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So what is VoIP, IP
Telephony?
By
Jack Bogle, Managing Partner
VoIP stands for "voice over
internet protocols". It is a technology used to transport a
normal telephone call (voice) using an established Local Area or
Wide Area Network. A good example of a practical application
using VoIP is where a company has more than one site and
regularly communicates between them, sending and receiving data
traffic over existing inter-company data circuits. By having a
VoIP, IP telephony solution, you could also use these existing
data circuits to send and receive voice traffic between sites
for no additional cost as if all the sites shared the same
telephone system.
Why is everyone talking
about VoIP, IP Telephony?
As companies strive for
greater efficiency and to promote the optimum in cost effective
working structures, the chance to increase functionality and at
the same time save money is an extremely appealing possibility.
Communication systems are the life blood for most thriving
businesses, and it can be a term used to describe a wide variety
of mediums that we use today. Two obvious candidates for this
category are telephony and our computer networks, and although
we see them as crucial to our day to day activities, we have up
till now seen them as separate entities. Great benefits can be
gained if ways can be found to unify these two methods of
communication from an operational point of view; essentially
creating a virtual office.
Is VoIP the way forward?
VoIP is a here-and-now
technology and will most certainly be the way forward in the
long term. The benefits of using VoIP will be different for most
companies depending upon their every day needs and business
processes, but there are many generic benefits. Infrastructure
that is comprised of a single network should lower installation
and maintenance costs, minimize charges from network providers
and in theory should make any office moves and changes easier to
manage. As working practices change for us all, more and more
people are breaking away from the idea of traveling into the
office and are taking up the idea of working from home or on the
move. Home or mobile workers can take advantage of such things
as unified messaging where voice messages delivered into
their mailbox at the office, can be sent to them as an e-mail
and replayed via their email client application.
Quality
of Service
Quality of Service
can be an important factor when considering a move to a VoIP
solution. Unlike data, which is sent chopped up in packet form
from one point to another, voice is a real time application and
any packets sent containing it must arrive in the correct order
and in a timely fashion if they are to be of any use at all. Any
existing hardware and topography may well need to be upgraded
and pre-planned to achieve an acceptable level.
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