The promise of streamlined communications and lowered cost is clear in the information touted about Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Businesses of all sizes are promised that and more if they make the switch, either in-house or through a hosted provider. All communication ills can be solved and complex decisions are eliminated.
It sounds great, but let’s be real – making a technology change can have its pitfalls. As much as VoIP offers, it can also crash and burn. Before you decide to make the switch, let’s take a look at some of the pitfalls you need to avoid and how VoIP monitoring could play a part.
The Economic Voice recently published a piece on the topic, offering some great insight into what you need to be sure and avoid. The best way to protect yourself is to keep a few key questions in mind when talking to providers:
- What is the foundation of the system? If you plan to scale at any point, this is an important question. Look for carrier grade platforms such as Nortel CS2K, Broadsoft, Mitel or Cisco (News - Alert) HCS.
- Where is traffic traversing the Internet? In other words, is it going over the public or the private Internet? Private is always better as the public Internet can easily affect your call quality. Also ask what codec is used for call traffic and look for G711 as it is compressed and provides better quality.
- What benefits do they suggest for VoIP compared with your PBX (News - Alert)? If the focus is only on free calls, business continuity, number retention and the like, the provider may be missing key value offerings. Look for those that also focus on flexibility, scalability, ease of deployment and how VoIP fits into the current marketplace.
- Do they issue numbers? If the provider is issuing numbers from someone else, it could affect porting in the future.
- Number of users: More than 15,000 users means the provider is large and has demonstrated success in the market. You can also ask about their VoIP monitoring capabilities.
- What is the length of the contract? While every provider benefits from the long-term contract, it does not mean you have to agree to more than 12 months. Ask how headsets and other hardware are provided and if you’re tied to a longer contract as a result.
While there are a couple of other questions you should ask, keeping this list of six handy will be essential to ensuring you don’t make a mistake when you make your decision. The key is to do your homework thoroughly before taking the leap and you’ll be better positioned to enjoy the benefits.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson