Tele-Enterprise has unveiled a challenge to find the worst voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) implementation in SA.
Companies with at least 25 phone extensions, telephony expenses of more than R25 000 per month, and a horror story about how VOIP threw a spanner in their works, may enter to win a trial implementation and preferential deal on a Tele-Enterprise VOIP system.
Many companies have had their fingers burnt by poor VOIP implementations that waste money and saddle them with unstable and unreliable connections, says Riaan Pietersen, Tele-Enterprise CMO. "The poor quality of VOIP calls has given the technology an undeservedly bad reputation," he says.
With this challenge, Tele-Enterprise hopes to change perceptions of VOIP as a communications channel. "VOIP has a negative association because so many companies have tried it and had it fail and cost them money," says Pietersen. "Communications is the lifeblood of any business, irrespective of sector. But too many businesses buy into vendor smoke and mirrors without a full understanding of the technology behind the solution."
There are many factors that could result in a poor VOIP implementation, and none of them are directly caused by VOIP being an inherently poor tool, he explains. "In some cases, technicians don't have the experience to understand the full requirements of different VOIP implementations. VOIP is not a plug-and-play or cut-and-paste implementation," he notes. Other common pitfalls, he adds, are VOIP services implemented without a full assessment of requirements; the use of sub-standard equipment such as gateways, connectivity media and routers; and inadequate post-implementation assessment.
Although one of the benefits of VOIP is its ability to cut costs, simply choosing the cheapest option, without taking other factors into consideration, is a mistake, Pietersen asserts. "If cheap equipment is used to save money, this will lead to problems later if it needs to be replaced or is not scalable."
Too many service providers focus on immediate savings rather than on solid implementation, he continues. "VOIP will save clients money in the long run - but the main objective should be about control, functionality and extended features."
Tele-Enterprise believes its challenge will change perceptions of VOIP, and demonstrate that proper implementation can deliver all the benefits associated with the technology. Companies wishing to enter should send a one-page story, with no mention of suppliers, and their latest telephony accounts to info@tele-enterprise.com.
Share
