It's kind of ironic: While new technology has helped businesses reach new levels of productivity and profitability, it's always difficult to convince CFOs to make a buy decision. Anyone making a case for new technology investments has to be able to answer questions such as: How is this going to improve our bottom line? Is it going to increase revenue?
Similarly, end users want to know: How will a new technology help me do my job better - or make my life easier?
IP Telephony isn't immune from these trends. Anyone pitching IP Telephony should expect to catch these same questions. Fortunately, there are some good answers.
First, you need to recognize that there are multiple ways of implementing IP Telephony - voiceover-IP gateways, PC phones and LAN PBXs. The array of choices removes a major constraint: More than one migration path exists; each organization can pursue the path that makes the most sense to them.
Second, IP Telephony solutions address significant enterprise network goals: These include:
* Reducing costs.
* Consolidating communication facilities.
* Simplifying management and consolidating support staff.
* Improving customer service and increasing revenue.
* Improving productivity.
* Protecting existing investments.
Consider, for example, how IP Telephony gateways can affect the performance and cost of an enterprise network. Let's assume that your company has branch-office locations that need to be linked with a voice/data communication network.
IP Telephony gateways can send real-time and non-real-time telephony information, such as voice, fax and voice mail, over a data network. The benefits include reduced cost through toll bypass - especially if one of the locations is outside North America - and/or consolidation of wide-area facilities. IP Telephony gateways also help preserve investments in networking systems, because existing PBX/key system phones, fax machines, routers and hubs usually remain in place.
Third, from a management/operations standpoint, IP Telephony gateway solutions offer:
* Simple administration and maintenance: Since an IP Telephony gateway ultimately enables voice and data to be carried on a single, unified network, network management will be streamlined.
* Transparent operation for users: Acting as a "translator" between the voice environment and the data network, most IP Telephony gateways enable use of existing desktop telephony devices. The process for making and receiving calls remains unchanged when an IP Telephony gateway is installed.
Implementation Options
There are multiple approaches to implementing IP Telephony gateways [ILLUSTRATION FOR FIGURE 1 OMITTED]. These include:
* Standalone. server-based solutions.
* Adding voice ports to routers or LAN switches.
* Adding IP mink cards to PBXs.
The first two options - external gateways such as router-based voice ports and external servers - make sense under specific circumstances. For example, if your current PBX does not support an integrated IP trunk card, the external approach is the only alternative. Similarly, if your organization is planning a major upgrade to your data network, investige the external/server implementation models.
However, the key advantage to deploying integrated IP trunk cards into your PBXs is that there will be virtually no disruption/risk to operations; moreover, all of your existing investments in networking products are protected, Integrated IP Telephony gateway cards are administered and maintained like any other PBX trunk card, and basic features like call-detail records and class-of-service restrictions apply. Importantly, no special dialing is necessary - the service is transparent to users.
As an integrated component of the PBX, an IP trunk card delivers very high levels of reliability and availability. These cards can "look ahead" into the network before setting up a call and thus ensure a high QOS (quality of service); calls can automatically be rerouted to traditional voice facilities when the data network cannot provide the required quality.
It's About More than Cheap Long Distance
The initial buzz about IP Telephony gateways was based on the ability to save on long-distance costs, via network consolidation or toll bypass. That benefit can be substantial, but there is more, much more to IP Telephony than cheap long distance rates.
For example, we're seeing innovative applications that marry the World Wide Web and call centers (Web-enabled call centers). Another important application of IP Telephony involves extending PBX functionality to remote workers via a single IP connection. Each of these is discussed below:
* IP-enabled Call Centers: In the same way that call centers have used voice mail and IVR (Interactive Voice Response) to improve customer service and increase revenues, call centers are increasingly looking for ways to enable transactions via the Internet and World Wide Web. We're already seeing specialized servers - called Email or Web-Request servers - that meet this emerging requirement.
Customers can send an email requesting, for example, more information about your company's products, from your corporate website. That electronic message is routed to the most appropriate call-center agent for handling; this is analogous to skill-based routing familiar to voice-based call center applications. The server also monitors what's happened to minimize the risk of a customer not receiving a response.
As the public Internet evolves to support high-quality, real-time, voice communications, rapid handling of Web-based customer interactions can be complemented with voice-button solutions: real-time voice interaction with the call-center agent. These solutions exist today, but tend to be problematic; quality of service for real-time voice over the Internet tends to be highly variable. A "call-back" scenario, where the customer provides a telephone number to the call center agent for a rerum call over the telephone network, promises a higher quality connection for voice.
* Remote workers: The ubiquity of IP network access can be leveraged to enable a telecommuter to extend his or her desktop - voice and data to remote sites, including home, airport or hotel room. Using a single dial-up connection, users can access data services - such as email, file and print services and database access - as well as important PBX-based services and features, such as voice mail, conference, hold and message-waiting.
* Forwarding calls from the office to the remote worker's location: The forwarding is transparent to the caller, who simply places a call using the employee's regular telephone number. For the remote worker, features like conference and transfer work just as if they were at the desk back at the office.
* Placing and receiving calls over a multimedia computer: In some applications, the personal computer essentially becomes an IP phone. IP Telephony software creates a "soft phone," with the handset usually replaced by a CTI headset. Alternatively, some applications support the use of a Universal Serial Bus (USB) phone which offers the benefit of a familiar interface - keypad and handset - for users.
* Collaboration: IP-based applications are emerging that significantly enhance real-time communication and collaboration through the Web and existing telephony systems. They enable geographically-dispersed employees to create "virtual meeting rooms" on an intranet using voice, chat and document sharing. Logging into a virtual conference room is as easy as logging onto a Web page, and documents can be presented interactively to groups, accompanied by voice. These new applications represent the next step in the evolution of collaboration, moving to truly integrated multimedia, multi-person collaboration.
Success Factors for IP Telephony
A number of important considerations will affect whether a migration to voice/data convergence and IP Telephony succeeds. The product/technology-specific issues are discussed in the checklist on this page ("Checklist of Considerations"), while the company-specific considerations are discussed below.
* Public Internet vs. Managed Intranet: The Internet is a collection of thousands of individual networks and organizations, and there is no centralized management. As new users gain access and as new services are offered, Internet traffic flow becomes less predictable and access becomes more difficult.
By contrast, private, IP-based data networks offer more manageability and control than the public Internet. With access and traffic flows regulated and controlled, network latency, delay and availability can be managed, and thus the network becomes more conducive to voice and other real-time traffic applications. While new standards and technologies will emerge to make the Internet acceptable for voice, for now, managed IP facilities are the only practical option.
* User acceptance: IP Telephony solutions should retain familiar dialing plans and rely on intuitive end-user interfaces and/or familiar desktop appliances.
* Control of infrastructure: Existing managed IP networks (private or virtual private networks) can be used to launch real-time, IP Telephony applications. However, it will be critical to assess and manage the effect telephony traffic will have on your data network. Some enterprise networks already have sufficient bandwidth and a design that is conducive to converged communications. But many others will have to phase in IP Telephony in conjunction with network upgrades in the areas of capacity and intelligence.
* Support organizations: While some enterprises have been cross-training staff for years, in many others there are still barriers to unifying the technical support teams. However, make no mistake: These teams are necessary.
* Incremental implementation: Anyone with experience in networking knows that flash-cuts to the unfamiliar rarely succeed. Migrating to converged networks and to IP Telephony on an incremental basis minimizes risks, lets you protect investments in existing equipment and provides a learning curve that is essential for your technical staff and end users.
* Reliability: Does the system provide the level of reliability and uptime you require for your business operations? What are the backup capabilities in case of failure?
Conclusion
Can a business case be made for IP Telephony? Absolutely. The benefits are real - cost savings, simplified management and increased productivity and revenues - and the technology is available.
However, the key question is whether IP Telephony is right for your business. To determine the answer - and to identify the specific areas in which it would be most applicable - you must make a thorough evaluation of your enterprise network operations, the direction in which your business is moving and the appropriate networking tools that can help move it along the chosen direction.
RELATED ARTICLE: Symantec - Pushing Convergence In The Here And Now
Everyone knows the line separating voice and data is blurring but, until recently, very few companies had figured out how to leverage the new reality. Symantec Corp., the world leader in utility software for business and personal computing, is studying how to make the most of voice/data integration and the promise of the Internet.
"The integration of voice and data isn't happening overnight," said Jason Conyard, director of worldwide communications for Symantec, "but it is happening, and we need to start understanding its implications and possibilities."
Nortel Networks' Meridian IP Telecommuter and Line Card will play an important role in Symantec's evolving strategy. "Convergence is about choice and about providing new applications," Conyard continued. "Meridian IP Telecommuter will give mobile employees more flexibility to access information and a chance to improve productivity."
The Meridian IP Telecommuter is Windows 95/98-based software client that turns a multimedia PC or laptop into a complete remote-office solution - IP data service as well as a real-time voice communication terminal - over a single analog line. Mobile suers can call from homes, hotels, airports or other remote locations using Nortel Networks' Meridian 9617 Universal Serial Bus (USB) phone, which connects directly to a PC's USB port. There is an optional capability - using a headset with IP Telecommuter's softphone - which emulates common features of Meridian digital phones and gives users a more familiar interface.
Symantec initially implemented Meridian IP Telecommuter with six employees, and recently extended it to members of the management team in preparation for eventually rolling it out to a larger number of employees. "The trend is gradually moving from proprietary dial-up services for remote access, such as dedicated gateways for email, to more open systems," Conyard said. "We at Symantec want to provide a remote access portal not just for email but also for voice and video.
"Right now, I see us using Meridian IP Telecommuter for remote and mobile users to whom quality of service is important but not critical," he added. "As quality of service over IP matures, we can leverage IP more and extend those services to the desktop. Over time, I think we will see people use products like IP Telecommuter internally, as well."
One of the things Conyard likes about the product is that if offers the user a choice between using the softphone with a headset or a USB phone, which looks like a traditional handset. "People are very comfortable with handsets," he said. "No one is going to snuggle up on the couch or walk around the office with his or her PC."
"Nortel Networks is headed in the right direction with IP Telecommuter. It takes the concept of the mobile office to the next step," Conyard went on. "We envision it as a significant productivity enhancer. It is easy to set up, requires no extra hardware, will help reduce the cost of ownership, make network management simpler and increase integration of various capabilities at the desktop.
"We're really going to push Meridian IP Telecommuter and see what the challengers and opportunities are," he said. "People are starting to think of creative ways to use it. The product has turned the light on for people who've used it and made them realize that voice/data convergence is really coming."
RELATED ARTICLE: Checklist of Considerations
When implementing IP Telephony solutions, enterprises must consider how well the proposed solutions deliver the following:
* Quality of Service: How does the solution deal with concerns such as availability, latency, jitter, priority, predictability and delay? For characteristics such as delay, the IP Telephony equipment is only part of the equation; the performance characteristics of the data network must be taken into consideration as well. The actual network the voice will traverse can be affected by factors such as bandwidth and the number of router hops along the end-to-end communication path.
* Security: Are PBX features such as class-of-service or authorization codes being leveraged?
* Accounting/billing: Do you need all your call-detail records - are calls on your voice network and data network captured in a centralized manner?
* Management: How will the solution be managed? Can it be incorporated with existing voice-management solutions? Is it easy and intuitive? Can it support SNMP alarm traps?
* Interoperability: Is this a proprietary solution or one based on IP Telephony standards? Are your choices for voice compression based on industry standards?
* Scalability: How many ports are needed for the amount of traffic expected over your IP network? Can ports be added simply, or is there a point at which potentially expensive additional hardware will be required?
* Cost - both short-term (product) and overall cost of ownership: Product cost is only part of the cost equation. What is the total cost of ownership? Can the solution be managed and maintained by existing staff? Is maintenance covered in existing agreements? Are change-outs or updates required elsewhere in the network to support the solution being considered?
* Investment protection: How well does the solution fit into the existing communications infrastructure? What is the vendor's reputation for protecting investments? Can the solution be adapted to support additional capabilities in the future?
Ann Swenson has product marketing responsibilities for Nortel Networks Meridian I IP Access and Applications, and she leads strategic market planning and market introduction activities for desktop and network IP Telephony applications in North America. Her experience also includes introducing ISDN PRI and BRI services for Meridian 1 communication systems.
