Switching to VoIP

This is the Title of the Book, eMatter Edition

Copyright © 2007 O’Reilly & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Chapter 8: VoIP Readiness

• Allow easier enforcement of end user agreements that govern monitoring and

abuse?

• Result in more returned calls, thus, hopefully, more sales or prospects?

• Enable more centralized, company-wide contact management or messaging,

such as a single voice mail server on the WAN rather than separate ones at each

office?

Cost

The cost model of VoIP is substantially different than that of traditional telephony.

The old cost model is economically fixed, meaning that network links and devices

tend to have an unchanging cost and an unchanging value to the organization. VoIP

obsoletes this model because it allows software to control telephony features and the

voice network economy. Since software can evolve and improve over time, the cost

to maintain your phone system is likely to decrease over time.

In a converged network, voice and data are carried by the same physical and data

link layer components. This means that only one set of network support expertise is

required, so the cost of staffing the network is said to be lower. Compare that to a

traditional voice network, which has telecom staff, not IT staff, doing the maintain-

ing and troubleshooting. This fact, too, can lower operating costs.

But the up-front capital (and training investment) required to replace ...