The costs involved in migrating from traditional time-division multiplexing telephony to voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) can create an expensive overhead for companies, according to Du Pont Telecoms.
This often includes the loss on investment by replacing private automatic branch exchange (PABX) systems and other analogue telephone equipment.
But Graeme Victor, CEO of voice-based telecoms solutions company, Du Pont Telecoms, says businesses don't have to take a 'big bang' approach to VOIP. “Equipment and solutions are available that enable them to phase their migration to the new telephony standard in over months or even years, as their business circumstances and budgets dictate.”
In order to avoid the complexities, risks and expense often associated with an incremental technology migration, Victor recommends that businesses adopt a migration roadmap which outlines how the company plans to upgrade its telephony system.
“Businesses can start their migration journey at any point on the roadmap, depending on their specific circumstances,” he says. They can then proceed at their own pace knowing that any current or future investments in telephony equipment and solutions will aid them in achieving the bottom-line and productivity benefits of a fully functional, flexible and scalable IP telephony solution, Victor explains.
VOIP by numbers
Du Pont Telecoms has joined forces with Teles to develop a three-step migration roadmap to IP telephony for South African businesses.
When starting the migration process, Teles VOIP GSM routers are installed in all branches. These provide IP connectivity to existing PABXs, which enables the staggered replacement of analogue desk phones with IP phones, says Victor. He adds that this provides cost-savings in terms of least-cost routing. Further, branches reduce costs as they use the routers to route inter-branch calls.
In the next phase of the migration, the business connects its PABXs to a Du Pont-managed, carrier-grade centralised switch, keeping its existing analogue and digital handsets while slowly testing the new and growing IP voice network, he explains.
At the end of the migration, the business would have phased out the use of conventional PABXs. All PABX services are provided virtually, removing the risk and cost associated with purchasing and maintaining multiple PABXs, while providing the organisation with access to the latest developments in telephony without risk or capital outlay, concludes Victor.
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