2005 is predicted to be
year of voice over IP (VoIP) solutions for a growing number of corporate enterprises - both large and small. If you have been considering benefits of implementing VoIP, you are certainly not alone. In its just-published "2005 Telecommunications Report," Harris Interactive found that 87% of business decision-makers are familiar with VoIP and, of that number, 12% currently use it in their organizations.
So what's big attraction?
Cost mainly. But lowering company telecom expenses is just one aspect of lure of implementing VoIP solutions. Other advantages include potential for value-added services and capability of more advanced features made possible through integration of voice and data (e.g. videoconferencing, advanced voicemail features,etc.)
Sounds good, but here's rub...it's also been estimated that up to 85% of corporate networks are simply not ready to handle VoIP.
Combining voice with data is a tricky proposition. After decades of getting used to near-perfect sound quality delivered over traditional voice networks, even slightest delays in voip can be very annoying.
Before diving in to a full-blown VoIP solution, it is advisable that you conduct a voice over IP readiness assessment of your existing network. This assessment will provide you with two very important pieces of information:
1) The capability of your existing data network to deliver high-quality voip calls, and; 2) ability to evaluate quality of these calls during a wide variety of traffic scenarios. Keep in mind that most data networks were not designed for VoIP, so chances are that some upgrading of your existing network will be necessary.
One critical requirement for VoIP to work is QoS. (Short for Quality of Service, a networking term that specifies a guaranteed throughput level). For QoS to work, routers and switches that manage data traffic flow in your network must be able to prioritize VoIP data packets via QoS.
