IP revolution in telephony

IP telephony, which could more usefully be called LAN telephony or local network telephony, simply means running all voice calls within a building over the same network you use for data. IP turns voice into just another data stream, and your phone lines and your network cables become one and the same thing.

Obvious cost savings

The cost savings of running just one network are obvious: you only need to maintain one network (with one set of skills to run it), and you can substitute a cost-effective, easily upgraded software PBX for expensive proprietary equipment that's soon out of date.

There are other advantages as well. Adding, moving or changing extensions, which can be a complex business in a traditional switched telephony network, becomes a simple matter of plugging in a new phone. With all their communications available in the same place, users can also make better use of productivity tools like Outlook, making calls with a single click on a contact file or synchronising information between their phones and their PCs.

The most significant advantages will come in the next few years as more and more ERP and CRM systems provide telephony integration. A software PBX linked into corporate databases can enable huge operational savings and productivity gains by intelligently routing calls, depending on anything from where employees are physically located to the current credit status of the caller.

With a software PBX in place, it also becomes an easy matter to introduce voice logging for all calls, as well as access much richer management information on telephony usage.

Upgrade networks

Although voice calls are not bandwidth-intensive – a 64kB/s voice call uses just a fraction of 1% of the 1000 Mbps bandwidth of a typical modern LAN network– they do need a high-quality, robust network that can prioritise voice traffic to ensure good call quality. Many companies considering LAN telephony may need to upgrade their networks to ensure good quality of service, but this is an investment that could recoup itself rapidly depending on the complexity of the site and its existing cost structure.

The biggest efficiencies kick in on networks with 50 or more extensions, and there is no upper limit on the number of extensions that can be supported. Unlike with traditional PBX equipment, you can add new capacity simply by plugging in an extra server, making this an ideal solution for fast-growing or changing companies.

In the past 18 months, LAN telephony has moved from the unheard-of to the familiar. We are at the threshold of a major telephony revolution, one in which companies that are prepared to be pioneers stand to reap huge rewards from efficiency gains and lower costs.