As the “VoIP juggernaut” continues on what seems to be its inevitable expansion, more and more companies are getting ready to make the leap. Still, it’s not as simple as throwing a switch; care has to be taken to assure that you – and more importantly your infrastructure – are ready for the changeover.

To that end, WhichVoIP.co.za, a directory website containing a comprehensive list of South Africa’s top VoIP providers, has come out with some suggestions for anyone considering adding VoIP to its business arsenal.

“For business communications, stellar performance and solid dependability are key, and that is what users have become accustomed to thanks to excellent delivery by landlines,” said Mitchell Barker, founder and CEO of WhichVoIP.co.za, in a story posted on industry news daily IT-Online. “So to ensure that they will get the same from their VoIP, a thorough application impact study should be completed before deploying any system.”

Barker reached out to Brian Driessel, Managing Director at MIA Telecoms, for his insights on the matter.

“In order to work best, VoIP needs sufficient bandwidth, so check your business’s current Internet connection and speed to see if it will be able to take the strain,” Driessel advised. “If it doesn’t, calls will experience quality issues, such as jitter, meaning that the audio will be continually interrupted and broken up. Checking whether you have enough bandwidth is a simple task, but a crucial one which could save you a lot of hassle in the long-run,” he added.

Barker also managed to get in a short plug for his own business as well.

“This seems glaringly obvious and logical, of course, but the provider you choose is extremely important,” he noted. “You need to find a provider with a solid reputation, a good track record in terms of professionalism and security, and who will ensure that you will have minimal downtime, so that your business communications will run smoothly on a day-to-day basis, and who will be quick to send out technicians and sort out problems when hitches do occur,” he added.

There should also be a testing phase, Barker said. “Just as any website goes through a beta testing phase first before it goes live, the VoIP technology should be put through the paces first too, to see how it performs, how your staff copes with it and how it runs on your company’s network.”

In short, do your homework.