November 2005

Reducing the cost of your telecomms strategy
Falk Bleyl, product manager at THUS, explains why SMEs could be missing out on major bottom line benefits and efficiencies by not delving into the features offered by Voice over Internet Protocol providers

Whichever way you look at it, technology and the Internet are revolutionising the way companies do business and communicate with each other. In fact, recent research from the Confederation of British Industry reveals the web is transforming traditional business practices, as the number of UK firms using technology to communicate and transact online continues to rise.

Scarcely a day goes by without a story appearing in the media about a new type of communication device or gadget that is helping businesses improve their bottom line performance or making them more efficient.

Keeping abreast of all these developments can be confusing, especially if the subject of technology is not one you’re terribly comfortable with. However, one technology which has come into its own in 2005 is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), a telephony solution allowing the delivery of voice over a broadband network. Put very simply, this means sending voice information in a digital form over the public Internet, a private network or a Virtual Private Network (VPN), rather than over the public switched telephone network (PSTN) used for traditional phone calls.

VoIP is a growing phenomenon. However, because there are costs associated with implementing VoIP small and medium-sized enterprises must carefully consider the overall business case and the VoIP services on offer to them before deploying a solution. If the right VoIP solution is deployed the advantages can be many, with one of the main being cost savings.

VoIP – benefiting your business
VoIP works by transferring calls over a broadband network – the same network that carries your Internet traffic – whether a public network, private network or VPN. A VoIP solution could potentially generate clear cost savings for your business, as well as other important benefits such as increased efficiency or enhanced customer service. However, this will all depend on the type of service you want. If you are thinking of investing in VoIP it is advisable to shop around and look into the features and prices for each available service. Some service providers may include free features, such as geographic calls and voicemail, whereas other providers won’t.

The telephony savings are easiest to quantify and are often used as the most
compelling item in a business case. However, this is just part of the story. The real benefits of VoIP come from the rich array of features that some service providers are able to offer such as conference calling, video conferencing, call routing (to off-site workers and between offices), and unified communications, which all lead to a more mobile, collaborative and efficient workforce.

Previously, these features meant that only larger companies with bigger
telecommunications budgets could reap the benefits. However, with the right VoIP solution in place these features can be more affordable for smaller businesses and easier to access. Although, please be aware that some service providers do not offer these features and with others they can still be quite expensive. It is therefore always advisable to check what you are getting from you VoIP package.

From a business standpoint VoIP can allow far better collaboration and
communication amongst staff, particularly for those staff working remotely. VoIP provides the ability to route calls to your direct dial number, regardless of your location. Whether working off site, abroad or at home this is crucial. Instead of just diverting calls to your mobile phone when working away from the office, VoIP lets you log into your own extension back at the office via a broadband/wireless network. This results in less calls being made via mobile, reducing the mobile call costs which can be a significant outlay for most SMEs. Connecting to you direct dial remotely also lets you manage and control your calls in the same way as you would at your own desk.

As VoIP combines voice and data traffic over one network it makes unified
communications more possible, allowing for the integration of phone, email and instant messaging (IM) applications. This means you can look up a colleague in your contacts list on your PC and see whether that person is at their desk or on a phone call, and then decide how best to reach them – via phone, email or IM. For businesses with more than one site, this is a particularly important application for improving communication.

If the frequency of calls within you business is high, this may be a good case for moving to VoIP. Always check if the line rental savings are included in your package as this may make VoIP a more attractive case over traditional services. A site with DSL connectivity may also be able to have up to a total of five lines for line rental costs of one. Increasing the number of phone lines will make you more accessible to customers – who won’t receive a busy tone or be diverted to voicemail – meaning that more staff can dial out at the same time. However, before you take the VoIP route check the contention ratio of your broadband service. If you have an uncontended broadband service then there maybe no additional costs for additional lines. If you have a contended service line rental may not be cheaper or even possible.

What to consider when moving to a VOIP network?
There are two distinct options when it comes to actually using a VoIP service in your business, however for both you will need a tip top network. Fundamentally, before investing in a VoIP solution you should look at your businesses broadband connectivity, the broadband provider you use and the security connections you get through your broadband service as these will affect the overall VoIP solution. It may also determine whether you opt for a hosted or non-hosted model for VoIP deployment.

For companies with limited technology knowledge and resources, the hosted model is advisable as it enables the service provider or an external company to manage your VoIP service for you. The hosting company will design a solution, monitor and manage your network, solve any problems and make any changes that are necessary.

For companies with an in-house technology manager, a non-hosted model may be more effective. With this approach, you collaborate with the service provider during the planning and rollout phases and then manage the service yourself after implementation.

One of the major advantages that VoIP has over traditional telephony is that it can be understood by someone with general IT experience. Although the non-hosted model requires greater involvement from your staff, it can be more cost effective if you have the right resources and it gives you more control of
your network.

When choosing a VoIP service, it’s important to determine whether your local area network (LAN) is ready for the increased traffic. For most businesses, having a reliable phone network is vital, so your network needs to have the bandwidth to carry all your voice traffic. In addition, your service provider needs to provide traffic prioritisation. This means allowing your voice calls to take priority over the data on your broadband network.

In some cases, the network will need to be upgraded. A broadband network is
essential and the required network speed will depend on the level of voice and data traffic your business generates. Upgrading is a fast, cheap and simple process for most SMEs in comparison with large corporations who have very complex LANs. This can be done simply and inexpensively through an Ethernet switch, which a service provider can talk to you about.

Securing your network against attack is critical but doesn’t need to be costly or difficult. Often the security which comes with the VoIP solution is appropriate to secure your network. In the same way as you should remember to switch on your alarm or lock the door before you go out, remember to enable the built in security on your network. That will deter most hackers, who look for easy targets first.

As VOIP becomes more prevalent and starts to deliver tangible business benefits to companies of all sizes, the challenge for SMEs will be to make sure that they are aware of what VoIP can offer them. Therefore the message to SMEs from THUS is simple: take some time to find out what VoIP is all about before making the next steps towards investment.