Ease into VoIP

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Ease into VoIP

• What is the right mix of TDM and VoIP connections

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Connectivity vs Applications

• Connectivity is the link between two or more
  parties for an interaction (voice, etc.).
• Applications enhance the interactions. For
  example, IVR applications, ACD applications, PBX
  applications, etc. for voice interactions.
• It is the application that businesses really
  want.
• The connectivity is just the necessary means to
  bringing people together for the interaction with
  the application.

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Some applications require certain types of
connectivity

• For example Your old PBX requires a certain
  type of connectivity (ISDN, Trunk groups, POTS
  lines, etc) in order to leverage the applications
  such as voice mail, hunt groups, etc. available
  in the PBX.
• Modern communications applications are now being
  built that are connectivity independent
• Allows for greater flexibility in deployment to
  utilize both TDM and VoIP connectivity methods
• Allows for easier disaster recovery and business
  continuity

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Modern Communications Application Platforms

• Provide robust IVR, ACD, CTI, and more to all
  stations over any connectivity method.
• Centralized management of applications so that it
  is transparent to both the caller and the agent
  regardless of connectivity to both parties.
• Optimize costs based on best use of the
  connectivity and costs of the connectivity.

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World of Connectivity

• Circuit switched based TDM POTS
• Found in nearly every home and business
• Circuit based TDM POTS over radio (wireless)
• Second line and sometimes primary line for
  millions of individuals and business people
• Circuit based TDM Dedicated
• Medium to Large businesses utilize dedicated Ts
• Packet based over IP networks
• Available to homes and businesses with broadband
  or Dedicated Internet Access

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Usage Cost Influences

• TDM POTS Per minute usage
• TDM Wireless Blocks of minutes for usage with
  overage charges per minute
• TDM Dedicated Monthly Charge for dedicated
  bandwidth in blocks of usually 23 lines.
• VoIP Monthly Charge per line for Service with
  no per minute usage charges

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Equipment Cost Influences

• TDM POTS Inexpensive, easy to acquire, easy to
  setup hardware
• TDM Wireless Moderately expensive, easy to
  acquire, easy to setup hardware
• TDM Dedicated Very expensive, moderately
  difficult to acquire, difficult to setup and
  maintain hardware
• VoIP Moderately expensive, not easy to acquire,
  very difficult to setup and maintain hardware

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Personnel Influences

• TDM POTS Almost anybody can support this
• TDM Wireless Almost anybody can support this
• TDM Dedicated Requires trained
  telecommunications specialists to support this
• VoIP Requires specialist with skills in
  telecommunications and IP to support this

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Putting it all together

• In an effort to put it all together I have
  created a workbook to help
• compare different scenarios and end up with a
  solid dollar figure
• Understand and document some of the costs
  associated with different types of connectivity
• Actually see which type of connectivity may be
  the most economical for the application
• I would be happy to provide it to anyone
  herecontact details later.

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First part is determining scenarios
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Second is to gather information
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Third is to evaluate results
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Scenarios

• Are you comparing two different connectivity
  options for the same group?
• Are you comparing the same connectivity options
  for different groups?

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Gathering Information TDM POTS/Wireless

• How many agents/stations?
• In order to compare to usage based costs we will
  need to know
• The number of minutes per agent/station per
  month.
• The average cost per minute of that usage
• Any special equipment necessary for TDM based
  agents
• The monthly cost of agent TDM phone lines
• The monthly cost of internet access (broadband or
  DIA) for each agent/station.

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Gathering information TDM Dedicated

• In order to compare the TDM Dedicated
  connectivity we will need
• The monthly cost of a voice T-1
• The number of channels per T-1
• The cost of any special equipment necessary to
  get up and running with a T-1 across all
  locations
• The monthly cost of internet access used by all
  agents/stations utilizing a voice T-1
• The number of agents that can utilize the
  internet access quoted above before more
  bandwidth needs to be ordered and added

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Gathering Information - VoIP

• In order to compare the VoIP connectivity option
  we will need
• The monthly cost of a local loop for DIA
• The monthly cost of the DIA port
• The total bandwidth in Kbps available in the DIA
  quoted above
• The amount of bandwidth consumed by each
  agent/station when in conversation
• The monthly cost of any special QOS services
  purchased with the DIA port
• The cost of all equipment necessary to get up and
  running with VoIP
• The monthly cost of the VoIP service per
  agent/station.

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Evaluating the Results

• For each scenario and for each type of
  connectivity there are two costs to evaluate
• 1. The one time costs associated with purchasing
  the equipment necessary this is called NRC
  (non-recurring costs)
• 2. The monthly costs associated with the service
  and usage for that connectivity to interact with
  the application platform. This is called MRC
  (monthly recurring costs)
• Both NRCs and MRCs are important in the
  evaluation
• The cost of staff is not necessarily accounted
  forso be sure and think about who you have in
  your organization to actually manage your premise
  based infrastructure.

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Some patterns to look for

• When NRCs are high, the payback period compared
  to other options may be further out than it
  appears.
• In areas where the cost of Voice T-1s are low,
  it is harder to economically justify a move to
  VoIP. There will need to be other reasons to
  justify the move.
• When agents/stations dont handle too much
  volume, paying for what you use in a POTS
  scenario is usually the right way to go.

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Remember, it doesnt have to be all or nothing

• A good modern communications application platform
  will be able to allow you to utilize the right
  mix of TDM and VoIP connectivity seamlessly.
• A smart call center will also plan for disaster
  and build in seamless adaptation across different
  connectivity methods to ensure they are always
  able to answer the next call.

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Scenario Builder Workbook

• Provide your business card or send me an
  emailand I would be happy to send you a copy of
  the Scenario Builder Workbook discussed today.
• greg.smart_at_ucn.net

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Questions?