Investing in VOIP

Voice Over IP or “VoIP” is one the most popular buzz words in today’s technology marketplace. Business owners don’t need to become telecom experts but they do need to understand the basic technology to make educated business decisions. More importantly, they need to understand underlying factors – often hidden under the sales and marketing – that are involved in deploying Voice over IP. Here are some things to consider before investing in VoIP:

1. Determine the business case for VoIP as it applies to your business.
Be sure you have a solid business or operational issue to solve instead of deploying the technology just because it’s the latest and greatest thing. Here are few primary reasons for deploying VoIP:

 To reduce monthly recurring costs (i.e., leverage data infrastructure for voice; lower line costs, lower per minute charges)
 To unify multiple branch offices and/or have centralized administration nationally or globally
 To accommodate work at home employees, telecommuters or field representatives
 To have a local phone number in a targeted area where you don’t have a physical office

2. Know bandwidth requirements and cost per minute
Small business and consumer-oriented VoIP offerings generally use the public Internet to transport voice packets back to the service provider. In such cases, call quality cannot be ensured. It’s important not to underestimate the challenges of running real-time voice traffic over IP and to ask providers what they do to ensure a high quality of service, or QoS, that minimizes packet loss, jitter, and latency. Also make sure you have enough bandwidth to support your call volume. For example, instead of a DSL, your company may need a dedicated T1. Also realize that contrary to many residential VoIP offerings, commercial VoIP usually still has a measured per minute or bucket of minutes cost. While cost per minute is often lower than standard long distance, commercial VoIP doesn’t mean unlimited free talking.

3. Make sure your network is ready.
Prior to VoIP the voice network was separate from the data network (you had two different types of cables run to your desk). With VoIP, your computer network has the responsibility of moving voice packets, in addition to traditional data and video traffic. Voice is much more sensitive to network congestion than data. For example, while you may not notice if an email arrives a millisecond late, the same delay in delivering a voice packet manifests itself as a moment of silence, stutter or choppiness. IP phones don’t cause network problems but they do reveal any network-related issues. Take a network inventory of the bandwidth being used by existing applications before adding voice to the mix. Also realize that you may have to purchase a network switch that’s more robust than standard consumer grade so it can prioritize voice traffic over data.

4. Determine how far mobility goes
Because VoIP is delivered over Internet Protocol, phone system features can be extended to any location with an Internet connection so telecommuters have access to the same features as in-office users (transfer, conference, music on hold, etc.). But what happens if there’s no Internet connectivity? Is the employee able to work that day? Determine if there are alternative call delivery mechanisms that still provide call control capability to the remote worker. Also determine if the mobility function comes with accountability such as call detail reporting.

5. Know about power options.
Traditional handsets obtain power from POTS phone lines or a digital PBX, but because VoIP handsets are connected via Ethernet, power must be provided by alternate means to have dial tone. One option is to use an adapter to plug the phones into a standard power outlet. However, realize this leaves service susceptible to power outages. Another option is to use POE (Power over Ethernet) switches that provide power over standard computer lines and can be backed up with an onsite uninterruptible power supply. POE switches generally cost more than non-POE switches.

6. Plan for Failover
Failover is the capability to reroute traffic should the IP connection be severed or the phone system stop functioning. Many hosted IP PBX systems and IP carriers have native call routing options that allow inbound calls to still be answered and subsequently forwarded to cell phones or land lines.

7. Be e-911 compliant.
When a 911 call is made via a traditional phone line, location information is transmitted to emergency service providers. Due to the virtual and mobile nature of a VoIP handset, calls may not originate from a “physical” location, complicating the transmission of address information. Regulations now require that VoIP manufacturers and service providers be “e-911 compliant” so each handset can be mapped to the right physical address. Discuss with your provider how 911 will work and determine if there are any special configurations required.