IP TELEPHONY TAKE YOUR BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS TO THE NEXT LEVEL

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1 IP TELEPHONY TAKE YOUR BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS TO THE NEXT LEVEL Executive Summary The rising popularity of IP Telephony in recent years demonstrates that it has become a highly functional, affordable and flexible means of communications for businesses. For starters, running voice over a data network between offices reduces long distance costs, since most calls bypass the toll exchanges on the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Further, organizations gain efficiencies from a combined network infrastructure, rather than having to support multiple networks for separate voice and data applications. This unified approach to communications reduces maintenance and management costs, since voice becomes just another application running over the data network, requiring less personnel and equipment. For instance, IP phones can be deployed and redeployed on the data network by simply plugging them in without paying for outside technical assistance. Beyond direct savings from lower phone bills and reduced maintenance expense, IP Telephony delivers compelling capabilities that will change how your business communicates such as unified messaging and teleworking capabilities. CallerID or dialed numbers can be integrated with customer records, which automatically open on the desktop when Sales or Customer Service teams receive or place calls. A browser-based administration capability allows users to customize features to suit their method of working. When you begin to add up all the inherent advantages, IP Telephony has become the solution of choice that is transforming business communications today. This white paper provides an introduction to business-class IP Telephony; how it works, and steps you through some of the advanced features that will improve your company s operations and greatly reduce operational expenses. Also provided are helpful tips and additional decision making information that will guide you through your inevitable transition to IP Telephony.

2 How it all Works IP Telephony entails the transmission of voice conversations over data networks using the Internet Protocol (IP), the same technology that moves data, text and images around the global Internet. With this technology, ordinary speech is converted to data and arranged into packets. The packets are sent over a data network until they reach their destination, where they are turned back into ordinary speech as part of a conversation. The data networks that carry voice calls in the form of IP packets may be the public Internet, a carrier s private IP backbone, an office local area network (LAN), or your company s own virtual private network (VPN) between office locations. Numerous types of Internet access connections can be used, including high-speed dedicated connections, cable and DSL. IP calls to conventional phones travel as far as they can through one or more data networks and then hop off at a gateway to the PSTN nearest to the central office of the called party. With IP phones connected to an office LAN or to a broadband connection in a remote office, voice calls can be made or received by any employee with access to the Internet anywhere, anytime. Why IP Telephony? The biggest incentive for organizations to adopt IP Telephony, according to industry analysts, is its ability to reduce the cost of calls Why IP Telephony is sweeping the Business World The major benefit of using IP technology for voice is the one that gets all the attention saving money. Cutting costs is all it will take for many organizations to justify making the transition to IP Telephony. Cost savings accrue in several ways. Local and Long distance Phone bills are easy to measure and quantify reductions of 30% or more are not uncommon. There is also big savings in operating expenses like routine moves, adds and changes, since you do not have to depend on outside technical assistance for these chores. If you can plug in a computer, you can plug in an IP phone and start making calls. But lowering phone bills is only half the story the efficiency and productivity tools that IP Telephony supports will also have a dramatic impact on your company s bottom line. Calling Features Users have access to all the features they are accustomed to with existing telephone systems and more. Advanced IP Telephony functions simplify communications, such as returning calls with a single click from their PC or Find me-follow me, enabling callers to reach employees no matter where they are. Unified Messaging All communications voice messages, faxes and s are stored in a universal mailbox that can be accessed anytime from the telephone or PC. Remote telephone access can be used to play back voice messages and reroute fax and messages to anyone, anywhere. This universal messaging capability eliminates the need for users to check several devices 2011 TCI, a Telcept Holdings LLC. Company Page 2

3 throughout the day to retrieve and respond to all of their messages in a timely, professional manner. Voice Processing If your organization wants to improve customer response with better management of calls and capture every sales opportunity when the phones ring, a business-class IP Telephony solution offers voice mail, auto attendant, and automatic call distribution. Customer Contacts Organizations that manage call centers gain even more flexibility and control. There are no geographical limitations on where agents work; managers can see agents no matter where they are, even if they work from home or a satellite office. Agents gain control over their desktop too, allowing their work preferences to be accommodated, further improving productivity and job satisfaction. System Administration Aside from eliminating the hassle associated with moves, adds and changes, today s IP phone systems offer online system management via a web-based browser interface. This enables changes to be made to an employee s phone, voice mail settings and call privileges from any desktop anywhere all without relying on a visit from a vendor s technician. Administrators have complete control of phone features and can even allow users to customize their own features. The savings in time and money add up fast, enabling your organization to operate at peak performance. Management Reports Organizations that cannot easily access management information from their telephone systems today will appreciate IP Telephony. With a few mouse clicks, an administrator at any location can securely access the IP phone system via a web browser to retrieve management information such as call detail records to track calls and improve customer service on a continuous basis. Implementation Choices System or Service Telecom Trends Demand is exploding Industry analysts forecast 19,000,000 IP Telephony connections will be installed by 2007 in the U.S. market. There are several ways IP Telephony can be implemented. They boil down to buying an IP Telephone system or add-on and managing it yourself, or subscribing to an IP-PBX solution that is hosted at the service provider s location and managed by them. If your company already owns a PBX or Key telephone system, then you probably want full control over your communications. In some cases, IP Telephony capabilities can be added on to the existing PBX or Key system, or it may make sense to transition to a new phone system. Other companies prefer the pay-as-you-go approach of traditional Centrex, which is analogous to a monthly lease for the service and management. The approaches to implementing IP Telephony can be summarized as follows IP Telephony Add-ons One way to implement IP Telephony is through an add-on IP-based system that interfaces with an existing PBX. Call management software determines the call routing between the two systems. This solution 2011 TCI, a Telcept Holdings LLC. Company Page 3

4 can be employed to smooth the transition to a total IP Telephony environment as the useful life of the existing PBX fades or as the expense of maintaining an older PBX increases. New IP PBX A company may choose to entirely replace an existing, legacy PBX with all new equipment, investing in an IP PBX system. Ownership means control, and for many businesses control is the essential ingredient for competitive advantage. It means the business can respond to customer demand and adapt to new market conditions faster because in-house staff can make the necessary changes to the system without relying on outside assistance and the work schedules of third parties. Managed IP Telephony (IP Centrex/Hosted PBX) Another way to implement IP voice technology is to subscribe to a service that is managed by a carrier. The service provider offers IP Telephony from its own data center or central office. The only equipment brought into the subscribing organization s offices will be the new IP business phones. The carrier takes on the burden of maintaining and managing the infrastructure and equipment. Be Wary of Marketing Hype As with any popular technology, there is plenty of marketing hype surrounding IP Telephony. To help you cut through all the clutter, experienced vendors will work through all the issues and address all your concerns every step of the way. Some of the issues are not much different than for a conventional PBX. For example, you will need to consider call capacity before selecting any voice system. You want to be sure your system can handle all the in-bound and outbound calls your organization needs to manage. Again, an experienced, reputable provider will assist you in gathering and analyzing this information. Users are accustomed to experiencing brief outages of their data network, but have a very low tolerance for phone service failures simply because they are not very common on the circuit-switched PSTN. Find out how the vendor can help mitigate this situation. For example, can the IP Telephone system be configured for redundant power or use the circuit-switched PSTN if the data network experiences a disruption? Determine what impact, if any, IP Telephony may have on other data network applications or, conversely, what impact data applications may have on IP Telephony. As a real-time application, voice traffic must have priority over other, less urgent, applications. So putting voice on your network will require that your vendor implement a traffic prioritization scheme that addresses Quality of Service (QoS) not only with your LAN but also on your VPN between offices. A good vendor will help you assess your company s network readiness for IP voice and recommend ways of correcting any deficiencies such as jitter, latency, packet loss and inadequate bandwidth before you commit to a particular IP Telephone system. You ve been using tried-and-true features with your current telephone system, so ensure that the new system will continue to provide what you 2011 TCI, a Telcept Holdings LLC. Company Page 4

5 need. Make sure the IP phone system you select does everything your present phone system does and then some. Decisions, Decisions As you begin to consider the advantages IP Telephony will bring to your organization it is a good idea to contemplate these important outcomes. Determine how the new system will transform work in your company. How will new IP Telephony service capabilities enable employees to do their jobs more efficiently? How will new capabilities make employees more responsive to customers when they have Find me-follow me, universal messaging, and a web interface to set or modify their own call handling features? Make sure your vendor offers the support you will need. As a gauge to customer service quality, look into their customer care and support process, as well as their response time to problem resolution. Finally, determine your projected return on investment by evaluating the savings you expect of the new IP Telephone system. Factor in such things as your current phone system charges, system maintenance contracts and fees, administrative charges, and local and long distance monthly service and usage. The Bottom Line Business-class IP Telephony systems have been designed with today s stringent communication requirements in mind. The Internet is now a crucial tool in facilitating commerce and communication, and IP forms the foundation for many of the business tools that continue to drive our economy and new levels of productivity. IP Telephony was developed to exploit existing Internet technologies that organizations can use to both grow and streamline their operations. If you have been following the progress of IP Telephony, but were unsure about how it will help your organization, there is no need to postpone a decision any longer. Any lingering questions about IP Telephony s reliability and call quality for a true business-class service have been put to rest by vendors, service providers and, more importantly, by customers. Organizations that embrace this technology are getting a head start on the rest of the world. Find out how IP Telephony will take your business communications to the next level. Call TCI-1001 or Don Routhier at routhierd@tcicomm.com. About TCI TCI is one of the largest full-service integrated solutions providers in the Washington D.C. and Baltimore metropolitan areas. We deliver voice, network and data support to organizations of all types and sizes. TCI offers a complete line of client services and business solutions in partnership with leading manufacturers. Learn more by visiting our website, TCI, a Telcept Holdings LLC. Company Page 5