VoIP without hype. What business need to know. Part 2.

Upgrading for VoIP: Four Approaches
For most SMBs, the migration to VoIP will involve more than choosing a VSP to replace their current LD provider. It will involve upgrading on two fronts: the LAN – that is, the networking equipment on your premises – and the WAN, including your connection to the Internet and the equipment and capabilities of your service provider. There are four distinct approaches you can take to go VoIP, depending on your quality requirements and budget.

Approach #1: Best and Most Expensive
For the best voice quality you should have two entirely separate LANs at your place of business and two entirely separate WANs (connections to the Internet). Dedicate your first WAN+LAN to data and your second WAN+LAN to voice – thus ensuring no physical possibility that your data packets can “stomp” your voice packets. Then, when planning your voice WAN, try to find budget room for a T1 connection instead of a lower quality DSL/cable connection.

Now, when planning for your two LANs, you will need to purchase two separate routers, each with their own physical wiring, which will terminate as two separate Ethernet jacks at each employee location.This means that your employees will plug their computer into one jack and their IP phone into another. Expect to pay $80-$100 per employee location for each extra “drop”, but much less if you have your wiring company run both drops at the same time.
Finally, when you have built your dedicated WAN+LAN combos, you must carefully choose a VSP!

Approach #2: Second Best, Less Expensive
If you don’t want to pay for two separate LANs, you can still get pretty darn good quality if you do two things. First, you must still get two separate broadband providers for your WANs, one for voice and one for data – again, a T1 if you can afford it. Second, you should upgrade to a QoS Ethernet switch on your LAN. A QoS-capable switch (with IEEE 802.1P support, for example) will ensure that voice packets and data packets are prioritized properly on your LAN – thus when large files are moving across your LAN, your switch will make them pause momentarily to let voice traffic go first. Your users won’t even notice the pause, but your voice quality will be significantly improved.

Approach #3: Cheaper but Harder to Pull Off
A more economical approach, but often the hardest to do right, is to add QoS capabilities to both your LAN and WAN, therefore allowing you to get away with only having one of each. To do this properly, you’ll first need to upgrade your LAN with a QoScapable switch/router. You’ll also need to ensure that your broadband provider has QoS capabilities and that your VSP uses the same type of QoS as you use on your LAN. Yes, QoS comes in many flavors. In fact, the easiest way to pull all of this off is to get a T1 that provides you both Internet access and VoIP-based LD on the same circuit, all with QoS, and all from the same broadband provider!

Approach #4: I Want Really Cheap!
OK, OK, we get it. You love your wallet and you didn’t pay for this white paper. So, at the absolute minimum, you must upgrade your broadband connection to ensure sufficient bandwidth for voice traffic from your premises to the Internet. A typical VoIP call will use about 64KB of upstream and downstream, and you should factor in at least 90KB for your first call because of what is called “IP overhead.” So, do your math assuming peak concurrent line usage. If your peak usage will be 5 concurrent calls, then you add 90KB + (4 x 64KB) = 346KB. Be sure to remember that this is 346KB up *and* down. Many broadband providers will give you much more downstream than they will upstream, so be sure to ask! Finally, if you are going to go cheap, and cannot afford a T1, try to at least get “business-grade” DSL (see sidebar, “What It Will Cost”).

In case we haven’t provided you too much information already, there are two final things to note about making your leap to VoIP. First, ensure that your VSP has a local PSTN media gateway in your area; this will shorten the path your VoIP calls have to take over the Internet before they are converted to travel across the PSTN. Second, try to use the same broadband provider at your main office and all remote offices; VoIP performance is usually better when calls travel over a single provider’s backbone vs. having to “hop” across multiple backbones.

Hybrid IP-PBX: The First Step to VoIP
What Will it Cost?
Whatever approach you decide on for migrating to VoIP, a hybrid IP-PBX is an excellent first step. Hybrids operate in three modes – PSTN,VoIP, and what’s called PSTN-fallback – a mode which ensures that you’ll always have phone service, even during Internet outages. With a hybrid IP-PBX, you can also connect and use analog phones (including cordless sets), IP phones, or a combination. So you can convert select employees to IP telephony according to their needs and the capacity of your Internet connections.

A hybrid IP-PBX enables you to start saving money right away, even if you choose to use the PSTN connections to the outside world. With a hybrid IP-PBX at your business, you get free VoIP calls between offices and with all your telecommuters, but you can selectively choose to pay more for calls across the PSTN where the quality matters most. Think of it this way, your employees get free VoIP calling between themselves, but your customers are guaranteed perfect POTS quality when they call you, or you call them.

But hybrid IP-PBX systems aren’t just about VoIP and cheap LD, they also enable SMBs to improve their “communications image” – presenting callers with a professional (and time-saving) auto-attendant, allowing employees to work from home or the road, 4-digit dialing from anywhere in the world, blending Outlook into your phone system and more.

Hybrid IP-PBX capabilities can include:

• unlimited extensions and voicemail
• multiple auto-attendants (IVR)
• unlimited call queues (ACD)
• telecommuters – even for call queues
• uploading of professional voice prompts
• scheduling – time and date settings
  
• music on hold with upsell messages
• parking, paging and call forwarding
• integration with Outlook and CRM software
• customizable caller ID
• click-to-call from your website
  
• extensive reporting for productivity analysis
  

With the advanced functions and features offered by a hybrid IP-PBX system, your SMB can gain the efficiencies of IP telephony and cost savings of VoIP today without having to sacrifice the quality we have all come to expect from the POTS!

About the Author
Chris Lyman is the CEO and founder of Fonality. Chris combines his extensive telephony and VoIP knowledge with his data-centric roots as founder and CEO of Virtualis, a top ten web hosting company, which he sold in 2000. He often presents at industry forums and conferences on topics such as IP telephony, data architecture and open source business models.
About Fonality
Fonality is the leading provider of affordable hybrid IP-PBX systems for SMBs. Fonality’s PBXtra product line comes VoIP-ready but also supports calling via the PSTN and PSTN-fallback. PBXtra Standard and Call Center editions provide enterprise-class features at a fraction of the cost of traditional industry offerings. Deployed to tens of thousands of business users in the U.S. and other countries, Fonality’s products can be purchased direct or through a network of more than 1,300 resellers. For more information, visit www.fonality.com.

VoIP without hype. What business need to know. Part 1.

VoIP without hype. What business need to know. Part 1.

VoIP: On the Rise Despite Shortcomings
“With voice over IP, you can have long distance for less – even for free!” That is the Siren’s song being played by VoIP, the Internet’s newest promise. Millions of consumers with broadband connections are responding. And there’s no end in sight; it’s expected that 32 million Internet phone lines will be in use by 2009 (Source: Gartner).

Akin to the cellular phenomenon, consumers are rushing to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) despite the fact that audio quality and reliability are not yet up to traditional landline telephony standards (see “I want my V-O-I-P” section for quality analysis). Downtime and quality aside, the value proposition of VoIP has clearly resonated with consumers. During 2005, U.S. subscriptions to VoIP calling plans, which cost as little as $20 to $25 per month for unlimited domestic long distance (LD), more than tripled, from 1.3 million to 4.5 million (Source: TeleGeography).

Seductive as the savings message may be to consumers, the lure of VoIP is even stronger for businesses – whose monthly LD bills are often in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Many of these businesses have exacerbated toll charges because they either pay for calls between branch offices or have call centers, which typically incur heavy line usage. For such firms, slashing LD expenses could literally drop thousands of dollars a month straight to the bottom line. By the same token, the more dependent a business is on telephone communications, the less it can afford to compromise on the quality of its phone connections. Poor audio quality can undermine productivity and customer satisfaction; dropped calls cost sales and money; a total telecom service outage might well be disastrous.

I Want My V-O-I-P
It’s important to approach VoIP with your eyes wide open – to understand the technology involved, the investment required, and an affordable migration path to VoIP that will deliver value to your business, both short- and long-term, without
compromising the quality of your communications. But first, let’s talk quality. A study by Internet performance monitor Keynote Systems found that consumer VoIP service reliability improved from 96.9 percent to 99.1 percent between June
2005 and January 2006. 99.1 may sound good, but actually it is significantly lower than the 99.999 percent reliability rating that people have grown used to with the plain old telephone system (POTS), also referred to as the public-switched telephone network (PSTN). To put these figures into perspective, 96.9 percent uptime actually
equates to over 22 hours of downtime per month and 99.1 percent uptime still equates to more than 6.5 hours of downtime a month. Compare those numbers to 99.999 percent uptime, which equates to just 26 seconds of downtime per month, and you can see the impact of a few decimal points!

Packets 101: What Makes VoIP Vulnerable
As most people understand, VoIP is telephone calling over the Internet. So, it may appear that switching from the POTS to VoIP is a fairly straightforward proposition for the average small or medium size business (SMB). In a typical SMB, all employees have PCs, which are connected together via a local area network (LAN). This LAN is then connected to a router/firewall which talks to the Internet via what is called a wide-area network, or WAN. So, if you put a VoIP-capable phone on each desk and plug it into your LAN, the call goes out your WAN and voilà – IP telephony, right? Wrong.

Many people don’t realize that the Internet was *not* originally built for telephone calling. Neither were most LANs – yes, this means you! Even if you have a great LAN, it is unlikely that your WAN, or the WAN of your Internet Service Provider (ISP) is ready to go. In fact, the Internet Protocol itself was not really designed for real-time communication of any sort – especially the streaming nature inherent in audio, video, or online gaming.

Let’s get geeky. IP-based networks divide information – for example,  an email message or Web page – into thousands of small chunks of data called “packets”. Each packet has a “header” which contains both the sender’s and the receiver’s Internet address; this enables the packets, which are transmitted separately, to be reassembled at the receiving end. Think of packets like ants, each of which knows how to get back to their anthill, but doesn’t necessarily need to get back at the same time or by the same route. This ability for a packet to “choose its own route and time” is why data transmission over the Internet is so efficient.

VoIP vs. IP Telephony:A moment of distinction
Recently, VoIP has become a catch-all buzzword. Yet, it is important to distinguish between VoIP, which is a digital transport vehicle for phone calls, and IP telephony, which is a digital phone system based on Internet standards. This is important, because businesses stand to benefit from both VoIP and IP telephony – in substantially different ways.

VoIP is a method of digitizing your voice so that it can be transmitted across the Internet to save money on toll charges. Whereas IP telephony is a way of digitizing your phone system so that it can leverage the Internet, your computer, and your other business software applications (CRM, CTI, Outlook) to increase productivity within your business. VoIP is actually a subset of IP telephony – look at it this way: VoIP is an “arrow in the quiver” of IP telephony.

Any IP telephony system will use VoIP as a way of transmitting voice, in some manner or another (SIP, Skinny, MGCP, H.323). But, an IP telephony system, such as an IP-PBX, goes far beyond cheap phone calls; it enhances business productivity by providing additional features that weren’t available or affordable with legacy phone systems.

See, when data packets carrying email or web pages arrive slowly, or out of order, it is usually not a big deal. So what if it takes you an extra second to download your email? Space out for a minute, watch the paperclip, you know the drill. But this method of “out of order” packet delivery spells disaster for real-time protocols that need packets to arrive at the right time, in the right order, all the time. Welcome to the stringent demands of transmitting real-time audio.

OK, let’s adjust our pocket protectors and really talk about this; during a VoIP call, speech is captured as analog information by a phone, then converted into digital information, compressed, and divided into packets for transmission. This whole process is relatively fast, easy and reliable. The potential problems happen at the receiving end, when the packets must be reassembled in the correct order, absolutely error-free, and reconverted from their digital form into a seamless audio stream – all in real time.

If there are any substantial glitches in transmission, a VoIP call “breaks up” like the reception from a distant radio station. As engineers say, the audio stream stutters. As the people on the call will tell you, it sounds like gibberish. Houston...we.. av...a..ro..bl...em. In the worst case, which is not all that rare, the entire call is dropped – that is, cut off – because the transmission becomes so overwhelmed by problems that the connection simply fails. Dropped calls can mean lost revenue and/or dissatisfied customers!

Is Your Network Ready for VoIP? Probably Not
Here’s a fact: the LANs and Internet connections (WANs) used by most SMBs are simply not ready to handle VoIP. The basic firewalls commonly used for security and virus protection often cause VoIP calls to break up. The low cost routers from the local computer store often don’t have the horsepower to drive quality VoIP calls. LANs can also become congested, especially when users are transferring large files across the internal network, such as when sending or receiving emails with large files attached, downloading documents, doing file backups or copying media files.

Of course, your VoIP network includes not only your LAN but also your WAN. Your WAN begins with your broadband modem and ends with your broadband Internet provider. Most people don’t understand that just having a broadband connection is not enough. You actually need a *high quality* connection to deliver the call quality you need to run a real business. Many SMBs connect to the Internet via DSL or cable, most often with inexpensive modems. While such connections work fine for web browsing and email, they are not designed to handle VoIP transmissions, much less the combination of voice and data.

Into the Weeds: VoIP explained
Let’s talk protocol! This will help us understand why the real-time demands of VoIP put such a strain on the Internet and your LAN. As mentioned previously, the Internet was originally designed so that packets could arrive “out of order” and be reassembled by the client. The protocol most commonly used to transmit these packets is called TCP/IP.

Yet, TCP/IP is rarely used for VoIP packets because this protocol was not designed for real-time communications. Instead, VoIP often uses the UDP protocol. UDP tends to carry low overhead, making it a good choice for voice calls. But, the low overhead of UDP also makes it sensitive to network conditions. Therefore,VoIP-over-UDP can sound poor when it encounters any of following conditions:
    Latency is the time it takes for a data packet to make a round trip between the sending and receiving location. When the average latency of a VoIP connection is above 200ms, call quality suffers. The best VoIP connections have latency under 80ms. Email and web access can gracefully handle latency of 400ms.
   Jitter is the result of variance in latency between subsequent packets. For example, if you ping a network and get results such as 90ms, 92ms, 89ms, the network is jitter-free or, to be exact, it has jitter of 3ms (variance between 92ms and 89ms). But if your pings looked like: 50ms, 70ms, 190ms, then your network has jitter of 120ms. Jitter that exceeds 100ms degrades the quality of a VoIP call. Jitter under 50ms is gracefully handled by most IP phone systems.
   Packet loss occurs most commonly when an Internet network is congested. Under such conditions, packets are often simply discarded. TCP/IP automatically retransmits these lost packets, but VoIP-over-UDP will not. Packet loss will create “stuttering”, or in extreme cases, “silent gaps” in your phone call.

Similarly, many of the WANs now in use by ISPs were designed and built before the advent of IP telephony. They weren’t originally designed to meet the demanding requirements of error-free, reliable VoIP transmission. In fact, most of them actually run on a business model designed for oversubscription, which results in frequent latency and jitter (see sidebar: “Into the Weeds: VoIP explained”). Even the ISPs that aren’t oversubscribed have not yet deployed true quality-of-service (QoS) technology to ensure that voice packets get priority over data packets across their networks.

As if ensuring you have a great LAN and WAN was not enough, you also have to choose a high quality VoIP provider (VSP or ITSP). [Is your acronym meter at full capacity yet?] Much like LD providers, which deliver long distance services over the PSTN, VSPs provide you with VoIP calling over the Internet. Like ISPs, not all VSPs are created equal in terms of network strength, proximity to the PSTN backbone and, of course, good old fashion customer service. The VSP industry is a new one, so be sure to choose carefully. Remember a great LAN and WAN don’t mean anything if you have a weak VSP!

VoIP without hype. What business need to know. Part 2.

Guide To Free Voip Calls

I am sure you have heard the adage, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch”. Well, obviously the person famous for that saying hadn’t yet heard of VoIP. VoIP is Voice over Internet Protocol- or in simple terms, the ability to transmit voice over the Internet. VoIP has been gaining in strength and popularity as a telecommunications of choice. Many small businesses are opting to go VoIP. It is a viable source for businesses to make long distance calls virtually free, or at a significantly lower cost when compared to other telephone service providers.

With a High Speed Internet connection, you too can experience the power of VoIP. In fact, you may have already tried this technology without even realizing it. There are many services and programs that have been available for free, on the Internet, for the past ten years that have embraced VoIP.

Dialpad was known for allowing people to connect a microphone and speakers to their computers and then make long distance calls virtually world wide for free. Well, Dialpad isn’t free any more, but if you do purchase their monthly service, they do provide an option for unlimited long distance calling. This service is still comparable to other telephone providers.

Currently most of the free VoIP have begun to charge a monthly fee for their services. There is still one program left that is absolutely free. That is Ad Calls. This program displays various advertisements on their display while you can use the service to make free calls. There are limitations to this program however. You can only use the service for ten minutes at a time, and you are unable to call toll free numbers.

The major VoIP programs that embrace free calling left on the Internet are bundled with your Instant Messaging programs. Programs such as Yahoo Messenger have recently been redesigned with the ability to make free voice phone calls using VoIP. You won’t be able to call a landline telephone however. You will need to use the program to call another member who is using the same program. For example, if you have the newly VoIP enabled Yahoo Messenger downloaded to your computer, yet your buddy (who lives across the world) is using the old Yahoo Messenger, you can send them a link to download and upgrade their current version. Once they have installed the new Yahoo Messenger, you will see a “call” button with a phone icon at the top of your Yahoo Messenger chat box. By clicking call, you will be using VoIP technology to send a phone call to your buddy’s computer. The receiving computer will actually ring, like a standard telephone, and your buddy will have the option of accepting or declining the phone call. All that is needed is a high speed Internet connection, this provides the best audio quality and speed), a microphone, and speakers. You and your buddy are free to talk as long as you like. The other advantage to Instant Messengers that allow free VoIP calls is the ability to call more than one person. You can call people on your buddy list, and invite them for a conference call. This has unlimited potential and can be used by small businesses for free training calls, and by people everywhere who just want to stay in touch with friends and family.

Other Internet Messaging services that have embraced VoIP calling include MSN messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, and Google has begun their new service, Google Talk.

VoIP is a preferred method of telecommunications due to the fact that you can integrate audio, video, and web based applications with one program. The Instant Messaging programs are perfect examples of how audio and web based communications are working together to increase communication. Also included with many Instant Messaging programs is the ability to hook up a digital camera or web cam and incorporate video with your audio and web based application.

VoIP Telephones are also beginning to incorporate video with their VoIP services. This will be a very popular trend in the future. As there are over 900 million Instant Messaging subscribers, people are already experiencing the power and freedom of converged communications.

Cellular phones are realizing that people want to combine video with their audio, and many videophones are being released. Some phones have gone the next level and have combined audio, video, and graphics by allowing you to store pictures in your telephone, and use it as a camera.

As the technology of VoIP continues to advance, we can rest assured that more “Beta” programs will be released and as that occurs, keep your eye out for more free VoIP programs.

5 Steps To Voip

So you’re ready to enjoy unlimited long distance calling and lower monthly phone bills. Well, before you make the switch, here are five steps that will help you get the VoIP plan that is best for you.

1. Make the Decision

Yes, it is new technology, and sometimes we are scared of the unknown. VoIP technology is on the rise and many high profile computer companies are already switching to VoIP and in return are becoming service providers. AOL, Sprint, and Verizon are offering VoIP as well as Internet Messaging services such as Yahoo, MSN, and AOL IM. First you must come to the decision that VoIP is best for you, your family, or your business needs. Research VoIP on the web and its providers. Talk to people that you know have already made the switch. Once you have made your decision to switch to VoIP, you are ready for the next step.

2. Choose the Plan that is Right for You

A good idea is to make a written list of your needs, wants, and features in a phone. This will help you compare different plans and choose the service provider that will best fit your needs. If you are looking for residential or business service, make sure that you note that in your list. Residential plans usually come in two forms- basic (which is a certain amount of minutes) and unlimited (which will give you unlimited local and long distance talk time). Business plans can include amenities such as multiple phones, greater minute talk time, greater unlimited calling plans, business features bundled with your plan, faxing and voicemail to your computer capabilities, and extras such as yellow page listings. Check with the company to find the plan that meets your requirements.

3. Setting up the System

Some service providers will send you the equipment that you need to begin using VoIP. You will first need to make sure that your computer system is compatible with the VoIP service. You will also need to have high speed Internet already installed with your computer. If you are using VoIP for a business or for a call center, it is best to leave the installation to a professional. Installing VoIP for a residence or home office is typically simple enough for most residents to do themselves.

4. Choosing your Phone Number

One of the best features that VoIP has to offer is the freedom to select your own telephone number. If you just want to transfer your old number to your new VoIP system, check with your service provider before making your final decision. Many VoIP providers will allow you to transfer your phone number.

If you want to select a different area code, this option has many advantages. First, for friends and family members who don’t have unlimited long distance calling, selecting the same area code as them can save them money. They will appreciate being able to call you as if it were a local call.

This strategy is also very beneficial for those whose businesses are targeting specific areas. Say there is a California company, yet they want to increase business in Tampa, Florida. By selecting the Tampa, Florida area code, they can increase sales and productivity by having a local number for customers to call. This also reduces the need for a toll free number.

5. Install your Features and Accessories

VoIP comes with many features included in your service plan. For residential customers these include Voicemail, Caller ID, Call Forwarding, Call Block, and Do Not Disturb. Always check with your service provider for a detailed listing of the features included with your plan. For Small businesses, amenities such as multi phone users, free fax lines, and integrating your VoIP and web features are all available. VoIP also contains many of the same features bundled with basic plans as well. When you are choosing a provider, compare their business plans and select the one that best fits your business needs.

As VoIP technology continues to advance, a new array of accessories appears on the market. Today you can choose from VoIP phones, headsets, and even VoIP videophones that work as a web camera incorporating video with your audio.

By: Michael Plante

10 reasons to switch to an IP PBX

The benefits of replacing your old PBX with an IP PBX

What is an IP PBX?

An IP PBX is a complete telephony system that provides telephone calls over IP data networks. All conversations are sent as data packets over the network.

The technology includes advanced communication features but also provides a significant dose of worry-free scalability and robustness that all enterprises seek. The IP PBX is also able to connect to traditional PSTN lines via an optional gateway - so upgrading day-to-day business communication to this most advanced voice and data network is a breeze!

Enterprises don’t need to disrupt their current external communication infrastructure and operations. With IP PBX deployed, an enterprise can even keep its regular telephone numbers. This way, the IP PBX switches local calls over the data network inside the enterprise and allows all users to share the same external phone lines.


How it works

An IP PBX system consists of one or more SIP phones, an IP PBX server and optionally a VOIP Gateway to connect to existing PSTN lines. The IP PBX server functions in a similar manner to a proxy server: SIP clients, being either soft phones or hardware-based phones, register with the IP PBX server, and when they wish to make a call they ask the IP PBX to establish the connection. The IP PBX has a directory of all phones/users and their corresponding SIP address and thus is able to connect an internal call or route an external call via either a VOIP gateway or a VOIP service provider.


The top 10 Benefits

Benefit #1: Much easier to install & configure than a proprietary phone system:
An IP PBX runs as software on a computer and can leverage the advanced processing power of the computer and user interface as well as Windows’ features. Anyone proficient in networking and computers can install and maintain an IP PBX. By contrast a proprietary phone system often requires an installer trained on that particular proprietary system!

Benefit #2: Easier to manage because of web/GUI based configuration interface:
An IP PBX can be managed via a web-based configuration interface or a GUI, allowing you to easily maintain and fine tune your phone system. Proprietary phone systems have difficult-to-use interfaces which are often designed to be used only by the phone technicians.

Benefit #3: Significant cost savings using VOIP providers.
With an IP PBX you can easily use a VOIP service provider for long distance and international calls. The monthly savings are significant. If you have branch offices, you can easily connect phone systems between branches and make free phone calls.

Benefit #4: Eliminate phone wiring!
An IP PBX allows you to connect hardware phones directly to a standard computer network port (which it can share with the adjacent computer). Software phones can be installed directly onto the PC. You can now eliminate the phone wiring and make adding or moving of extensions much easier. In new offices you can completely eliminate the extra ports to be used by the phone!

Benefit #5: Eliminate vendor lock in!
IP PBXs are based on the open SIP standard. You can now mix and match any SIP hardware or software phone with any SIP-based IP PBX, PSTN Gateway or VOIP provider. In contrast, a proprietary phone system often requires proprietary phones to use advanced features, and proprietary extension modules to add features.


Benefit #6: Scalable
Proprietary systems are easy to outgrow: Adding more phone lines or extensions often requires expensive hardware modules. In some cases you need an entirely new phone system. Not so with an IP PBX: a standard computer can easily handle a large number of phone lines and extensions – just add more phones to your network to expand!

Benefit #7: Better customer service & productivity:
With an IP PBX you can deliver better customer service and better productivity: Since the telephone system is now computer-based you can integrate phone functions with business applications. For example: Bring up the customer record of the caller automatically when you receive his/her call, dramatically improving customer service and cutting cost by reducing time spent on each caller. Outbound calls can be placed directly from Outlook, removing the need for the user to type in the phone number.

Benefit #8: Twice the phone system features for half the price!
Since an IP PBX is software-based, itis easier for developers to add and improve feature sets. Most VOIP phone systems come with a rich feature set, including auto attendant, voice mail, ring groups, advanced reporting and more. These options are often very expensive in proprietary systems.

Benefit #9 Allow hot desking & roaming
Hot desking – the process of being able to easily move offices/desks based on the task at hand, has become very popular. Unfortunately traditional PBXs require extensions to be re-patched to the new location. With an IP PBX the user simply takes his phone to his new desk – No patching required!

Users can roam too – if an employee has to work from home, he/she can simply fire up their SIP software phone and are able to answer calls to their extension, just as they would in the office. Calls can be diverted anywhere in the world because of the SIP protocol characteristics!

Benefit #10 Better phone usability: SIP phones are easier to use
Employees often struggle using advanced phone features: Setting up a conference, transferring a call – On an old PBX it all requires instruction.

Not so with an IP PBX – all features are easily performed from a user friendly Windows GUI. In addition, users get a better overview of the status of other extensions and of inbound lines and call queues via the IP PBX Windows client. Proprietary systems often require expensive ‘system’ phones to get an idea what is going on on your phone system. Even then, status information is cryptic at best.


Conclusion

Investing in a software-based IP PBX makes a lot of sense, not only for new companies buying a phone system, but also for companies who already have a PBX. An IP PBX delivers such significant savings in management, maintenance, and ongoing call costs, that upgrading to an IP PBX, should be the obvious choice for any company.

By Nick Galea