<B>High hopes</B>
1. Cost of moves / adds / changes will drop significantly
2. Enhanced / converged business processes
3. Easier to deploy new integrated applications
4. Deploying enhanced voice functions
5. Cost of domestic calls between company sites will drop significantly
Second-tier expected benefits from implementing VOIP
1. Cost of international calls will drop significantly
2. Avoidance of ongoing cost of upgrading and maintaining traditional PBXs
3. Cost of wiring will drop significantly
4. Cost of domestic calls other than between company sites will drop significantly
5. Reduced staffing requirements by combining voice and data functions
Could my PBX get a virus? This is perhaps a not-so-paranoid question that users often ask when considering IP telephony. The answer, according to Andy Bull, MD of Mitel Networks SA, is that it depends on the vendor involved.
"Some vendors have put the call control software on the Windows environment and that means that yes, the call control could be susceptible to virus attacks. But these are network security issues that have to be taken into account anyway," says Bull.
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He says security was identified as the top concern in a global annual survey - the Webtorials 2004 VOIP State of the Market Report. As many as 49% of the respondents listed security concerns as a major inhibitor to VOIP implementation.
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"I personally don`t think it`s as big an issue as the survey shows," comments Bull. "For example, eavesdropping is harder on an IP network than it is on a traditional network, and the other network security issues that are apparent on an IP network are network-wide issues anyway. IP telephony does not make them better or worse."
The Webtorials report says security concerns can be split into the concern about the security of the voice/data infrastructure versus the security of content of conversations. "For instance, concerns about distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks is a network infrastructure issue, while hacking a conversation via a LAN sniffer is a conversation security issue."
<B>High hurdles</B>
1. Concerns about security
2. Systems for managing and troubleshooting VOIP quality
3. Concerns about interoperability between vendors` equipment
4. Lack of people to plan, design, implement and manage VOIP
5. Lack of budget
On the positive side, the market is more educated and the debate has shifted from VOIP technology to the business benefits it offers. "Twelve months ago customers were asking, 'Does this thing really work?` We are over that hurdle now," says Bull.
The Webtorials survey shows that users primarily expect VOIP to help them reduce the costs of moves, and additions and changes to the network, as well as benefit from converged business processes.
For more VOIP information:
Cost: Cheap talk - or much more?
Deployment: Seven questions to ask before adopting IP telephony
Enterprise IP telephony adoption: Past the tipping point
Standards: Get with the programme
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