Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) is a communications technology that uses the internet to transfer voice signals in the form of bits and bytes. It delivers these bits and bytes to a specified internet address rather than a telephone number. It’s easier to think of it as being like sending e-mail from one computer to another, but in real time and using voice instead of text. The technology that most likely runs your existing switchboard and phones is a traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN) service. VoIP’s advantage over this is its ability to combine several services, such as voice mail, video, e-mail and conferencing. This instantly increases your ability to collaborate and can result in higher productivity.

You’ve probably used VoIP services without even realizing it. Every time you’ve used an instant messenger program to initiate a voice conversation or sent a voice mail, you’ve used this cutting-edge technology.

But how can this benefit your company? Well, for starters, it’s likely to lead to lower phone bills. And it could reduce the need to travel, too. If you have branch offices, they can be connected either through a dedicated lease line or virtual private network (VPN). Since all calls routed over the internet, irrespective of the network, are free, this leads to significant savings over existing voice services for inter-company communications and makes use of any under-utilised network capacity that you’re paying for.

VoIP technology is not new, but some work may be needed before it achieves the reliability of traditional phone systems. Dealing with lots of hardware and service providers as well as handling technology considerations like the integration of VoIP networks with traditional phone systems may sound intimidating. However, with a little help, you will realize that the products on offer are easy to use.

Key requirements in the move to VoIP remain lower costs, abundance of choices, bundled services, high quality, reliability and availability. Most of these issues have already been addressed by VoIP service providers. And if you let them help you implement VoIP services correctly, it can lead to significant savings.

Once you’ve made the decision to switch to voice over internet protocol (VoIP) telephony, you must perform due diligence to ensure you pick the right service provider and solution. Clearly, cost savings are topmost on your mind, but you need to consider overall efficiency as well. Your options are wide-ranging and every vendor has a slightly different solution to offer. And this can be extremely confusing.

In choosing the solution that most closely fits the needs and scale of your company, you should aim to focus on three major aspects:

• The provider’s technical expertise: This will show the commitment of the vendor towards internet telephony. Solutions offered must provide scalability and flexibility.
• How responsive its support team is: Examine how complete its suite of support services are. Also, look for a responsive and accessible after-sales support team.
• Whether the provider has a customer-focused approach: A customer-friendly, interactive and alert approach is likely to signify the vendor’s level of interest in forming a long-term relationship with you.

A provider should also demonstrate a solid understanding of your businesses needs and the ability to build solutions to match those needs. You must also ensure that the solution can scale up as your company grows.

In preparing to purchase a VoIP system, you need to clearly define your business needs for both the present and the future. Aligning your convergence systems with realistic growth goals and organizational vision is a worthwhile exercise.

When you come to choose a solution, you should look out for:

• A complete suite of communications and business applications
• Back-up options for emergencies or system failures
• High reliability and availability records
• Flexibility and scalability
• Multi-vendor interoperability
• Excellent voice quality
• Easy implementation and management
• Integrated networking between sites
• Clarity about total costs and the payback period
• Guarantees of quality and service levels
• Robust support options

You need to get this right because if you end up with an unsuitable IP telephony system, skilful implementation or competent service will not solve the problem.