Navigating the complexity of a
VoIP deployment can be overwhelming and it may seem like you
need a technical degree to understand it.
Here are five tips to help CIOs steer through the fog of
a VoIP migration.
- Be prepared and fully understand whether you are ready for
IP telephony.
Before embarking on the project, have a qualified convergence
consultant perform a network-readiness assessment to determine the
cost to upgrade. Understand all the components of the solution and
be prepared to explain to the business executives what the
underlying costs are. - It's about the applications, not the technology.
Once the costs are fully understood, the CIO must be able to
discuss the benefits in business terms, not technology terms.
Simply put, business leaders really don't care about IP, SIP,
telephony or other technical terms. - Leverage existing technology wherever possible.
This is a good practice all the time, but was lost during the late
1990s. By bringing together all of the corporate applications and
infrastructure, companies will recognize greater efficiencies and
reduce the amount of excess and waste in many IT
organizations. - Sort out the internal politics.
The CIO must strategically determine who owns the converged
infrastructure. I recommend that companies cease distinguishing
between voice and data networking, and only concern themselves with
corporate communications. - Remember that one size does not fit all.
Pick the solution that fits the business best rather than trying to
force the business to change to take advantage of the technology.
In many cases, the latest and greatest technical solution isn't the
best thing for the business and a slower migratory approach is
prudent.
Zeus Kerravala manages Yankee Group's infrastructure research
and consulting. His areas of expertise involve working with
customers to solve their business issues through the deployment of
infrastructure technology solutions, including switching, routing,
network management, voice solutions and VPNs.
Before joining Yankee Group, Kerravala was a senior engineer
and technical project manager for Greenwich Technology Partners, a
leading network infrastructure and engineering consulting firm.
Prior to that, he was a vice president of IT for Ferris, Baker
Watts, a mid-Atlantic based brokerage firm, acting as both a lead
engineer and project manager deploying corporate-wide technical
solutions to support the firm's business units. Kerravala's first
task at FBW was to roll out a new frame relay infrastructure with
connections to branch offices, service providers, vendors and the
stock exchange.
Kerravala was also an engineer and technical project manager
for Alex. Brown & Sons, responsible for the technology related
to the equity trading desks.