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VoIP
VoIP Implementation - How, Why and Future.
Internet Protocol (IP) telephony-also known as Voice over IP (VoIP)-is becoming a key driver in the evolution of voice communications. VoIP technology is useful not only for phones but also as a broad application platform that enables voice interactions on devices such as desktop computers, mobile devices, set-top boxes, gateways, and many devices with applications specific to certain businesses where voice communication is an important feature.
Frost and Sullivan reports note that by 2008, wholesale VoIP traffic in the Europe, Middle East and Asia (EMEA) region could reach 57 billion minutes and VoIP will account for approximately 75% of world voice services by 2007. And the market for as IP Private Branch Exchange (IP PBX), and VoIP application servers are expected to reach almost $12 billion by 2006 (Source: Frost and Sullivan)
Major Components of VoIP
The major components of a VoIP network, while different in approach, deliver very similar functionality to that of a PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) and enable VoIP networks to perform all of the same tasks that the PSTN does. The one additional requirement is that VoIP networks must contain a gateway component that enables VoIP calls to be sent to a PSTN, and vice versa. There are four major components to a VoIP network.
1.Call Processing Server/IP PBX
2.User End-Devices
3.Media/VOIP Gateways
4.IP network
Working of VoIP
A VoIP accommodates telephone calls over a computer network or a data network like Internet. VoIP converts the voice signal from telephone into a digital signal that travels over the Internet then converts it back at the other end enabling conversation to anyone with a regular phone number. Rapid advancements in IP technology has given rise to a far-reaching, low-cost transport mechanism that can support both voice and data. A VOIP solution integrates seamlessly into the data network and operates alongside existing PBXs, or other phone equipment, to simply extend voice capabilities to remote locations. The voice traffic essentially "rides for free" on top of the data network using the IP infrastructure and hardware already in place and transfer videos, images, messages and text data. Advancements in technology have ensured that most VoIP phones like Cisco's 7940, 7960G can support all standard protocols like Packet Cable NCS 1.0, MGCP 1.0, SIP 2.0 and SCCP (Skinny Client Control Protocol) and work with HFC cable, ASDL, fibre optic cable or even wireless. Mr. Kaustubh Chandra, Senior Marketing Executive, Network Solutions feels that most contemporary technology can easily tackle problems like latency, jitter, bandwidth, packet loss even while providing good reliability, security and interoperability.
Considerations for VoIP Service implementation:
Most important phase in VoIP is the implementation phase. Key questions have to be answered here.
Factors like traffic parameters and network design, ease of implementation and cost are some of the issues an organization must carefully consider when deploying VoIP solutions. Sufficient bandwidth, good Internet connectivity are a must for efficient functioning of VoIP. VoIP is very useful if the company has branches in many locations. Mary E. Shacklett, President, Transworld Data feels that along with all the other factors, "staff infrastructure", readiness of the existing staff to effectively manage VoIP and return on investment (ROI) are important considerations before migrating to VoIP. Without due diligence in planning an organization could be faced with service that does not function reliably or is financially not economical.
VoIP Implementation:
VoIP implementation should be critically planned and executed. Mr. Verghese Mathew, Principle Consultant, Cisco Systems India suggests building a Cross-Functional "Tiger" Team that has the requisite skills and technical expertise and represents users in every area in the organization impacted by the implementation. The following typical action plan will help in a smooth implementation.
 State the vision in terms that employees can understand, describing the change from their frame of reference, and articulating the impact on behaviors and tasks.
Resistance to change is normal and managing user expectations will be paramount in making the process run smoothly. One keyway to achieve this is to take away the mystery and uncertainty among key stakeholders through education, opens, and honest, and frequent communication.
Communicate the reasons for the change, make a strong case for why that change is necessary and explain how the organization will differ as a result
Strong Corporate Culture:
Corporate culture is often defined as "the way we do things around here." Culture builds a common language and brings people together, enabling them to work toward a shared goal. Understanding and working with the organization's culture is critical to successfully implementing new technology on a large scale. Capitalize on what has worked in the past, and learn from the mistakes of others. A winning formula for migration success rests 80 percent on preparation and 20 percent on installation.
Customer driven Design Requirements:
Developing a "Voice of the Client" program that consists of client-targeted surveys and focus groups to benchmark and track user-preferred services, products, solutions, and features. The survey can be a tool to identify critical phone features, validate key business needs, gauge risk tolerance and user discomfort, and identify key functionalities that are paramount to one's business.
Conduct a pilot session with a smaller population and non-critical buildings to ensure that the plan is smooth, bugs are worked out, and a workable process is in place.
The implementation strategy should plan to progressively go faster as the experience levels become more efficient. The numbers of employees, complexity of user requirements, size of the campus, how widely all are dispersed will affect the migration strategy. Organizations are not static with employees changing locations, getting hired or leaving or working while on the move. To accommodate this ever-changing environment, organizations need to develop a migration strategy that takes into account all the variables that can change, alter, or otherwise affect implementation of a new converged voice and data network. Begin the conversion by issuing all new employees an IP phone. Whenever an employee moves his or her location, issue an IP phone rather than moving the old PBX phone to the new location.
Ensure a Successful Day 2 Handoff:
A successful Day 2 handoff requires a well thought out support plan (Day 2 is defined as the time period immediately following cutover of your new IP telephony solution). Four critical components are required to enable efficient operation and responsive support of the converged network.
Support Team: Resolve all issues quickly and effectively.
Support Process: resist the temptation to completely reinvent the support model with every new application. Take advantage of the existing support processes.
Support Services while making the investment in an IP based network, organizations need to look closely at its ability to provide requisite services support parameters like end-to end PDIOO capabilities, expert internal and external resources, cutting-edge management tools, knowledge management and transfer, and global coverage.
Support Tools: Attentive management and monitoring of a new network will help to catch and resolve many problems before they become visible to users.
Keep the New Network Clean
Most large enterprises have hundreds of lines and circuits that, through the years, have either been forgotten about or are simply unused. The IP telephony implementation is an opportunity to clean out the network to start anew, as well as clean, groom, and prepare the IP infrastructure.
Develop a strategy that will convert all the PBX-leased-equipment buildings first so that when leases come up for renewal, there is more flexibility during the migration process.
At the time of implementation, an organisation may have equipment that is leased.. The process of completely decommissioning the main PBX will take long and therefore assemble a project team to address the removal of all applications still running on it.
Look Back, Move Forward, and Prepare for the Future
Whether an IP telephony implementation involves 200 phones or 20,000 phones, careful and comprehensive planning, communication, teamwork, and knowing where the "gotchas" are hiding, will divert problems before they even arise.
Things to do immediately after implementation.
Eliminate as many unknowns as possible by documenting all the procedures, capture and incorporate lessons learned, and optimize the change management process. Make the commitment to continually support new, dynamic network by reevaluating contingency plans often, conducting ongoing audits of network performance, incorporating new features through software upgrades and reexamining the contract services that protect, monitor, and support the network.
Why VOIP?
The scalability and flexibility of VoIP enables manufacturers, software providers, and service providers to offer and more effectively expose a broad variety of features and services that directly add value for users. The integration of voice, data, and video with IP networks and devices has made the interaction and exchange of these types of communication easier, enhancing user productivity.
Some of the most common value-added features and services for users are:
Unified messaging
Interactive voice recognition
Call center administration
Voice mail
Conferencing services
Database queries (for example, e-mail look-ups)
Customer relationship management
Instant-messaging and Web browsing
Innovations yield increased functionality and value-added services. For example, device manufacturers and service providers now use VoIP applications as competitive differentiators when acquiring and retaining customers. Some VoIP-related features and services make consumers' lives more convenient, whereas others help organizations become more efficient. For example, studies show that unified messaging-the ability for users to use a single system to access any form of a message, such as voice mail, e-mail, fax, or video-saves employees up to 25 minutes per day.( Source : Radicati Group, Phillips InfoTech)
Reduced Total Cost of Ownership
VoIP technology enables the integration of data traffic and voice communication traffic into a single network, reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) associated with a combined voice/data network.. The integration of multiple media types-voice, data, and video-into a single network eliminates infrastructure and maintenance redundancies, helping to reduce capital costs and operational costs.
Another benefit of using a single network for voice, data, and video transmission is that various network elements, such as call servers, application servers (for example, for voice-mail storage), and client devices, can be more easily integrated.
Advanced client/server services also allow VoIP systems and devices to be provisioned and managed remotely. Remote management reduces costs, including expenditures that are associated with user Moves, Adds, and Changes (MACs) and costs that are related to updating edge devices with the latest customer applications and services.
Savings apply not only to enterprises but also to consumers, because service providers can pass the savings resulting from lower network deployment and maintenance costs on to subscribers. In addition , consumers and enterprises can experience savings in long-distance charges, service fees, and bundled services. With VoIP technology, the distinction between local, long-distance, and international calling largely disappears, and callers can save on long-distance and international charges (also known as toll bypass).
More Efficient Network Utilization
VoIP provides considerable gains in bandwidth efficiencies, which, in turn, reduce costs and increase quality of service (QoS). Various factors contribute to more efficiently used bandwidth for IP telephony.
Elimination of silence. PSTNs are based on time division multiplex (TDM) technology. In TDM networks, communication capacity is continuously allocated to a user, even when the person is not speaking. Approximately 50 percent of normal voice interaction is silence. This means that approximately half the capacity of TDM networks remains unused due to silence alone. In IP telephony, capacity is not continuously allocated but rather is made available as defined by the system.
Redundancy reduction. Approximately 20 percent of human speech consists of repetitive patterns. Conventional TDM networks do not use reduction methods to eliminate redundant voice signals. Such reduction methods are omnipresent in IP telephony.
Efficient data throughput. The sophisticated analog-to-digital operations that IP telephony uses are capable of providing more efficient throughput than similar operations that traditional TDM networks use.
As a result of silence elimination, redundancy reduction, and more efficient data throughput (among other methods), VoIP uses approximately 10 to 15 percent of the bandwidth required for traditional voice communications.
Greater Operational Flexibility
Another reason for the increasing adoption of VoIP is the fact that the underlying technology is more flexible and extensible than traditional voice transmission technologies. In traditional circuit-switched voice networks, the transport, call control, and application layers are grouped into single, proprietary systems. In IP-based networks, these layers are disaggregated into separate components that can each be integrated or substituted as needed in the overall system. This desegregation allows the system, applications, and services to be more dynamically designed and managed. The trend from proprietary, vendor-centric, end-to-end solutions to integrated, open, IP-based environments results in more customizable, flexible, and extensible systems.
VoIP-related technologies, such as the extensible Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), are based on the concept that user preferences-hence client devices, services, and underlying infrastructures-will change over time. By separating the signaling from the hardware and media, SIP acts as an ideal protocol for adapting to change. For example, voice calls and video conversations can occur between infrastructures that use different hardware components.
SIP is also flexible, extensible, and scalable and therefore is well suited to a broad range of usage scenarios, applications, and infrastructures. SIP provides a uniform platform for services such as voice, instant messaging, video, and general presence information. In addition, the traditional division between network-to-user and network-to-network protocols becomes obsolete with SIP, resulting in simplified interoperability between separate systems and reduced operational costs.
Cautious welcome
Gartner Group estimates that by the end of 2007, traditional enterprise telephony-system manufacturers will cease development entirely of traditional systems. Further, many industry analysts now believe that because an end-to-end IP telephony system is inevitable, there is no reason to delay the adoption of an all-IP infrastructure. The more quickly companies embrace a common IP platform for all their communications needs-voice, video, and data-the more quickly they will realize the benefits and dramatic efficiencies of a common, standards-based IP infrastructure. This analysis is further strengthened with the fact that that all the leading traditional TDM voice players are now offering IP based PBX solutions.
Even with all the above-mentioned positives VoIP has still a long way ahead before it is accepted universally. In spite of all the technological developments it is still welcomed with skepticism. Dr. Shashi Phoha, director of the Information Technology Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, thinks that the growth of VOIP technology brings with it some significant risks that users need to be prepared to address.
"The vulnerabilities are severe," she said, pointing to the use of personal computers in creating VOIP solutions, which is relatively easy to hack. The digital phone calls could be edited by digital voice editors to add, remove or change words without any possibility of detection. She also observed that soft phones are vulnerable to worms, viruses and Trojan horses, and could spread these problems throughout the voice network. The risk can be reduced by using encryption of the voice traffic, and VOIP-specific intrusion detection systems (IDS) and firewalls. VoIP needs the time to evolve and mature as and with so many positives it is a sure bet for success.
(By Venugopal S)
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