Moving to VoIP
We communicate in many ways. It has been the regular telephone and telegraph. Then Internet changed the way we communicate. Email is certainly the best thing that happened to us. Instant messaging and Chat rooms opened up another mode of communicating in real time. Innovative chat rooms with audio and video are being used effectively by many either for personal or for business purposes.
Money saved is money earned. Every company try to cut costs on all possible expenditure. Communication is one such area one can optimize the costs, by leveraging technology.
The standalone phone systems may vanish in a few years from now. This will be particularly true to midsized to large enterprises as their communication costs run into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) allows voice communications over the Internet and has been steadily gaining ground. Corporate spending on VoIP is likely to touch $5.5 billion by 2008. The cost of VoIP based office equipment is becoming cheaper by the day and it is expected to cost between $75 and $600 per line, down from the current pricing of $375 to $1,000 per line.
To Move or not!
There is no hard and fast rule that a solution fits all. One needs to analyze the need for change and study the advantages and disadvantage of any new process. While there are many benefits to having a VoIP system, it doesn't mean that VoIP technology is right for you. It may benefit you or may not make a big difference.
You may have budgets and willingness to move over to VoIP. But it is advisable to seek an expert opinion. If you have good technical resources, form a committee to undertake a thorough telecommunication assessment. Else, you may opt for a neutral third party consultant, who specializes in all aspects of telecommunication. Do not hire a consultant who specializes in VoIP alone.
Define the goal of the project clearly. Do not indicate your intension of moving to VoIP. The telecommunication assessment shall study the needs of the organization and the available solutions.
Let the telecommunication assessment undertake evaluation of the following:
Current scenario
Without looking into what is required, first the current situation shall be studied and identify the issues as well as advantages. Even if the current system, you feel, may be good, but the market may offer something better. Take stock of all minute details. Compile data of Internal calls ( with in the company), Customer communication, Cold calls of sales/marketing teams, Contact center/support calls, fixed line telephone costs, mobile communication charges of all staff, National calls, international calls, Video conferencing etc
Network capabilities
Data network of your company plays a major role. It is important to ensure that, it strong enough to handle data and voice loads. The quality of service (QOS) is very important. A small delay of few second may not effect the data transfer. Probably the data transfer may take a bit longer. But any delay in signals, the voice transmission becomes an issue resulting in unclear communication.
Telecommunications equipment
Take stock of the telecommunication equipment. You may be surprised to know the existing system has some advanced features, which you are not using. The features may include VoIP capabilities. Even the older analog phones can be used by procuring some additional Adapters.
Once you have completed the above, look for the appropriate technology that suits you. And VoIP will certainly be one of the options. VoIP helps because most of the analog phones and/or the existing phones can easily work with VoIP as mentioned above.
Deployment costs
Though you are able to make use of the existing phone, you need to allocate some finances for new VoIP phone system. This depends on the number of employees, divisions, location and not to forget scalability in future. The investment could be between $20,000 and $150,000.
Return on investment (ROI)
This is where you really appreciate VoIP. You have already documented the total expenditure on communications in your organization. Now, you have the deployment costs. Estimate the training needs and the expenditure. Calculate the amount you are going to save due to VoIP. VoIP certainly cuts the Long-distance phone bill.
Other benefits to Moving to VoIP
Telecommunication infrastructure
Any organization would look for telecommunication and may have installed a telephone system much before the actual operations have started. More often, they would select a system they think is suitable then. And as the company grows, the system gets loaded. The company would replace the Telephone system, once they find it is performing below the expectation. Some companies would replace, if the equipment is 3 or 5 year old.
If you are running old system, the equipment is prone to failures. While the disruption of telephone systems not only result in the loss of revenue in case of missed potential business calls as well as unsatisfactory customer service.
Moving to VoIP will not only solve the phone system problems but also offer more reliable and deliver cost savings. VoIP also eliminates voice leased-line costs.
Reliability and cost savings
VoIP offers better service at lower costs. As the Broadband and the dedicated Internet connectivity has improved significantly, it is becoming easier to implement VoIP. Internet Service Providers, now, offer greater uptime and hence your VoIP enables you to be available for voice communication as long as your Broadband is on. Hence Moving to VoIP ensures reliability along with great cost savings.
Improved customer interaction
The VoIP deployment enables many features as it is an integral part of Internet connectivity. One could even integrate online chat and instant messaging for increased productivity and improved customer service. The customer service agents can share data/information with clients easily.
You need to study your needs and decide to move on to VoIP. And you are sure to benefit from it. If you are upgrading your Internet connectivity infrastructure, have a look into Telecommunication infrastructure too, as you can leverage the new technologies and achieve a better ROI.
Money saved is money earned. Every company try to cut costs on all possible expenditure. Communication is one such area one can optimize the costs, by leveraging technology.
The standalone phone systems may vanish in a few years from now. This will be particularly true to midsized to large enterprises as their communication costs run into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) allows voice communications over the Internet and has been steadily gaining ground. Corporate spending on VoIP is likely to touch $5.5 billion by 2008. The cost of VoIP based office equipment is becoming cheaper by the day and it is expected to cost between $75 and $600 per line, down from the current pricing of $375 to $1,000 per line.
To Move or not!
There is no hard and fast rule that a solution fits all. One needs to analyze the need for change and study the advantages and disadvantage of any new process. While there are many benefits to having a VoIP system, it doesn't mean that VoIP technology is right for you. It may benefit you or may not make a big difference.
You may have budgets and willingness to move over to VoIP. But it is advisable to seek an expert opinion. If you have good technical resources, form a committee to undertake a thorough telecommunication assessment. Else, you may opt for a neutral third party consultant, who specializes in all aspects of telecommunication. Do not hire a consultant who specializes in VoIP alone.
Define the goal of the project clearly. Do not indicate your intension of moving to VoIP. The telecommunication assessment shall study the needs of the organization and the available solutions.
Let the telecommunication assessment undertake evaluation of the following:
Current scenario
Without looking into what is required, first the current situation shall be studied and identify the issues as well as advantages. Even if the current system, you feel, may be good, but the market may offer something better. Take stock of all minute details. Compile data of Internal calls ( with in the company), Customer communication, Cold calls of sales/marketing teams, Contact center/support calls, fixed line telephone costs, mobile communication charges of all staff, National calls, international calls, Video conferencing etc
Network capabilities
Data network of your company plays a major role. It is important to ensure that, it strong enough to handle data and voice loads. The quality of service (QOS) is very important. A small delay of few second may not effect the data transfer. Probably the data transfer may take a bit longer. But any delay in signals, the voice transmission becomes an issue resulting in unclear communication.
Telecommunications equipment
Take stock of the telecommunication equipment. You may be surprised to know the existing system has some advanced features, which you are not using. The features may include VoIP capabilities. Even the older analog phones can be used by procuring some additional Adapters.
Once you have completed the above, look for the appropriate technology that suits you. And VoIP will certainly be one of the options. VoIP helps because most of the analog phones and/or the existing phones can easily work with VoIP as mentioned above.
Deployment costs
Though you are able to make use of the existing phone, you need to allocate some finances for new VoIP phone system. This depends on the number of employees, divisions, location and not to forget scalability in future. The investment could be between $20,000 and $150,000.
Return on investment (ROI)
This is where you really appreciate VoIP. You have already documented the total expenditure on communications in your organization. Now, you have the deployment costs. Estimate the training needs and the expenditure. Calculate the amount you are going to save due to VoIP. VoIP certainly cuts the Long-distance phone bill.
Other benefits to Moving to VoIP
Telecommunication infrastructure
Any organization would look for telecommunication and may have installed a telephone system much before the actual operations have started. More often, they would select a system they think is suitable then. And as the company grows, the system gets loaded. The company would replace the Telephone system, once they find it is performing below the expectation. Some companies would replace, if the equipment is 3 or 5 year old.
If you are running old system, the equipment is prone to failures. While the disruption of telephone systems not only result in the loss of revenue in case of missed potential business calls as well as unsatisfactory customer service.
Moving to VoIP will not only solve the phone system problems but also offer more reliable and deliver cost savings. VoIP also eliminates voice leased-line costs.
Reliability and cost savings
VoIP offers better service at lower costs. As the Broadband and the dedicated Internet connectivity has improved significantly, it is becoming easier to implement VoIP. Internet Service Providers, now, offer greater uptime and hence your VoIP enables you to be available for voice communication as long as your Broadband is on. Hence Moving to VoIP ensures reliability along with great cost savings.
Improved customer interaction
The VoIP deployment enables many features as it is an integral part of Internet connectivity. One could even integrate online chat and instant messaging for increased productivity and improved customer service. The customer service agents can share data/information with clients easily.
You need to study your needs and decide to move on to VoIP. And you are sure to benefit from it. If you are upgrading your Internet connectivity infrastructure, have a look into Telecommunication infrastructure too, as you can leverage the new technologies and achieve a better ROI.
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posted by rameshkumarb @ 11:37 PM
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