Despite concerns, VoIP system popularity grows

Business communication is a growing area of focus for many enterprises, especially as the remote workforce and mobile aspect of business grows. VoIP phone systems are a growing technology, but some see them as unreliable.  A number of reasons for concern, however, can be attributed to factors outside of the VoIP solution itself.

A pair of articles by BizCommunity looks deeper into the concerns companies are having with VoIP systems and discovering, not only what the real problem may be, but also what fixes may be coming down the pipeline.

A major issue that affects call quality is cabling. ADSL connectivity, a cheaper alternative to higher bandwidth options, runs into a handful of problems when trying to handle a VoIP system. They can not carry the amount of data needed to make consistent VoIP calls, which leads to slow downs and poor quality.

Bruce Maltitz, the author of "VoIP quality and reliability" for BizCommunity, also stressed the importance of not being cheap for the sake of saving money, because companies get out of a VoIP system what they put in.

"Bargain-basement shopping for VoIP is neither necessary nor worth it," Maltitz said. "While it can only save your call centre a miniscule portion of your total costs, it can have a very destructive effect on your competitive advantage, and even your sustainability."

Despite the concern, businesses are eager to implement a VoIP service option. According to a recent Nemertes Research study, 55 percent of companies surveyed had deployed or would be in the process of rolling out, a VoIP solution. The rest, aside from 3 percent, were in some stage of internal discussion regarding a switch.

Business officials in Ohio that are looking to implement a VoIP system should partner with a Cincinnati IT consulting firm for a full diagnostic analysis.

From our offices in Dayton, Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland, PRO OnCall is your single-source technology consulting service, offering managed IT support, unified communications solutions and on-call IT support.