Internet Telephones — Too Good To Be True? by Bronson Tang
July 22nd, 2008Do internet telephones sound too good to be true?
Well that was exactly what I was thinking, so I decided to delve into the world of Internet telephony (also known as VOIP or IP-TELEPHONY) to hear what all the noise was about. In researching this particular subject I wasn’t quite sure where to begin so I decided to take a tactical approach toward learning about this constantly growing technology and how it can benefit businesses. The primary focus of my questioning was to determine whether or not there truly is a benefit for businesses to crossover from their existing phone call center SYSTEMS to this newly emerging technology.
WHAT IS INTERNET TELEPHONY?Voice Over Internet Protocol is a process of sending voice telephone SIGNALS over the Internet or other data network. The terms is used interchangeably with the phrase “Internet telephony”.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS FOR BUSINESSES?
The benefits of Internet telephony seem to break down as follows:
- COST savings — there is an increased choice in the number of plans a business can choose and reduced start up costs
- USABILITY — provides more features and flexibility such as blocked calls and unlimited bridge conferencing
- COVERAGE — businesses are no longer limited geographically
- PRODUCTIVITY — the internet telephony interface is like a web page which is easier to manage then a traditional call center phone system, and users no longer have to ferret out features and functionality of their phone system
- EASE of use — user’s experience is significantly improved because they can get more out of the telephone system and return on investment is higher than traditional phone sets.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CONCERNS?During a recent telecommunications tradeshow visit, I posed this question to many of the vendors, partners, speakers and participants. While some of the concerns varied there appeared to be three primary concerns:
- RELIABILITY — jitters, breaks and cracks are a few clarity and connection problems experienced when voice is transmitted over the Internet
- SECURITY –
- CONFIGURATION and set up –
QUESTIONS TO ASKHere are some of the questions you should ask your Internet telephony provider before signing up:
- What is your current business MODEL?
- Do you provide the TRANSPORT and the application?
- Can you describe your PROCESS? (the simpler the better)
- Where are you going with the IMPLEMENTATION?
- What’s your direction? Do you have a VISION?
- Have you implemented this and do you know as a customer that it WORKS?
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