Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) is likely to have a significant influence on telecommunications costs in SA, but this does not mean companies should adopt the technology without due consideration.
According to a survey conducted by research firm World Wide Worx, VOIP will be the fastest growing technology application among South African corporations this year, and many companies are already taking a serious look at it.
A one-day conference focusing on VOIP, its challenges, opportunities and adoption implications will be staged to help companies struggling to make definitive decisions about their VOIP strategies.
The VOIP 2005: How to without the hype conference, organised by ITWeb, will be staged at the Forum in Bryanston on 19 April, and will be hosted by a number of players in the VOIP industry.
One of the key problems in SA is that there is a fair amount of VOIP sales hype, leaving companies uncertain of what they can realistically expect, says Multimatics IT director John Bannister, who will be one of the presenters at the event.
"Some of our larger clients have been inundated by promises about what VOIP can offer. This hype will be around until we start seeing real, large-scale VOIP roll-out in the country."
The catch is that many companies are hesitant to adopt a new technology, says Bannister.
"People perceive it as new, but it has been used around the world for many years now, even by some local companies. There is no question in my mind that this technology works, and the quality should not be a question, so long as your service provider is reliable."
In his presentation, Bannister will highlight the importance for companies to exercise a degree of caution regarding adoption, as well as how companies can use their telephone management system to calculate how much bandwidth they will need.
During the conference, TalknetAfrica MD Paul Dinsmore will dismiss some of the hype surrounding VOIP, and discuss whether it can deliver on its promises. "I want to look at hype versus reality. For example, some people say it is expensive to implement, but in reality it is actually quite affordable.
"I also want to show that this is a proven technology, and show people that they are not stepping into the unknown, but rather migrating to a familiar technology."
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