Technology

What is IP telephony?

By Steve Trusty

Mike Bond, CCIE
Senior network VoIP engineer
Pomeroy IT Solutions

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One of the areas that more and more businesses are exploring as a way to be more competitive and profitable is IP telephony.

“IP telephony is an up and coming technology that is going to be the standard in a few years,” says Mike Bond, CCIE, senior network VoIP engineer at Pomeroy IT Solutions. “You can improve communications with increased mobility and receive the added benefit of disaster recovery.”

Smart Business spoke with Bond for more information on IP telephony.

What is IP telephony?

It is taking your phone and fax and moving it into your Internet protocol through your computer. Telephony runs off your traditional network and passes packets of information back and forth. Besides internal networks, it can work through external networks. It exchanges voice, fax and other forms of information that have traditionally been carried over the dedicated circuit-switched connections of the public switched telephone network (PSTN).

Why should I consider IP telephony?

With IP telephony, there is a return on investment over a period of time. For one thing, you can set up a virtual office almost anywhere.

If you have multiple offices or locations, you can have a centralized system to manage all of your communications. If there is a problem with a line, you have a backup built in that allows you to continue to communicate. It helps with remote office workers. They can have their desk phone literally sitting on their computer and it functions as though they were in the office.

Another advantage is that you can add more employees without the expense of more office space and equipment.

Are there potential pitfalls with IP telephony?

There are several, but with proper planning, they can be avoided or minimized. If you lose power and have no backup, you lose communications. You must have a backup plan. One option is to have a backup generator to run your power. You can also use a UPS backup system. Whichever form of backup you utilize, you must make sure that it matches up with your system. Setting up your system is a lot like building a house. You have to have your foundation in place. Your network has to be optimized. If not, you won’t be happy with the service. Make sure that all parts of the system match and work with each other.

You should implement quality of service appropriately. For seamless communications, you need to mark your voice packets with a higher priority than data packets and alleviate the network congestion to assure that voice is the highest priority traffic on your network. You should also adhere to a regular maintenance schedule that includes the communications servers, VoIP equipment and the backup systems.

What are the costs?

It depends on the equipment you have and on what you need or want. You may have some of the equipment on-site that can be used. If you have to start from scratch with all new equipment your costs are going to go up. The cost can run from $10,000 to $50,000, or more. It also depends on the extras that you want or need.

To get the best value, talk over all aspects with your solutions provider. Let them know all of your wants, but keep in mind your needs and consider all the pluses and minuses of each. Cabling costs also need to be kept in mind.

How do the benefits offset the costs?

You can centralize your administration. You will be bundling your computer and telephone needs into one system. You will only need one set of cabling as it eliminates the need for separate PBX cabling. Your LAN or network cable and communications cabling are all now one and the same. You can also eliminate long distance charges. You will save time in contacting those within the system. Instead of punching 1 plus the 10-digit number, you can punch in only the three-or five-digit extension number.

Moves, adds and changes (MACs) are much less complicated and cost considerably less with VoIP than a traditional PBX system. A PBX phone move is usually handled by an administrator or the service provider. When moving a VoIP phone, most of the time, the user can pick up the phone and move it him or herself to another networked port. Or, when moving to a new physical location, an administrator would only have to modify a few fields. With a traditional PBX, MACs could cost hundreds of dollars.

MIKE BOND, CCIE #17963 (Voice), is a senior network VoIP engineer at Pomeroy IT Solutions. Reach him at (615) 399-0404 or by e-mail at mbond@pomeroy.com.