IP Telephony Overview
For several years industry analysts have been touting IP telephony, commonly referred to as voice over IP (VoIP, as the next wave of business communications. Most of these analysts’ early forecasts were predicated on businesses choosing to implement VoIP as a way to reduce communications costs, while also ‘converging’ historically separate voice and data networks to increase operational efficiencies. Companies are now realizing that it’s not simply a matter of convergence, but also the integration of voice and data applications that’s adding value to that business.
But what exactly is VoIP?
VoIP is a widely used term describing the technologies required to manage the delivery of voice information using the Internet Protocol standard, or IP. Rather than transmitting voice in the traditional circuit-committed protocols of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)—think of the PSTN as traditional local and long distance phone service providers—VoIP sends voice, fax and other communications traffic in digital form in discrete data packets. In other words, using the Internet, telephone calls travel as packets of data on shared lines and avoid toll charges associated with the PSTN. Most VoIP providers ensure Quality of Service (QoS) in their packet routers to dependably deliver voice and fax as well as video packets to users, further ensuring that such ‘communications’ packets receive priority delivery to minimize or eliminate the latency experienced in early VoIP implementations.
Also, while the terms IP telephony and VoIP are often used interchangeably, ‘IP telephony’ is typically reserved for a premise-based phone system known as an IP PBX. With open standards flexibility PBX hardware can’t provide, an IP PBX system can deliver voice to a business via the PSTN, or more cost effectively over an IP network offered by a broadband Internet Service Provider. In an IP network scenario, once voice traffic reaches the customer (business) premise, that customer’s Local Area Network (LAN) routes IP based communications packets to the appropriate end-user in the same manner a LAN routes data packets. Moreover, IP phones are easily connected over a LAN, eliminating the need for a separate voice and data network and cabling that traditional PBX telephone systems require. Other measurable benefits of an IP telephony/ IP PBX system include enhanced support for mobile and remote workers, easy addition of new functionality over time, streamlined administration, and integration with CRM, Accounting/ERP systems and other business applications.