10 steps to improve your voice
VoIP's benefits are there for the taking. But before you throw your PABX off of a cliff, be sure you keep a few things in mind:
- Believe the hype: Voice over IP has been the Next Big Thing for so long now that it's become a reflex for many people to say they're waiting until it's mature. It is mature. For correctly executed implementations, current VoIP technology can offer tremendous benefits for companies upgrading for the right reasons.
- Don't focus on cost savings: While configuring VoIP to carry calls between sites and onto the public phone network can cut your phone bills considerably, the solutions aren't free. Your upgrade cost may offset much of your short-term savings on phone calls; however, VoIP still offers considerable benefits by improving integration between voice and data, consolidating separate voice and data networks, and reducing management cost and complexity. Reduced call costs are icing on the cake.
- Check your network: Being able to secure network quality of service (QoS) remains a priority for successful VoIP deployment. You'll also need ample bandwidth to carry unpredictable volumes of voice traffic. If your network still has 10Mbps Ethernet in it, it's probably time to upgrade your cabling and network switches to something faster. This can add considerably to the cost of the project, but can provide all-around speed and quality improvements that more than justify the cost.
- Partner well: Successfully implementing VoIP requires considerable skill in both circuit-switched telephony and packet-based data worlds. Don't expect your data people to understand telephony right away; if you do, odds are that they'll miss something. Instead, pick a consulting and implementation partner with several successful projects under its belt and a clear methodology for repeating that success on your site.
- Switch over slowly: If you're like most businesses, voice calls are your lifeline. You may be tempted to jump into VoIP with both feet, but a better approach is to run an initial pilot test with just a few extensions, then gradually expand the system's reach. That gives you time to find and iron out any wrinkles with issues such as features or redundancy, whilst retaining the old PABX for security.
- Integrate creatively: Convergence of voice and data opens up myriad possibilities to reshape your company's operations. If you think beyond simple phone calls, you'll find some of these possibilities offer considerable potential. For example, VoIP allows customer data and calls to follow each other around a call centre, enables unified messaging mailboxes and can be tightly integrated with enterprise directory services. Identifying and leveraging such benefits is critical to making the most of VoIP.
- Think openly: VoIP technology has progressed to the point where there are a number of competitive vendors. Although it's traditionally been a good idea to stick with one supplier for all parts of a VoIP solution, the increasing use of standards between companies should open up more options for handsets and switches, while pushing prices down considerably in the future.
- Facilitate remote extensions: While your office workers can be insulated from the switch to VoIP by preserving their current handsets, travelling workers should make the most of the technology. VoIP soft phones running on conventional laptops can replace costly mobile phones, allowing remote workers to make and receive calls as if they were sitting at their own extension.
- Consider service providers: Carriers of all sizes and shapes are gearing up to offer managed VoIP services intended to make your communications easier and cheaper. Some of them even work. Just be sure to find out how the carrier guarantees QoS; too many providers say they're VoIP capable but really mean they'll carry your voice traffic just like any other data.
- Consider other options: Although it's great on gimmick value, VoIP may not always be the absolute best solution. If it's cost savings you're after, working with a skilled telecommunications purchaser may provide a much better communications setup, based on conventional leased lines, without the hassles of implementing VoIP.
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