From my experience, smaller businesses tend to have four concerns when thinking about running their business telephony via VoIP: that they might have to replace their current infrastructure; that call quality might be poor; that installation is complex and costly and, finally, that the cost savings are insignificant unless you make lots of lengthy overseas calls.
To be honest, some of these concerns might have been true in the early stage of VoIP, but the technology has improved significantly in the last few years and there are many compelling reasons to take the step.
VoIP in a nutshell
Too often there is confusion about what VoIP actually is. Basically it is the technology used to transmit voice conversations over data networks using the Internet Protocol (IP). VoIP takes an analogue voice call, encodes it digitally and converts it into packets and transmits them over the network to its destination where the packets get reassembled and reconverted to analogue voice.
Many people associate VoIP with free internet services designed for residential users, but today an increasing number of suppliers can provide business-grade services that don't even go over the internet.
Why SMEs should consider VoIP services now
There are at least three objectives all businesses - global players, large enterprises and SMEs - have in common: cost efficiency, flexibility and productivity. VoIP can help make a tangible difference in all these areas.
Businesses can cut their network costs as they no longer need separate networks for voice and data traffic
Cost efficiency is one of the key advantages of VoIP. Businesses can cut their network costs as they no longer need separate networks for voice and data traffic. Everything runs over a single IP network. Call charges also benefit: if an organisation operates a single IP network, a VoIP call from one part of the organisation to another will be free of charge.
VoIP also helps businesses operate with greater flexibility - with IP, it's easy to make moves, adds and changes and roll out new features. You can also integrate voice with other applications such as email or CRM.
Finally, VoIP can help a business boost its productivity as it is easy to accommodate mobile and remote workers and provide them with the same telephony features as their colleagues in the office.
No "one size fits all" approach
If the business benefits look appealing, the next step is to decide how to deploy VoIP. There is no such thing as the perfect solution as it depends on the needs and existing infrastructure of a business.
One option that many organisations consider is connecting a new or existing IP PBX (Private Branch Exchange) to the public network using an IP connection, rather than traditional ISDN Exchange Lines.
Internet telephony is sometimes seen as a tempting way for businesses to deploy VoIP because it is low cost. But pure internet telephony is not a "carrier-grade" service in terms of quality and reliability. To ensure conversations are not interrupted, telephony demands a highly reliable network. Only a business-grade network can ensure that call traffic is prioritised so voice calls are delivered in a controlled and highly reliable way.
To reap all the benefits of VoIP, it's important to consider the impact on the whole infrastructure - this could be linked to support costs for specialised staff and additional investments. Hosted VoIP services with a transparent pricing model might be the answer.
It's a good time to move to VoIP - the technology is proven and there are plenty of examples of businesses reaping the benefits. It's simply a case of selecting the right approach for your business and remembering that quality needs to come first.
For more details on how COLT can assist your business with this transition, please visit www.colt.net [1]