| irst step is deciding when/if it might be beneficial to | | | | MAIL & GROUPWARE/FTP |
| move from a traditional voice network to a | | | | IMS to provide |
| converged network. Each company is different, but | | | | - CHAT (IM/Online Presence) |
| two key indicators are intra-site call charges and the | | | | - Voice+ (SDP/SIP/etc.) |
| need for a more agile telephony system | | | | Presence... the users "online reachability"... is the |
| geographically (eg. distributed call centres). For many | | | | empirical parameter. |
| companies the cost of converting is too high to | | | | Companies often DIY their email/IM/Voice systems |
| balance the cost savings. Simply changing your voice | | | | & protection schema's, but these exist as |
| supplier might be easier and generate better cost | | | | industry standard solutions today... Why not |
| savings. | | | | outsource that effort to an Industry leading Service |
| At the moment the whip hand is with PABX | | | | Solution provider & then just focus on the |
| manufacturers moving into the IP market, rather | | | | business? |
| than the IP hardware vendors moving into voice - | | | | Your biggest challenge is actually to find a Hosted |
| but the hardware market is far from dominated by | | | | Service Provider who is already on the Convergence |
| any single player. IP-enabling an existing PABX | | | | Path (there are VERY few)... A Service provider who |
| infrastructure is often the way forward in conjunction | | | | offers "Presence" (user log on/reachability status) |
| with planning your WAN carefully. This would suggest | | | | similar to the MSN/ICQ/AIM/YIM/Skype. A service |
| going for a PABX specialist for this element. If Cisco | | | | provider who offers this, can |
| (et al) is your bag, then look for IPT accreditation | | | | 1) bill you appropriately for "online reachability" rather |
| and keep an eye on references and proof. | | | | than the call-by-call (or monthly subscription) basis... |
| Be cautious about accepting too pat technical | | | | 2) offer not just secured VOIP, but also IM/Mail |
| information from sales people. QoS is not strictly | | | | Video/Collaboration/etc. via SIP on an IMS |
| necessary to carry voice and can carry quite a cost | | | | infrastructure. |
| premium. Neither are uncontended DSL services | | | | If you have day to day responsibility for the opertion |
| strictly necessary. We have people running 3-4 voice | | | | of a multi-location VoIP network - there are some |
| channels concurrently between sites on strandard | | | | issues to be aware of. |
| contended ADSL (20:1) with simple packet | | | | 1) It's not as cheap as vendors want you to believe |
| prioritisation at the edge to protect the voice from | | | | 2) Legacy equipment manufacturers do not have the |
| e-mails and printing traffic. | | | | best products and may not be the best solution. |
| There's no single solution. Find a solution provider that | | | | Remember the old adage about IBM from the 60's.... |
| you can work with, with track record. Carefully | | | | "no one was ever fired for buying IBM". Now it |
| consider the costs of change against the cost | | | | seems to be buying Cisco or Nortel kit is the "safe" |
| benefits as they are often not clear. Ensure you | | | | option. |
| consider UPS protection for IP equipment essential | | | | 3) There is a support cost that older management |
| for voice delivery - or have a back up analogue | | | | types will not get or possibly understand. That the |
| telephone option. | | | | LAN just became extremely important in the overall |
| Before simply installing VOIP... take a step back and | | | | comunication infrastructure. It isn't just for e-mail |
| look at the larger communications picture in your | | | | anymore. |
| single or multiple location company. You will see a | | | | No matter your final decision....keep in mind that |
| number of Horizontal Communications paths: | | | | everyday is an adventure. Be careful - be wary and |
| ACCESS / BANDWIDTH | | | | test, test and test again. |