Broadband - Swithcing to VoIP

For years we’ve relied on the telephone in order to keep in contact with one another, which is particularly useful for those with family in other countries or serving in the forces.
Now as technology moves on, so does our method of communicating with each other. Now the trend of communication appears to be switching to the online world, with handsets slowly being phased out by headsets and microphones.

With more of us now having access to cheap broadband technology many are now choosing to make the switch to using Voice Over Internet Protocol (or VoIP) in order to make calls.
The process seems simple enough; check your connection (and perform a broadband speed test) then download and install one of the many VoIP clients out there.
All that’s left to do then is decide on the price plan that suits you, connect to the service, slip the headset on and chat away to your heart’s content.

Many of these programs allow users to call each others’ computers through their usernames for free, but for a small fee you can call landlines and mobile phones.
Broadband connections are now widely available across the UK (and indeed the world) – and with many companies now investing in ultra-fast fiber optic technology to replace the existing copper wire system, the possibilities for communication over the Internet are endless.
VoIP technology can be particularly useful if you decide to combine your usage with that of your mobile phone. Many now choose to phone landlines through VoIP technology and make use of the free minutes on their mobile phones to call others.

Businesses too are making use of VoIP technology to conduct meetings – utilising webcams in order to conduct meetings whilst still keeping the element of face-to-face communication. Many are finding this method extremely beneficial, particularly those who have departments in other countries.

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Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/voip-articles/broadband-switching-to-voip-407586.html Author: David Collins

Business VoIP: Friend or Foe?

Author: Kirrily Dear
With the emergence of business grade, open source VoIP, business telephony is moving to an entirely new level. We interviewed Maria Padisetti from Digital Armour to find out if this emerging technology is a friend or foe for business owner - operators.

VoIP (voice over internet protocol) is basically making telephone calls over the internet. ‘Personal’ VoIP tools such as Skype and Engin are common features on desktops these days. They can save time and money. However, with the emergence of business grade, open source VoIP, business telephony is moving to an entirely new level. Telephony is no longer just about making telephone calls it can now become one of the most powerful systems in your business.

Business Grade VoIP
Business grade VoIP looks like a typical PABX but with a lot more features that can make a difference to your business. If your existing PABX is performing well then VoIP can be a simple add-on. It can also be used to fully replace an aging PABX.

Is VoIP the SME’s friend or foe. We interviewed Maria Padisetti from Digital Armour (www.digitalarmour.com.au) to find out.

1. What sort of businesses should be considering business grade VoIP?
Any SME that wants to save money on call costs. Small businesses typically can’t command discounts from telco’s like the larger players can. This is an opportunity to level the playing field. Also it’s an entry level option for those businesses that can’t afford a traditional PABX but want the benefits.

If the business has mobile staff, or if they want to give their people the opportunity to work from home, then this can simplify that process. You don’t have to worry about reimbursing call costs and it is cheaper between locations. It can also significantly reduce landline rental costs. Usually you can drop 40% of your landlines.

Professional services firms will see added benefits because they can get very accurate records of calls for time billing purposes.

2. How big does your business need to be to make it pay?
The smallest company where we have installed business grade VoIP has 6 people. The key benefit they’ve received have been getting the features of an expensive PABX at a fraction of the cost and it has enabled them to project an image of a much larger company.

The biggest ROI we’ve seen so far has been for companies with 25 – 50 people. One client got rid of everything to do with their traditional PABX and moved to VoIP. For an investment of around $9000 they will see service and equipment cost reductions of $46000 over the next 3 years and call costs are down 20%. There have been substantial productivity gains on top of that.

VoIP can be run on a PC so you don’t have to invest in telephones and other hardware. You also get rid of the maintenance costs of those systems. Most support can be delivered remotely so there are very few, if any, call out charges.

Companies less likely to see benefits are micro businesses (say 2 staff) that operate out of a single location with low call volume.
3. What are the key features a buyer should look out for?
To see productivity gains the “must have” features are:

Retrieve and process voicemail
Remote user capability
Ability to send voicemail to email
Automated call handling
Automated receptionist to back up the ‘live’ reception
The “nice to have” features that are also available:

Send and receive faxes
‘Click to dial’ from MS Outlook
Incoming screen pop up with caller information
Instant messenger
Presence (interface showing availability of staff)

4. What are some of the main brands?
Cisco and Avaya are 2 key brands that are primarily targeted at large corporations (www.cisco.com and www.avaya.com). As a ballpark you might be looking at around $120K for 60 users.

Zultys (www.zultys.com) is priced and designed specifically for the SME market. They’ve won a lot of awards. They are the only system that is “Open Standard” which means you’re not tied into buying their hardware with their systems. It’s a simple system so it’s easy to roll out. It’s very user-friendly.

Asterisk (www.asterisk.org) is the cheapest business grade option as it is “open source” software. That means you don’t pay for the software but there are costs associated with the installation, hardware and support. It is also very user friendly and it enables the customer to do a lot of the day-to-day administration on their own without consulting support.
5. What are some of the traps?

Ensure that all the IP PABX features are all ‘switched on’ as part of your initial package. Some companies charge you for the basic system which looks relatively cheap compared to others but the features you want are switched off. They then charge license fees to switch on other features, which causes a cost blowout and locks you into a long term contract.
Beware of the “free” IP PABX offer. They give the system to you for free and then lock you into a long term contract with inflated call costs. A PABX typically costs $5 - 10K so you have question why they’re giving it away for free.

6. What's the process of VoIP installation?

Find 2-3 local suppliers that can show you reference sites.
When looking at their reference sites ask the customers their experiences with aspects such as cut-over (when you switch from one system to the other) and after installation support.

Get the supplier to assess your needs and deliver a quotation on purchase, installation and ongoing support. Make sure they fully list what features are included.

Installation can take as little as 1 day and most are installed in under 1 week. Question lengthy installation timelines.

7. How much can I expect to pay?
Using Asterisk you can get a 10 user system installed typically for under $10K. If you already have IP handsets or want to operate over your PC’s then the cost will come down considerably.

8. Any final tips?
People shouldn’t be afraid of VoIP technology any more. It’s come a long way. There are a lot of very large corporations operating on VoIP but you just don’t realise it. For instance, Amazon.com uses Zultys. So it might be worth a re-look if you’ve considered it in the past.

About Digital Armour
Digital Armour (www.digitalarmour.com.au) is a full service IT & T provider in Sydney. Please feel free to call Maria Padisetti on 02 9420 0961 if you would like further information about business grade VoIP or have any other IT requirements.

About Author

Kirrily Dear is the Development Director of Eyes Wide Open ( http://www.eyeswideopen.com.au ) a company providing management consulting services to small and medium businesses. EWO's free monthly e-newslettter is packed with helpful tips for business owner-operators.

Article Source: http://www.1888articles.com/author-kirrily-dear-1202.html

How Secure is Your VoIP Network?

Voice over IP telephone services are revolutionising how the world communicates, individuals, and businesses are embracing the capabilities and harnessing the power of the internet. Despite voice over IP being a great technological breakthrough, security is still a major concern, yet with the proper precautions it should not have to be.

Most users implementing VOIP these days are primarily concerned about voice quality, latency and interoperability. However we shouldn't overlook the security risks that can crop up when the voice and data worlds converge, users and analysts say.

With voice over IP, voice traffic is carried over a packet-switched data network via Internet Protocol. VOIP networks treat voice as another form of data but use sophisticated voice-compression algorithms to ensure optimal bandwidth utilization. As a result, VOIP networks are able to carry many more voice calls than traditional switched circuit networks. Voice over IP also enables enhanced services such as unified communications.

Securing voice traffic on such networks isn't very different from securing any data traffic on an IP network. In a VOIP world, private branch exchanges are replaced by server-based IP PBXs running on Windows NT or a vendor's proprietary operating system. Such call management boxes, which are used both for serving up VOIP services and for logging call information, are susceptible to virus attacks and hackers. Break-ins of these servers could result in the loss or compromise of potentially sensitive data.

Consequently, it's important that such equipment is properly locked down, placed behind firewalls, patched against vulnerabilities and frequently monitored using intrusion-detection systems.
The University of Houston went one step further and made sure that its call manager and its entire VOIP network aren't directly accessible from the Internet. The school has put its IP PBXs in a different domain than its other servers and has limited administration access to the servers.
VOIP gateway technologies are also a potential weak point. When VOIP is used externally, gateway technologies convert data packets from the IP network into voice before sending them over a public switched telephone network. When VOIP is used internally, the gateways basically route packetised voice data between the source and the destination.

The concern here is that such gateways can be hacked into by malicious attackers in order to make free telephone calls. The trick to protecting against this lies in having strict access-control lists and making sure the gateway is configured in such a fashion that only the people on this list are permitted to make and receive VOIP calls.

As with traditional telephony, eavesdropping is a concern for organizations using VOIP-and the consequences can be greater. Because voice travels in packets over the data network, hackers can use data-sniffing and other hacking tools to identify, modify, store and play back voice traffic traversing the network.

Ultimately, it's important to remember that securing a VOIP infrastructure involves nothing that is drastically different from the measures corporations have always taken to protect their data. To sum up, There are a few simple things any corporation can take to protect their VOIP network, firstly separating and isolating voice traffic onto a virtual LAN is one way of mitigating the risk, of unauthorised access. Secondly using access lists that define exactly who is entitled to access the network will stamp out external threats. Finally using encryption, as you should with any sensitive data, adds another layer to your secure communication.

Charlie Newman writes on behalf of G3 telecommunications http://www.g3-tel.com/ Find out about enterprise & business VOIP solutions http://www.g3-tel.com/technology/ip-telephony/document-30-18.php & IP telephone systems at G3 Telecommunications.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Newman