VOIP" SYSTEMS

1
VOIP" SYSTEMS

• prepared by
• Dean Adolpho
• Stephen Van Kampen-Lewis
• Michael Kelter
• Maureen Yee-Lam

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What is VOIP?

• Definition Voice-Over Internet Protocol
• VoIP- stands for Voice over Internet Protocol

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PSTN

• PSTN- stands for Public Switched Telephone
  Network
• Same thing as POTS (Plain Old Telephone System)

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PSTN
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VOIP
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Key Vendors

• ATT
• WorldCom
• Sprint

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Initial Reasons to Look at VoIP

• High costs of traditional phone lines
• Redundancy of multiple communication systems
• Phone service disruptions
• Old buildings, old phone lines
• Inconsistent service (eg. London)

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Benefits

• 1- Savings on phone bills
• Highest costs often between locations
• High costs for connecting/transferring calls
• Eg. DirecTV ? cost 0.01-0.02 per transfer
• Spends 60 million/yr on telecom
• 75 on connecting calls

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Benefits

• Increased Agility
• Faster installation of services than traditional
  phone lines
• Increased employee mobility
• Plug phone into any broadband outlet anywhere in
  the world and speak as though from home office

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Benefits

• Tactical Advatages
• Reduced network admin reduced hardware expenses
• Hardware upgrades improve entire network because
  dedicated voice system redundancy avoided
• Many telephony functions moved into software
  realm, thus easily modified

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Benefits

• Integrate things like unified paging system,
  emails, phone, faxing all from same platform
• Listen to and compose emails by phone
• Actual benefits not fully realized
• New technology not even invented yet

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Benefits

• Examples of Novel Use
• Hospital in Providence
• Nurses wear wireless communication badges
  attached to scrubs
• Patient monitors tapped into system for precision
  alerts

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VoIPs Vulnerabilities

• Currently there is
• no regulator
• no control
• no one person to validate whats on your network
• Voice spam (SPIT-Spam Over Internet Telephony)

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VoIPs Vulnerabilities

• Businesses with phone systems tied in to networks
  give hackers additional entry point into network

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VoIPs Challenges

• Maintaining call quality high quality sound
  requires a lot of bandwidth
• Data transmission problems

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VoIPs Challenges

• Network or computer crashes
• Power Outages

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Is VoIP the right solution for your business?

• Is your current phone system more than 5 years
  old?
• Most PBXs (in traditional phone systems) are
  fully depreciated in 5 years

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Is VoIP the right solution for your business?

• Do you have separate bills for high-speed
  internet access, local phone lines, and long
  distance services?
• Consolidating these services can save up to 20

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Is VoIP the right solution for your business?

• Are large amounts of monies spent on
  reconfiguring your current system?
• Each move, add or change (MAC) to a PBX is very
  costly

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Is VoIP the right solution for your business?

• Do you have telecommuters or a remote work-force?
• Productivity-enhancing features of VoIP have a
  powerful impact on remote work-forces efficiency

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Is VoIP the right solution for your business?

• Do you have the latest tools and functionality
  for office efficiency?
• Forward emails as wave files to anyone inside or
  outside your company
• Click to dial from your computer
• Review call logs online

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Buying VoIPSales Channels

• Buy from a local reseller
• Licensed, certified resellers have proven
  expertise, customer support, and quick response
  times for problems that require an on-site visit

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Buying VoIPPricing

• Prices vary depending on
• Features required
• Existing phone structure
• State of data network

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Buying VoIPChoosing a System

• Inquire about reusing existing equipment
• Compare phone systems and investigate details
  carefully
• Make sure system built on open standards

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Buying VoIPPlan For the Future

• Cost difference between including extra capacity
  at beginning of project and adding more hardware
  later is significant

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Buying VoIPDont Buy Used Equipment

• VoIP technology is evolving at rapid pace
• Even last years equipment is extremely dated
• Installation cost (significant portion of price)
  does not change whether system is old or new

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Buying VoIPInvestigate Your Vendor

• Dont take chances on unlicensed or unauthorized
  vendors
• Make sure you get all the administrator
  documentation and passwords

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Conclusion

• Overall we recommend careful integration
• Use pilot programs
• VoIP is becoming more and more commonplace
  because of cost savings and increased productivity

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Conclusion

• Must weigh the growing capabilities of young
  technology against its disruptive potential
• New way of doing business
• Needs careful planning well before deployment
• Decision to use VoIP should be made on case by
  case basis.
• ie. applications in call centers make a natural
  fit
• Overall we recommend careful integration
• perhaps a pilot program