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SOA/WEB SERVICES FEATURE ARTICLES


January 30, 2006

Enterprise VoIP Adoption to Soar

By Erik Linask, Associate Editor,
Internet Telephony magazine


By Erik Linask
Associate Editor, INTERNET TELEPHONY
 
Early risers at day two of IT EXPO were welcomed by Time Warner Telecom’s Vice President of Business Development and Strategy Michael Rouleau. His address, which he named, “VoIP, it’s not just for the consumer anymore,” gave insight as to where consumers and enterprises alike stand in their adoption of Voice over IP technology and why.
 
The last few years have seen significant decline in traditional retail voice products and real growth in mobile industry. This trend has been largely forced by the deployment of more and more wireless networks, the integration of new types of media, and advanced IP solutions, all of which is rapidly displacing the traditional PBX system.
 
On the consumer side, much of the interest centers around PC-to-PC voice applications, like Skype and GoogleTalk.  But for the enterprise market, the question becomes how to build a robust, cost-effective infrastructure while still addressing an ever-increasing variety of requirements.
 
Both cost and access tend to be at the forefront of the minds of decision-makers, though many seem to be willing to incur a cost increase to keep pace with new and greater demands for access — a cost increase of 5% to 10% annually through the end of the decade is expected.
 
From a service provider perspective, the major change has been the transition from circuit switching to packet switching technology.  The problem tends to be that very few are offering new and exciting solutions. Instead, they are offering the same services enterprises and residential customers alike are used to, only through newer, updated infrastructures.
 
For residential customers, we’re really talking about simply a POTS substitute without many new services. Most service providers are focused on getting as many minutes to as many people as possible at the lowest possible cost. They are not focusing on providing new or better services. But that will change; as new players move into the market, incumbent providers will be forced to adopt new services to remain competitive.
 
In the enterprise space, the adoption of VoIP technology has not been quite where it might be, but the pace is expected to increase dramatically —  by 2010, 90% of devices shipped will be VoIP-enabled.
 
The big question is why are enterprises willing to make the switch to VoIP? Naturally, explained Rouleau, the number one reason is “to save a buck,” which is accomplished in several ways. Infrastructure costs are reduced by as much as 50% by having to run only one wire to each desktop; site-to-site communications via the IP network can greatly reduce toll charges; portability and telecommuting possibilities can increase productivity as well as reduce infrastructure costs; and IP solutions can also help address disaster recovery and business continuity — something that is on the minds of all enterprises today.
 
The greatest inhibitor to more dramatic adoption is that VoIP technology simply has not yet been proven. “It’s OK to drop a call or hear only every fourth word when you’re using a mobile device,” explained Rouleau, but people expect considerably more in terms of QoS and reliability when sitting at the office. And there are also the horror stories that tend to circulate much more quickly than service providers would like, and the fact that, being a new technology, potential stumbling blocks regarding scalability and access have been difficult to predict.
 
So, for VoIP to gain traction, service providers, first and foremost, have to demonstrate experience in delivering solutions and resolving issues. Trends in thinking will certainly help the process along — enterprises are serious about business continuity, they are considering the advantages of converged networks and potential new voice applications. As its acceptance increases, business VoIP will become les premise-centric and new applications will enable more possibilities, which will result in 95% of businesses adopting by the end of the decade.

SOA/WEB SERVICES





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