Benefits of migrating Voice Traffic to the Data Network
Telecommuting with Albert Chinamano
We once introduced the concept of convergence, but many decision
makers would ask, what does convergence mean to them? While
the rapid pace of change is taking place in communications
technology today, business decision makers face both compelling
opportunities and potentially costly pitfalls. Convergence—whereby
voice, fax, data and multimedia traffic are transmitted over
a single multipurpose network, is a particularly delicate
issue.
The business and technological advantages of combining a
company’s various types of communications over a common
infrastructure are appealing. These advantages include lower
recurring transmission charges, reduced long-term network
ownership costs and the ability to deploy a wide range of
powerful voice-enabled applications. On the downside, technology
professionals are concerned with the quality of voice calls
on the data network, the stability of voice-over-IP (VoIP)
solutions, and the consequences of being prematurely locked-in
to a given vendor’s architecture. A lack of expertise
and experience with VoIP technology is also preventing many
organizations from taking even the most tentative first steps
into the world of convergent networking.
Fortunately, with the right strategy and the right technical
architecture, business and IT decision-makers don’t have
to postpone their exploration of VoIP indefinitely.
Here are some of the VoIP rewards
While there is plenty of debate in the telecommunications
industry about how’s and when’s of network convergence,
there is complete consensus on the why’s. In fact, there
is really nothing speculative about these core benefits; they
are already being experienced by aggressive early adopters
of technologies such as voiceover-IP. In general, these benefits
can be classified into three main categories:
Lower Recurring Transmission Charges
By directing voice calls over the corporate data network,
rather than through a carrier, companies can significantly
reduce their monthly phone bills. These savings are obviously
dependent on several factors, including the volume of inter
company calls and the distances between calls to be made.
Companies with national offices, obviously, can experience
the greatest savings, since they can eliminate a great deal
of long-distance charges.
Economic Factors
The economic appeal of transmitting voice calls over the
data network arises from two technical factors. First, data
networks almost always have spare capacity. Network managers
typically over-provision IP networks to allow room for growth
and to avoid congestion during periods of peak utilization.
At the same time, voice calls consume relatively little bandwidth.
The characteristics of human speech, especially the comparatively
large amount of silence that takes place during conversations,
allows for a great deal of compression in the digitized transport
of the call. This makes it possible for voice to "piggyback"
on existing data network connections without requiring investments
in adding to the capacity of those connections. Even when
such additions have to be made because of call volumes, those
costs are typically a fraction of the recurring costs charged
by carriers to carry that same calling volume.
The Ability to Deploy Powerful New Integrated Voice-And-Data
Applications
Of course, businesses don’t exist just to save money.
They exist to make money, gain market-share, and serve customers.
That’s why the most compelling.htmlect of converged voice/data
networking may well be the new generation of applications
it enables. These applications include Web-enabled call centers,
unified messaging and real-time collaboration. Take the example
of a Web-enabled call center. One of the biggest obstacles
that companies face in converting Web site visitors into Web
site buyers is poor online interaction.. But using VoIP, site
visitors can click a button and open up a voice conversation
with a real, live call center agent who can quickly address
any question or problem the customer might have. In fact,
the full business potential of such applications is only beginning
to be discovered. But one thing is clear: these integrated
voice-and-data applications will require a converged IP network.
This last point is indicative of what is perhaps the most
critical reason that business executives must move forward
and at least pilot VoIP in one way or another within their
organizations: future readiness. Three or four years ago,
the Internet was not ready for prime- during periods of peak
utilization
Reduced Long-term Network Ownership Costs
In addition to reducing a company’s monthly phone bills,
converged network architecture also reduces the ongoing costs
of owning two separate networks—one for voice and one
for data. These costs include the need to buy two separate
sets of equipment, the staff time dedicated to the "care
and feeding" of that equipment, the licensing of any
software relating to the management of that equipment, and
the monitoring of traffic on the two networks.
Personnel costs are of particular concern to communications
and IT departments at this time. With the Internet revolution
in full swing, the demand for skilled, experienced technicians
far outstrips supply. This has driven salaries for voice and
data network staff through the roof, and has also made it
difficult to recruit and retain such engineering talent.
These are just but some of the rewards that come with converging
networks. Next week we will look at the options available
in implementing the VoIP technologies.
Africom Pvt Ltd proudly brings these technology updates
to you as part of its community service program
NB: This information is aimed to provide general insights
of issues covered. The author or Africom Private Limited shall
not be held responsible of any decisions made based on the
information.
Private Limited shall not be held responsible of any decisions
made based on the information.
Click here to visit our
Newsletter Archives
|
