There are a lot of thoughts on this topic. Since Cisco began promoting their voice products back in 1998 the common perception is that VoIP solves everything. You need a telephone system? VoIP. Your business has a network? You need to put VoIP in place. Trying to drive more sales? VoIP. The coffee machine needs to be cleaned? VoIP!

Cisco is not alone in this. Our industry is plagued with equipment and services providers trying to squeeze every marketing angle out of this technology. It does bring a lot of flexibility but stops short of cleaning coffee makers or toilets.

What is VoIP?

Simply put, it is taking your voice communications and transforming them into data that can then be transmitted on your network or on the Internet.

How can this help your company?

This technology can be used to connect your offices across the country into one dial plan, using data circuits you may have for other purposes. It can provide a way for the company to have home office workers who are part of the phone system - so that calls can be transferred to and from them just like they were in the office. More advanced applications can be incorporated into your phone system at a lower cost than other technologies. Features such as call recording, voicemail to email, network faxing, and call center are easier to deploy when the system is already aware of your network. Any most typically, the administration of these systems is much easier than other systems due to the fact that many use a web browser or a Windows program to do the heavy lifting. The administrator needs to know less about how the system works to make it do what they need done.

How can this hurt my company?

VoIP adds complication to the way that your calls are transmitted around your organization. Where the voice system was once a separate island with easy to identify issues - it is now integrated into your data network. That means that your network, computers, and phones are all using the same technologies and can impact each other. This usually translates into higher support costs if you do have problems. Network engineers bill at a higher rate and the problems potentially have more sources.

Common Misconceptions

The combination of the promise of new technology combined with marketing fervor makes for some tall tales. What's the truth?

Voice over IP may save your company money in phone services costs. It may not. It depends on what type of lines you have today and your calling patterns.

VoIP is required to get an easy to use, feature rich system. Not so true. While most of the newer systems that have the better features are VoIP, it isn't a requirement. Many companies such as Toshiba, Avaya, Inter-tel and others provide advanced features to users of older tech digital telephones. It's all in the design of your system.

Voice over IP gives you poor call quality. This can be true, however, it is avoided through the careful design and implementation of your system.

In Summary

Voice over IP can help many businesses if applied in the right context. Voice over IP can also be a drain on a business in financial terms and a loss of productivity. Consult with an experienced company that is interested in finding solutions - not just selling a product or service. They can help you leverage this technology to stay on top of your communications while making the most of your investment.

Bob Langys is an experienced telephone systems engineer and sales professional who has been in the industry for over 15 years. His interest in the technology and applications combined with his love of coaching / sharing the knowledge has served him well throughout his career. Find out more about the information in this article at:

http://www.save-on-telecom.com

Find out more about Bob at:

http://www.langys.com