Guide To Voice over IP (Voip)

Mobile VoIP services are ideal for people who are not based permanently in an office environment and prefer to make calls from a mobile handset.

There are two alternatives: a Wi-Fienabled VoIP phone and one that combines traditional mobile phone capabilities and wireless VoIP. Services such as BT Business Fusion, which work like a mobile when used out of the office, while calls made from the office or in a Wi-Fi hotspot are routed over broadband, offer the ability to make and receive calls wherever users are using a single number. Integrated devices also offer customers the ability to use a single device to make and receive VoIP calls on the move using wireless broadband, as well as giving realtime access to emails, calendar, contacts and documents.

VoIP for Larger Businesses

If your business is larger then VoIP is still for you and offers more benefits. You can get larger VoIP systems to suit your needs, such as a VoIP telephone exchange (IP PBX). This could allow you to save money on internal and external phone calls.

VoIP Checklist

For any business there are a number of considerations to be made before adopting any new technology, as mistakes and poor implementation can prove expensive.

Location - The case for VoIP is most beneficial to businesses moving to a Greenfield site, or those with branch offices, remote sites or homeworkers who can be networked as one or linked to the head office using VoIP improving internal communications and customer service.

Applications - In a world that appears to be ‘always-on’, simple, fast and reliable access to information is often the factor that differentiates one product offering from another. By using VoIP all employees, wherever they are, can have fast access to desktop and network applications such as Unified Messaging, email and Internet access, increasing productivity and improving customer service.

Return on Investment - Whether implementing an IP-enabled PBX or an IP only system, the return on investment needs to be examined carefully and a business should consider:

•What does our telephone system need to do?

• Will Voice over IP benefit our business

• What will be the cost of changes to the existing network to support VoIP?

• What will be the impact of changes to the configuration when you add users, in terms of both cost and    the Quality of Service (QoS)?

• What applications are required e.g. Unified Messaging, call centre working, DECT cordless capability?

• What future expansion and system requirements will be needed?

Costs:

For SMEs deploying VoIP attracts two principal cost elements; firstly the infrastructure over which you are seeking to run both voice and data needs to be robust to carry both simultaneously. In the case of a greenfield site this will be done from the outset but in the case of an existing location then the cost of upgrading a network from data only to voice and data can be considerable. Secondly, the customer premises equipment. Many existing telephone systems (PBX) are capable of being upgraded to VoIP working and may even work in a mixed (hybrid) mode. Here the cost of equipment is largely down to the provision of an IP Gateway interface for the PBX – typically a couple of thousand pounds depending upon the vendor. Where the PBX cannot be upgraded then a whole new telephone system will need to be installed. Users can opt for a hybrid or pure IP system. Costs depend upon the size of the configuration and the application the user elects to deploy.