VoIP: Part VII Calling PC To Px
Makes Sense
The Logic of PC-to-Phone and PC-to-PC Calling in Todays
PC-Centric World BY LIOR HARAMATY
It is clear to most readers of INTERNET TELEPHONY� that more and more of our
communications are being cannibalized by intelligent endpoints, such as our PCs,
communicating over IP-based networks. Think about how many times a day you reach for your
computer to communicate with others. First, e-mail became an essential part of our
communications habits providing a highly efficient form of communications in our personal
and business lives. Our attachment to computers for basic communications continued as our
dependence grew on the World Wide Web for commerce and distributing information. Soon
voice migrated to the Internet in the form of PC-to-Px calls (by which I mean PC-to-PC and
PC-to-phone calls). PC-to-Px simply makes sense because of the advantages of IP-based
networks, namely cost, convenience, ease of use, innovation and integration, and enhanced
services.
Cost
Initiating voice calls from a multimedia PC over an IP network to regular telephones or
other multimedia PCs mimics our increasingly electronic communications habits in a number
of important ways. First of all, there is the price issue. Were used to our PC-based
communications services, like e-mail and Web surfing, being nearly free due to the highly
competitive nature of the Internet Service Provider (ISP) business. Internet telephony
exploits this same market dynamic. PC-to-PC calls cost no more then e-mail. Though not
free (at least not yet), PC-to-phone calls are far more cost competitive then regular
telephone calls. Like other Internet-based applications, PC-to-phone calls empower
consumers by freeing them to choose from a broader array of service providers. Competition
and resulting innovation in this sector are responsible for the ever-increasing high rate
of improved and more cost effective services now available to PC-to-Px users.
Convenience
Secondly, there is the convenience factor. We have become used to our computers informing
us of incoming messages that integrate e-mail text and instant messaging with attached
files and Web addresses. Integrating voice into this mixture is a logical extension of our
PC-based communications habits. This habit is reinforced by the growing user friendliness
of powerful PC-based applications that are storing more and more of our personal and
business information whether its our financial forms, to-do lists, or
calendars. The information we need today to make important decisions is more than likely
stored on our computers. If its not, its probably not that important.
The value of traditional telephones is dropping dramatically due to their lack of
interconnectedness to our increasingly PC-centric communications routines. For example,
for many callers, making a regular phone call often starts with accessing a database
program from our computers to get a phone number. These callers then have to go to the
regular phone, push an endless stream of numbers (especially for long-distance calls),
often only to get an automated answering service. Callers then have to start the process
all over. They have to go to the computer, get another number for the same party, and on
and on and on
Ease Of Use
IP telephony collapses this process. Accessing a phone number and dialing a
number is reduced to a single click of a button to establish a voice connection. In
addition to this added convenience, with PC-to-PC calls, voice is only part of the
communication being conducted. The users experience is much more than just a
telephone voice call. PC-to-PC can offer higher audio quality and support real-time data
collaboration and video. Imagine calls where you can talk to someone and simultaneously
show the other person a document that you can both edit, see the person at the other end,
jointly surf to other Web sites and share images of your new furniture or your baby
walking. More than that, people who travel with a portable computer, can use it for
PC-to-Px communications from wherever they are, using the same familiar and cost-effective
tools.
Innovation & Integration
Plus, PC-to-Px is more integrated into our other PC-based activities. IP telephony
applications can be seamlessly integrated into organizational applications like electronic
phone books and calendars. Users reviewing their calendars can simply click on a button
from their PC-based calendar application to establish a voice call from their multimedia
PC with friends or business acquaintances to schedule or reschedule an event. For example,
an employee can instantly resolve a scheduling conflict by clicking on a button in a
calendar application that will establish a voice conference call from the employees
multimedia PC to all the involved parties in the scheduled event.
IP telephony applications can be seamlessly integrated into WWW applications as well.
Web-to-phone calls streamline the process for voice calls between online shoppers and
merchants or employees accessing information at an internal corporate Web site. Say,
Im online and checking out a Web site that sells PCs. I find the exact PC Im
looking for, but I have a question that is not addressed anywhere on the Web site.
Previously, I would have had two choices. First, I could have searched the site for a
toll-free number, gone offline, gone to my regular phone, dialed the phone number, waded
through the companys IVR system, finally gotten a company representative, detailed
to the rep my search activities, the computer Im interested in, and then and
only then asked my question. My other choice would have been to bypass this
nightmare completely and simply surf to a competitors site.
Enhanced Services
In the New World of Web-to-phone calling, the gulf between corporate
call centers and Web sites is bridged. Imagine if the PC Web site I visited had
Web-to-phone capabilities. As soon as I had a question not addressed by the Web site, I
could click on a Web-to-phone icon and connect to a company representative that would
immediately see what page I was on, together with a history of my recent search
activities. Prepped with this information, the representative would be far better able to
address my question in an informed and timely manner. Plus, the representative could
illustrate answers by securely guiding my browser to other Web pages to provide a more
informative (possibly even multimedia) description of available products. Enabling
assistance in filling out forms over the Web or pushing pages to show a user
relevant information, all combined with voice, improves the customers experience and
improves the closing rate for the company.
CONCLUSION
Just as PC users are used to customizing their communications applications to suit their
needs, IP telephony applications are more conducive than traditional calling to new
follow me capabilities. As IP telephony applications become more and more
sophisticated, users will grow used to having a single dynamic address that they can
program to terminate calls at their home phone, business phone, PC, cell phone, and
answering service whenever they want it. With IP telephony, you are no longer calling a
device but a dynamic address that is routed to one device or another per the callers
preference.
For those of us who are used to voice calls from their PCs, traditional phone calls are
as much of a nuisance as paper-based communications are to people used to e-mail. The ease
of clicking on an icon to open a voice connection to a colleague, friend, or family member
is an easy habit to develop. There is simply no turning back once youve experienced
the convenience of adding voice to the current mixture of PCbased communications
applications that we rely so heavily upon.
Lior Haramaty is a co-founder of VocalTec Communications and belongs to the
original group that started the VoIP industry. Haramaty has dealt with passing audio over
data networks since the late 80s. VocalTec started shipping VoIP products in the early
90s. Haramaty has a multidisciplinary background in the business, technology and marketing
fields, is a co-inventor on VoIP patents, and has initiated and spear-headed standards
activities in the industry. The goal of this column is to clearly explain issues related
to voice (and other media) over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to anyone, including the
acronym-impaired person. Requests for future column subjects are welcomed.
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