, reliabilty is one of the noted concerns for businesses. As with any internet data technology, the level of reliabiltiy is dependent on many factors, including the hardware running the system, the software used to manage it, and the bandwidth available. One or another flavour of Linux is generally regarded as the gold standard for any serve, including a Voice over IP backbone, due to its reliability and adherence to standards. Failover systems such as automatic rerouting of failed outbound calls over alternative routes, or even falling back to analogue lines in the unlikely event of a provider outage or network blackout, can be configured to provide for redundancy,
Cons:A VOIP system is very dependent on the quality and consistency of your upstream internet providers. Backup and redundant systems are recommended, particularly for mission-critical systems and enterprises.
Choosing to switch over to Voice over Internet Protocol telephony ultimately depends on a few criterion, including your budgetary goals and current limitations, as well as your technological infrastructure. If you are already in an environment that is equipped with high-speed data communications, Voice over IP is a flexible and very cost-effective alternative you should look into. On the other hand, a configuration lacking either the needed up-front investment or the technological infrastructure may not be ready at this time for Voice over IP.
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