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 Benefits
- FREE
calls between sites
- Employees
spread country or world wide work can from extensions of one number
and can transfer calls between each other as if in the same office
- New
features, e.g. Video Conferencing
- Better
stats on usage
- Increases
manageability
VOIP FAQ's
How
does it work?
What do I need to use it?
What is a soft-phone?
Isn't VoIP only useful for companies with big networks and remote offices?
What's the benefit?
If it is so good why doesn't everyone use it?
Can I use VoIP over wireless broadband (i.e. through
Internet hot spots?)
Is it secure?
Do I have to throw away my old phone systems?
What's SIP?
Am I OK using services like Skype™ and Vonage™?
How
does it work?
The most favoured way now is to use an IP phone that connects directly
to your PC and thus to the Internet. An IP phone looks just like
a normal handset but has a different connector and usually plugs
straight into your network router - the device that links your PC
to the broadband connection. There are two other types of connection;
analogue telephone adaptors (ATA) can be used to connect a standard
phone to your computer for use with VoIP. These convert analogue
signals to digital and back again. The other method is a direct
peer-to-peer link between two computers; so long as they have a
microphone, sound card and speakers, VoIP should work. For businesses
that have a phone system, VoIP can be provided via SIP trunks and
in certain instances extend the life-time of the phone system.
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What
do I need to use it?
A broadband connection to the Internet is essential (and a dedicated
one for businesses with higher line access demands), but other than
that, just the equipment appropriate to the type of connection as
described above. If you want to give say 10 users access to VoIP,
you will need a complete solution from Digiquip. We do however have
an ideal FeaturePlus solution which is ideal for small home based
business who talk regularly to other home or office based co-workers.
What
is a soft-phone?
A soft-phone is software that resides on your PC to make it operate
as an IP phone. You need software within IP phones of course, as
well as on a PC that uses an ATA system. On larger VoIP implementations,
either a hosted solution or hybrid (phone system with SIP trunks)
solution would be provided.
Isn't
VoIP only useful for companies with big networks and remote offices?
Organisations that are spread over a wide area find it easier to
implement VoIP for their internal networks as they already have
the infrastructure in place. For these companies they may upgrade
a current leased line to cope with VoIP, or Digiquip can organise
an ADSL MAX line with low contention rates, to deliver a guaranteed
quality of service, and multiple lines within one ADSL connection.
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What's
the benefit?
For outbound calls, their cost savings would be much greater, as
inter employee communication from remote offices would be free.
Full call management on VoIP calls would also help in justifying
this technology on an ongoing basis. For incoming calls it is easier
to direct the call to the right individual first time, and you can
also integrate VoIP with your CRM database and even your accounts
systems. If you use a virtual private network (VPN) to enable some
staff to work remotely or at home, these remote workers could use
VoIP to work on the internal phone system instead of using mobiles.
If
it is so good why doesn't everyone use it?
The problem up to now has been quality of service across the Internet
- you need guaranteed bandwidth to run a good quality voice call
- and awareness and availability. The quality issue is being addressed
with new protocols and advanced in Internet technology. When all
networks are digital this won't be an issue; BT is the first major
telco to announce that it will take its entire network fully IP
by 2009. Awareness of VoIP is growing and there are many good products
on the market now, even for smaller businesses
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Can
I use VoIP over wireless broadband (i.e. through Internet hot spots?)
This will become more popular as more bandwidth becomes available
within hot-spots for data download / data upload, voice calls…and
eventually video conferencing.
Is
it secure?
It's fairly safe to use the Internet to make phone calls - the 'tunnelling'
protocols similar to those used in VPNs makes sure the connection
stays open and stays secure. It is also advisable to have a good
firewall in place. Digiquip will provide assistance on all these
areas.
Do
I have to throw away my old phone systems?
Definitely not! Most companies would never consider VoIP if they
had to do this straight away. Our solutions allow your company to
integrate VoIP with your existing infrastructure. If however your
old PBX phone system is up for replacement, it could be the ideal
time to implement a new digital system with VoIP capabilities which
can be added with the minimum of fuss.
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What's
SIP?
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a peer-to-peer, multi-media
signalling protocol that is the leading and preferred choice for
VoIP. This technology has been adopted within all Digiquip's VoIP
offerings.
Am
I OK using services like Skype™ and Vonage™?
These are essentially free services - you just register and you
may need to buy some equipment if an ATA connection is in use. They
do work but you really need to set up the time to talk beforehand
and to make sure your PC is capable of using the services. It's
also wise to ensure that you good all-round security on your PC
if you are using these services as they can open back-doors into
your system. If you want a slightly better version to this, please
contact us to discuss our FeaturePlus service.
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