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What is VoIP and how can my business benefit?

What is VoIP?

Voice over Internet Protocol is a way of making voice calls over your Internet connection. As your business is already paying for that connection, this can be a very cost effective method to make calls to remote staff, other offices in the UK or abroad.

How does it work?

The most favoured way now is to use an IP phone that connects directly to your PC and thus to the Internet. An IP phone looks just like a normal handset but has a different connector and usually plugs straight into your network router - the device that links your PC to the broadband connection. There are two other types of connection; analogue telephone adaptors (ATA) can be used to connect a standard phone to your computer for use with VoIP. These convert analogue signals to digital and back again. The other method is a direct peer-to-peer link between two computers; so long as they have a microphone, sound card and speakers, VoIP should work. For businesses that have a phone system, VoIP can be provided via SIP trunks and in certain instances extend the life-time of the phone system.

What do I need to use it?

A broadband connection to the Internet is essential (and a dedicated one for businesses with higher line access demands), but other than that, just the equipment appropriate to the type of connection as described above. If you want to give say 10 users access to VoIP, you will need a complete solution from Systemcare. We do however have an ideal FeaturePlus solution which is ideal for small home based business who talk regularly to other home or office based co-workers.

What is a soft-phone?

A soft-phone is software that resides on your PC to make it operate as an IP phone. You need software within IP phones of course, as well as on a PC that uses an ATA system. On larger VoIP implementations, either a hosted solution or hybrid (phone system with SIP trunks) solution would be provided.

Isn't VoIP only useful for companies with big networks and remote offices?

Organisations that are spread over a wide area find it easier to implement VoIP for their internal networks as they already have the infrastructure in place. For these companies they may upgrade a current leased line to cope with VoIP, or Systemcare can organise an ADSL MAX line with low contention rates, to deliver a guaranteed quality of service, and multiple lines within one ADSL connection.

What's the benefit?

For outbound calls, their cost savings would be much greater, as inter employee communication from remote offices would be free. Full call management on VoIP calls would also help in justifying this technology on an ongoing basis. For incoming calls it is easier to direct the call to the right individual first time, and you can also integrate VoIP with your CRM database and even your accounts systems. If you use a virtual private network (VPN) to enable some staff to work remotely or at home, these remote workers could use VoIP to work on the internal phone system instead of using mobiles.

If it is so good why doesn't everyone use it?

The problem up to now has been quality of service across the Internet - you need guaranteed bandwidth to run a good quality voice call - and awareness and availability. The quality issue is being addressed with new protocols and advanced in Internet technology. When all networks are digital this won't be an issue; BT is the first major telco to announce that it will take its entire network fully IP by 2009. Awareness of VoIP is growing and there are many good products on the market now, even for smaller businesses

Can I use VoIP over wireless broadband (i.e. through Internet hot spots?)

This will become more popular as more bandwidth becomes available within hot-spots for data download / data upload, voice calls…and eventually video conferencing.

Is it secure?

It's fairly safe to use the Internet to make phone calls - the 'tunnelling' protocols similar to those used in VPNs makes sure the connection stays open and stays secure. It is also advisable to have a good firewall in place. Systemcare will provide assistance on all these areas.

Do I have to throw away my old phone systems?

Definitely not! Most companies would never consider VoIP if they had to do this straight away. Our solutions allow your company to integrate VoIP with your existing infrastructure. If however your old PBX phone system is up for replacement, it could be the ideal time to implement a new digital system with VoIP capabilities which can be added with the minimum of fuss.

What's SIP?

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a peer-to-peer, multi-media signalling protocol that is the leading and preferred choice for VoIP. This technology has been adopted within all Systemcares VoIP offerings.

Am I OK using services like Skype™ and Vonage™?

These are essentially free services - you just register and you may need to buy some equipment if an ATA connection is in use. They do work but you really need to set up the time to talk beforehand and to make sure your PC is capable of using the services. It's also wise to ensure that you good all-round security on your PC if you are using these services as they can open back-doors into your system. If you want a slightly better version to this, please contact us to discuss our FeaturePlus service.