University of Delaware flips the switch on a VoIP phone system

Any organization with multiple phone services in place would be wise to consider upgrading to a VoIP phone system. To see why this is the correct course of action, look no further than the University of Delaware.

According to an article from The Review—the student newspaper of the University—after weeks of preparation, the switch has finally been made to launch the new VoIP phone system. Over the course of two hours on September 30, the "cut over" was in effect as the old telephone system unplugged and switched over to the Voice over IP service.

Daniel Grim, the CTO of the University, told the news source that more than 5,500 numbers were transferred. The switch was initiated to reduce the costs that were needed to maintain the substantial underground infrastructure. 

"A large part of our motivation for the new system was to not have to maintain the cables, make the system more reliable and also to not have the liability that the cables will fail and need to be replaced at an exorbitant cost," Grim said.

He added that the initial investment of the system is $3 million, but it will be paid off in five years.

Organizations with a need for multiple communication touch points can benefit from the cost reduction features of a VoIP phone system. With the help of an IT consulting firm that specializes in unified communication solutions, any business can upgrade how it connects and start reaping the benefits.