Organisations don't believe that data and voice traffic can be put
on the same network - but there are sound business benefits to be
gained
It is staggering how few organisations have got a handle on the
implications of voice-data convergence. Beyond cost savings and
call-centre efficiency improvements, the average UK corporation has
no idea what marrying voice and data networks could do for its
business.
The confusion is illustrated in an independent survey conducted for
BT Business Information Systems, which polled 220 large and
medium-sized businesses about Internet Protocol (IP) telephony. It
found that only 16% could give a clear definition of voice over IP
(VoIP) and IP telephony.
They have an idea it's about bringing voice and data together on
the same network; the problem arises in working out why anyone
would need to do it. Interpreting the results, Tim Nelson, IP
telephony portfolio manager at BT, argues that manufacturers are to
blame for the lack of understanding in this market. "There has been
a lot of hype, but a lack of practical information," he says.
Once again, the IT industry has pushed technology over business
application. "Some businesses are reluctant to invest in IP
telephony because they don't believe they will gain much compared
with a traditional phone system," Nelson adds. "This is not
surprising when you consider that most of the publicity around VoIP
has centred only on the ability of converged networks to deliver
long-term cost savings. Companies need to realise that IP telephony
can deliver an array of new applications that will improve the way
they can do business."
Unless an organisation is expanding into a new building, or
starting up as a greenfield operation, where a converged, IP-based
network starts to make good commercial sense, a greater business
justification will be needed other than long-term cost-savings.
Ripping out a perfectly decent private branch exchange (PBX) or
replacing a recently installed data network could pose a serious
stumbling block with the finance department without a more
substantial business case. Giving a flavour for the shape such a
business proposition might take, Simon Bunegar, European strategy
director at Avaya, cites the possibilities that lie ahead for a
major hotel chain he is working with.
By implementing voice over IP (VoIP), the hotel chain is converging
its communications infrastructure for all its hotels worldwide. As
well as reducing call costs and making the hotel group more
efficient, the real added value will come when the group starts to
roll out new services to its customers, giving it a fresh
competitive edge.
One idea is that the hotel expands the boundaries of the services
enabled through the use of electronic room keys. If all the hotels'
IP phones had swipe mechanisms attached to them, a private,
customised phone service could be put at the disposal of each
guest, regardless of their location or the handset they were using.
"As a natural extension, you could see the hotel branching out into
office services provision, allowing guests to plug into their
corporate networks regardless of their location," Bunegar says.He
notes that while the convergence of transport mechanisms, and of
computing and communications devices, is exciting, it will be this
type of converged application that drives this market, something
that has yet to materialise outside of a couple of niches, such as
the call centre market.
E-business is emerging as an early driver for voice-data
convergence projects since organisations which have invested
heavily in the technology are now under pressure to demonstrate a
more tangible return. Communications convergence can deliver
genuine business value to the new e-services demanded by companies
that want the Internet to be a powerful customer service and
customer relationship management tool as well as an active sales
medium.
With the ability to provide a voice - or "phone me" - option as
part of a Web site, sales and customer service representatives can
bring their online activities alive. For example it could allow
potential customers to request live, phone-based feedback while
perusing an organisation's Web pages, without having to let the Web
link drop.
Meanwhile, in the interests of keeping support costs down, customer
service sites could feature video-based manuals taking the customer
much further before they need to draw on live, customised phone
help (again, available at the click of a mouse).
As in a more traditional call-centre environment, convergence comes
into its own in a customer services application like this, because
it allows customer data files to be triggered and accessed
alongside voice communications. At the point where the customer
requests personal feedback, the converged customer service
application has made the right person available, with the
customer's records in front of them, as well as a copy of the Web
page or video extract the customer is looking at.
Time is saved on both sides and the customer's experience is a more
satisfying one. Another business justification for a converged,
IP-based voice/data network is the ability to collapse branch
boundaries and create a single communications network that crosses
multiple locations. This could be particularly attractive where
organisations want to make smaller satellite offices or teleworkers
more productive, by extending the entire range of corporate network
services to them wherever they happen to be.
By rolling out an IP-based wide area network, organisations can be
more inclusive and make staff more efficient, by allowing them to
receive and forward calls while in another location, and access and
update intranet-based information services.
Mike Regan, business development manager at Alcatel, says, "The
former is much more cost-effective than using private voice
circuits." He claims that organisations could save between £5,000
and £15,000 a year, per office site, just on voice circuit charges,
by using an IP network to link multiple locations' network
activities.
The variance comes from how far away the offices are. "Then there
are the savings on the actual voice charges," Regan adds. For the
home worker, such services won't really come into their own until
asymmetric digital subscriber lines are widely available, enabling
them to stay connected to the corporate network on an always-on
basis. Here, the user dials into the office network as usual, at
which point their home PC is enabled as an IP phone, allowing them
to receive calls coming into the workplace and handle them as they
would if they were physically at work.
Any well thought-out convergence strategy will recognise that there
is a gap between what can be achieved today and what will be
possible tomorrow, since innovative applications that truly exploit
converged networks are only just beginning to be developed. Few
reputable consultants are advising wholesale replacement of PBX or
data networks in favour of convergence for technology's sake. In
the current climate, such proposals would be laughed out of the
boardroom.
For now, the primary catalyst for convergence implementations tends
to be when companies are expanding their networks, establishing new
operations or premises, or when an ageing PBX or data network needs
replacing. Beyond this, the business case must be highly robust,
the approach should support and protect existing investments
wherever possible, and organisations are well advised to hold back
from being too ambitious too soon.
Finally, as well as making sure the organisation is geared up to
fully exploit a converged network with optimised business processes
and applications, companies also need to pave the way for user
acceptance. The reliability issues associated with running voice
over the same network as data have now largely been addressed
through sophisticated quality-of-service tools that prioritise
network traffic in sophisticated ways.
The potential battle for domination between telecoms and IT
managers has been greatly exaggerated, although the two must work
together much more closely. Now all that is left to be resolved are
the cultural issues that arise with any major change to working
practices, so education must play an important part in any
convergence project.
Ten steps to VoIP success
Paul Fileman, group product
marketing manager at Siemens Communications, offers the following
pointers to organisations considering migrating to a converged IP
network:
1. Analyse the business drivers: why are you making the move
to VoIP? Look at how the return on investments will be measured.
Then document and agree this with relevant stakeholders.
2. Understand the company culture: are your managers in
favour of the change to VoIP; will VoIP allow people to telework
and, if so, do you know what implications this will have on the
wider business and its processes?
3. Audit the skills available: do you have in-house skills to
specify and design local and wide area network changes and to
deploy VoIP within the voice network or voice systems? If not, can
these be provided by your supplier as part of the total
solution?
4. Understand the technology required: produce a shortlist of
technology requirements, making sure that the scope for upgrading
is always available.
5. Select your IP supplier: choose a company with a
comprehensive portfolio. Even if your needs are straightforward
initially, that may change. As a minimum, work with a supplier that
can supply VoIP upgrades, software-based VoIP PBX, multimedia
contact centres (glorified call centres) and unified messaging.
Above all, make sure your supplier genuinely understands both voice
and data applications: what is their background?
6. Agree business processes: if your VoIP implementation
changes your business processes, ensure that you define these
changes and agree them with all stakeholders before this creates a
problem.
7. Agree the implementation plan with all stakeholders: make
sure all the users are aware of the changes and what this will mean
to them.
8. Check the equipment: have a plan ready so you know what will
happen to calls should any equipment fail. Traditional PBX
equipment usually incorporates 'bypass' functionality. What
resilience is built into any 'soft' PBX?
9. Implement VoIP.
10. Monitor, check and refine: check that you're getting what
the supplier promised. Check the return on investment; check your
business processes. And finally, be prepared to make changes.
Case study: International Financial finds value in
VoIP
When Dave Ayers, head of technology support services
at financial services IT systems specialist International
Financial, decided on a VoIP network for the company's new premises
in Brentwood, Essex, what initially dissuaded him was the cost.
To kit out a building, with about 100 users, with a VoIP network
cost the company just 40% of an equivalent PBX system, he says. "I
had to do the sums three or four times to make sure."
The chosen installation was Cisco's Avvid IP telephony system,
supplied by integrator NSC. The physical implementation took three
days. "VoIP had so much to offer that we kept waiting for the
catch," says Ayers. Benefits have included maximising the value of
available bandwidth, the reduction in installation costs (such as
halved cabling costs) and a substantial reduction in ongoing costs.
The physical space used to store the IP telephony system is also
considerably less. Instead of a traditional PBX and punch block
cable distribution, the system comprises a pair of rack-mounted
servers and a shared voice/data cabling system.
Voice recording, resilient call manager configuration, fax
capabilities and future integration into an IP contact centre and
expansion of the system across other sites (as it phases out its
original Ericsson PBX) were all built into the specification.
Ayers says he has been impressed with the quality of the voice
service, and notes that carrying voice traffic over the data
network also has the potential to dramatically reduce the cost of
international calls between offices. The company has invested in
100 megabit per second Ethernet as well as tools for prioritising
voice traffic, and credits this with the high quality of voice
service.
The company is researching the diversion of calls to its offices in
North America and Europe using the same technology. The only
downside to the installation, according to Ayres, is that it can't
be placed on a traditional data network, which could cause problems
with the financial department if an IT manager was trying to make
the case for an implementation in an existing building.