Youb ve probably been hearing about the virtues of converging voice and data.B And, if youb ve done your homework, youb ve heard the other side of the story as well.
True.B Running voice and data over the same network can introduce problems that didnb t exist before.B But, using IP telephony for business phone services is unavoidable.B Rather than resist it, I suggest you embrace it and reap the benefits it has to offer.
If you are hosting your own VoIP PBX, youb ll likely have your phone system in a collocation facility.B The SIP trunks, or call paths, will be delivered over the circuit you use for data transfer.B You protect the bandwidth by making sure the circuit allows for designated b class of serviceb so that voice traffic always goes first.
With a VoIP service provider, the phone on your desk plugs into your data network with the same connection your desktop computer uses.B In essence, your phone is another b deviceb on the network.B The dial tone is delivered directly to the phone-on a one-to-one basis.
This is typically the greatest cost differentiator in evaluating hosted VoIP vs. a premise-based VoIP phone system.B Rather than having a call path for every phone, you can b right-sizeb the number of call paths by estimating the simultaneous phone calls youb re likely to have.
Either way, the best way to make sure you have a good experience with VoIP calling is to ensure that the bandwidth necessary to provide high quality for your business phone services is always available and appropriately protected.
What would I like to leave you with?B If you are still b sitting on the fenceb when it comes to evaluating VoIP phone systems for your business, donb t delay any longer.B You really can b have your cake and eat it toob .
