Four obstacles to implementing VoIP

Jason Hiner: The popularity of Voice over IP in the business world continues to grow, primarily because companies are attracted to its potential for saving them big bucks on long distance and international calls. Yet despite this growth, still fewer than half of businesses are using VoIP. So if the cost savings are so dramatic, why haven't more companies made the switch?

I'm Jason Hiner, and today on Sanity Savers for IT Executives, I'll discuss some of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of widespread corporate adoption of VoIP.

Number 1: Reliability

The performance of the traditional public switched telephone network -- PSTN -- has spoiled us. While we accept that computers occasionally go down, our expectations of the phone system are much higher. When we pick up the phone, we expect a dial tone, and businesses depend on phones for internal communications and to stay in contact with customers, partners, and vendors. So, a phone OUTAGE can cost the company a lot of money.

VoIP is far more reliable than it was just a few years ago. However, there are still times when it's not quite as reliable as the PSTN because VoIP depends on both electrical power and Internet service. Interruption of either means losing phone service. You can implement redundant Internet connections and power backup, but this adds to the cost.

Number 2: Quality of Service

VoIP is far more sensitive to network glitches than data transmission issues. If the network drops data packets, it simply resends them. If the dropped packet results in an e-mail delayed by a few minutes, users likely won't even notice. But if delays in transmission or dropped packets cause a disrupted phone call, you can bet the call participants WILL notice -- and they'll complain.

IP networks are subject to many variables, including packet loss, delay of packet delivery, and out of sequence delivery -- all of which can affect VoIP call quality. Plus, the analog-to-digital conversion process can create distortion or echo effects, and signal level problems can also cause excessive background noise.

To help prevent such problems, the I-P network must support quality-of-service mechanisms that allow administrators to give PRIORITY to VoIP packets. This means a VoIP network is more trouble to manage than a data-only network, and it requires an additional skill set to administer.

Number 3: Complexity

The unfamiliar terrain of VoIP communications presents another big obstacle for many companies. Network administrators who are VERY well-versed in running a standard data network may know very little about how VoIP works, what equipment is necessary, how to set up and maintain that equipment, or how to integrate the VoIP network into the existing data network.

If you don't have staff expertise in VoIP then you may need to hire a new specialist, invest in training, or bring in a consultant to help set up a VoIP network. However, once again, this raises the price tag and eats into the cost savings that are one of VoIP's main advantages.

There are also vendors that now offer hosted VoIP services, which can be a great solution for a small and medium businesses. Just make sure you talk to some of the companies that are currently using the vendor's VoIP service before you sign a contract.

Number 4: Security

Malicious users can tap traditional telephones, but it's a fairly difficult process. Traditional phone communications travel over dedicated circuits controlled by one entity -- the phone company. But VoIP packets go through numerous routers and servers at many different points.

All IP networks have security vulnerabilities and with VoIP that means there's always the risk of intercepted calls and eavesdropping.

Adding VoIP also adds another layer of vulnerability to a data network. Encryption and other security mechanisms can make VoIP as secure -- or even more secure -- than traditional phones. But once again, it's perception that matters. And don't forget: Extra security mechanisms also mean extra cost.

VoIP is becoming a business standard. But before you implement VoIP you must be aware of and address the problems of reliability and quality of service, prepare for the complexity inherent in implementing VoIP, and address security concerns. At the same time, you still need to calculate the ROI to keep VoIP costs lower than traditional phone lines running on a PBX.

I'm Jason Hiner, and this has been another episode of Sanity Savers for IT Executives. For more, go to sanity.techrepublic.com. And if you have feedback or your own sanity savings tips, e-mail them to us at sanity@techrepublic.com. If we use one of your tips on the show, we'll send you a TechRepublic coffee mug. Thanks for watching. See you next time.