One of the key issues in implementing VoIP is cost. Businesses that have implemented VoIP did so because of its real or perceived cost savings over traditional telephony. In this tight economy, organizations of all kinds are looking to slash costs, and for the Univeristy of Iowa, replacing its telephone system with a cloud VoIP platform was the perfect answer to high communication bills.

In the education sector, a cloud-based telephony solution enables campus offices, buildings and student rooms spread out over a large area stay connected to each other within the same phone system. With a traditional on-premise phone system, it's not possible to tie together multiple locations, and it takes weeks, not minutes, to scale when it’s time add a new location or satellite campus.

Unlike a traditional PBX (News - Alert), a cloud VoIP system doesn't require users to invest tens thousands of dollars in up-front hardware and installation. Purchasers generally save 50 to 60 percent in the first year compared with an on-premise PBX. For Iowa University, the savings are expected to be $600,000 USD annually.

Switching to a cloud-based solution also saves the user time. It doesn't require a specialized IT background nor take weeks to install. Most smaller institutions can be up and running within minutes of activating the account, and not days as with an on-premise PBX. In the instance of Iowa University, the plan was to swap the systems at a thousand handsets, each seven days earlier in June. That means that the framework is already prepped for use.

In terms of VoIP switches, thousands of switch ports can be configured and monitored instantly, over the Web with cloud management software. For institutions like Iowa University, the ability to provision remote sites without on-site IT, being able to deploy network-wide configuration changes while easily managing campus, and distributed networking without training a dedicated staff are just a few of the many benefits of taking VoIP to the cloud.

With VoIP, there are undoubtedly savings to be had. Converting to VoIP telephony might be a good move for organizations of all sizes. In a field like education where communication between staff, students, and parents is vital, VoIP can be applied to improve interaction and even lead to new opportunities in regards to distance learning.