Why opting for VOIP phones is a smart choice

With the advent of Internet, the option of calling from Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) emerged, but in its infancy stage, Internet was unable to provide reliable calling features. Now, the World Wide Web is much more stable and has the provision of making high quality and clear calls using a VOIP phone. This option of making calls using the net is being embraced by organizations of all sizes across the globe. Certainly, when an option of making local and international business calls at the lowest rates is available, why won't people accept it in their day-to-day life?
VOIP based calls can be made using a broadband connection and VOIP hardware that can be placed within the organization as well as off-site, depending on the users. This web based telephoning facility is especially beneficial for start-ups and small businesses, since it does not require huge investments and brings down the calling rates considerably. Such firms can opt for on-site hardware, where the dedicated VOIP phone systems are installed at their facility. Alternatively, depending on budgetary constraints, companies choose hosting service for VoIP, where the hardware are placed elsewhere, while only the equipments used for interactions are on the premises of the firm.

Nowadays, technology has been developed so much that the conventional phones can be used for making VOIP based calls. This can be done using products like PBX Gateway and greatly reduces the cost of installing infrastructure specifically for VoIP, with only minimal requirements being demanded for the same. Coupled with the cheap domestic and international telephony rates, the PBX based calls over the Internet have proven to be powerful tools for organizations based across the world. In any case, it is safe to say that phones that use VOIP adapter help in streamlining the telephony operations of an organization and prove to be affordable beyond imagination.
Among the features that have made VOIP phone the preferred choice all over the world, ACD has been the most noteworthy. It stands for Advanced Call Distribution and helps in making the calling system more efficient by providing various call handling options, such as call queuing, call parking & direct inward calling. While the purpose of call queuing is evident by the name, call parking refers to the process of redirecting incoming calls to unique extension number, which the receiver needs to dial in order to make the calls. Likewise, direct inward calling allows the users to forego the requirement of connecting to a switchboard, but directly link with the VOIP adapter based phone of the person being called.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) features when coupled with VOIP hardware has proven to be instrumental in the growth and development of organizations of all sizes. CRM bolsters the existing network and communication infrastructures of organizations and streamlines the operations they carry out. It makes the jobs like outbound marketing campaigns much easier than conventional methods, due to the presence of features like list management, status reporting, tracking of calls and caller identification using popular products like PBX Gateway (that can be used alongside data retrieval feature to obtain the caller's data within seconds).

Presently, organizations are migrating from analog to VOIPphones in hordes and the number is expected to swell up in the near future as the technology develops further. Inarguably, VOIP is the best way to go!

10 Things You Should Know About VoIP

Learn from other businesses who have already been through a VoIP roll out. Standing over someone else's shoulders, so to speak, will help you avoid their mistakes and glean tips that can make your own deployments go more smoothly.
The following 10 tips will reduce the amount of time, money and headaches that can occur during a VoIP roll out:

    BUY TIME: Anticipate problems even if it appears the VoIP deployment will be a smooth one. Things don't always happen as planned, so add a buffer into your plans. For example, one business ordered an OC-3 circuit from their carrier, which took an extra six months to install. The business had to get by with a DS-3, which was a lot less bandwidth than they wanted.

    GET EVERYBODY ON BOARD: Assign business-unit leaders to oversee the VoIP project team so they know the details and can communicate them to their employees. This reduces the switchover time as well as reduces user training.

    KNOW WHAT YOU'VE GOT: Educate yourself on what your business' network infrastructure consists of. Find out what hardware you have and whether it will support technology that can improve voice quality.

    TEST PHONE COMPATIBILITY: Make sure all the desktop phones have power and switching (PAS) capabilities and can be powered via standard Power over Ethernet (PoE, 802.3af is the IEEE standard). The phones also need to have built-in LAN switch ports, which will enable a single LAN cable to support a desktop PC and IP phone. If Gigabit Ethernet is also required, be sure the IP phone port has 1000Mbps.

    BANDWIDTH CONTROL: If testing shows a need to increase bandwidth, consider upgrading from Fast Ethernet to Gigabit Ethernet. Even if an upgrade seems like too much right now, forecast if an increase in network traffic will be on the horizon which could warrant such an upgrade.

    USE THE RIGHT CODEC: To reduce the amount of bandwidth VoIP service requires, businesses have a selection of codecs to choose from that take the voice stream and encode it for transmission over network wires. While codecs can be as little as 8Kbps or as much as 64Kbps, businesses need to listen to a variety of them to determine which ones produce acceptable quality. If bandwidth is limited, it's important to choose the codec that is the most acceptable and uses the least amount of bandwidth.

    DIALING 911: It's important to know emergency personal can't trace calls placed on a VoIP service. While the VoIP knows its IP address, it doesn't know its physical location. The phone could be anywhere and moved from one network jack to another. Because of this, emergency personnel could be sent to the wrong place. To avoid this problem, it's recommended you tie phones up to an analog phone line if you can.

    SIMPLIFY TRAINING: Large VoIP roll outs require large numbers of users that must be trained to use the new phones. Documentation is very important. Using pictures with instructions, such as, "Here's your network connector, here's the back of your phone, now plug them into each other." Also, having a list of FAQs helps reduce help desk calls.

    GATEWAY TO SAVINGS: Consider limiting the deployment of IP phones to desktops, leaving other areas such as fax machines, hallways, loading docks or exam rooms with low-cost analog handsets with analog-to-IP gateways, for connecting the traffic to the VoIP network.

    CONSIDER SOFT PHONES: Use these for certain types of employees, such as tech-savvy users or those who regularly work from different locations, i.e., branch offices, home offices or on-site with customers.

    REMOTE CONTROL: Determine how remote management applies to your IP PBX. Can the same tools be used on your IP PBX or call server to remotely manage, reboot and configure mail, files, and print servers?

Enterprises can largely benefit from a VoIP PBX telephony system!

Switching from the traditional PBX system to a VoIP PBX telephony system is a crucial decision that depends on individual requirements of organizations. Many companies still prefer to use their legacy PBX phones or PPhone (Centrex) as a regular habit. But for small to medium sized enterprises it becomes quite detrimental to incur unnecessary expenditure on calling costs, especially if it's a growing company with limited capital and resources. Switching from analog to VoIP is therefore considered an intelligent decision that can help organizations to make business calls that are less expensive.
An effective and uninterrupted communication system is very essential for any business to keep track of existing as well as prospective clients and stay ahead of its competitors. And a hosted VoIP PBX gateway can meet all the demands swiftly and efficiently. But purchasing a completely new VoIP phone setup can be expensive for most companies. Therefore renowned VoIP migration companies of Canada have introduced the VoIP EXTenderand the Portico which is telephone VoIP adapter that can help enterprises to obtain all features of VoIP utilizing their PBX telephony system and existing wiring infrastructure. These companies offer PBX gatewaysolutions that are cost-effective with dramatic monthly telecom savings.

The use of VoIP EXTenders, hosted PBX systems and VoIP adapters offer significant benefits to enterprises.

Cost-Effective: One of the most commendable and biggest advantages is that calling cost is reduced to more than 50%. Moreover head offices can call up their branch office and vice versa, anytime without any kind of disruption. Switching from analog to VoIP can be a hassle free, maintenance free experience with long term benefits.
Mobile nature: VoIP PBX telephony offers more mobility and portability, that is an advantage for most enterprises. Business can stay connected anywhere and anytime with just an Internet connection. Calls can be routed anywhere, anytime and there is hardly a chance to miss out on important client calls. Growing enterprises with different mobile employees situated at different locations can benefit immensely with the help of such features.
Increased Efficiency: Legacy PBX systems have a dedicated line between two callers which cannot be used for a third call at the same time. But with hosted VoIP phones the same line can be used to transmit more than one data, since it is transferred over the Internet in the form of digital data packets.

Desired choice of area code: A professional service provider of VoIP adaptersand VoIP PBX telephony system will also offer you the benefit of choosing an area code that is different than your businesses' geographical area. You can enjoy free business calls from your home or office situated in your hometown with a branch office situated in any other city of the world. You just need a virtual phone number with an area code of that place which will provided by the service provider. International phone charges are tremendously reduced and capital expenses are decreased.

The use of VoIP phones or EXTenders and PBXgateways has brought forward numerous benefits and sophisticated features. The telecommunication systems has improved greatly and business have also seen a rise in smooth and efficient communications with decreased calling costs.

To VoIP, Or Not to VoIP: That is the Question

VoIP has become a popular network application in the last few years in the internet and communication world. While it brings major benefits for both consumers and businesses that use it, the decision of whether VoIP is right for their needs is a difficult one. Many businesses may not know the benefits of VoIP either.
Consumers and businesses are aware that implementing a VoIP network can save them money. For those that make a lot of long distance calls, the savings increase substantially. For those that wonder how the savings occur, you first have to understand how VoIP works. VoIP calls are transmitted along your broadband internet connection, bypassing your regular telephone service provider. The cost-savings are from not being charged the numerous taxes and other charges that your regular phone line incurs.

Saving money from long distance calls can result in a massive savings for businesses. With the growing number of VoIP service providers entering the market each year, the competition and subsequent pricing battle between the providers, now is a good time for many businesses looking to convert to VoIP.
With the deployment of a VoIP network into your business, you will receive a converter. This converter is great in itself because it's assigned with your own individual number. If you need to travel, you just take the converter with you and plug it into any broadband connection. This allows you to make and receive calls using the same number. Make sure to have a good bandwidth connection, such as with broadband or DSL, to ensure your VoIP will work successfully. Other things you will need include a computer microphone or regular phone, a VoIP route adaptor for connecting to the internet and of course, a VoIP service provider.

Features that come with a VoIP network include call waiting, caller ID, speed dialing, call forwarding, 3-way calling, free voicemail, plus much more.

In summary, there are many benefits for your business to convert to a VoIP network. While the decision of whether VoIP is right for your business's needs is a difficult one, hopefully this article has helped you make a better decision. What business doesn't want to stay ahead of their competition AND save money? This decision is yours! Just be sure to compare the services and costs of several carriers first, then choose the one that best suits your business's needs. Do your homework first!

Practical VoIP Security

VoIP Security is one of the most important issue because we use this technology to communicate, in other words we actually exchange information through VoIP. If we are dealing any business through VoIP and somehow due to some sort of security holes someone accesses it then that could be disaster to any business man and that information could be miss use in different ways.

I mention business because VoIP is cost cutting solution and many companies are replacing regular telephone because of cheap VoIP services. But let's take another example. Guess you are using VoIP for just personal purpose to communicate with your friends, families and love ones. But still you should concern about VoIP security issues because recently there are countless websites and companies formed just to get your personal and sell it.
Your call can be tracked and recorded due to many reasons some for example: may be any government issues or if you are experiencing time or someone is spying on you. When you join any VoIP service providers you will find long page of privacy and security policy but such pages won't help you all the time.

Assume that you are calling to conventional telephone line through VoIP but in such situation you have two types of security threads both in analog signals as well as in digital signals because when you call to conventional line through VoIP than your data will transfer through many complicated path reaching from routers to multiple servers and at last to your conventional line reaching through analog signals.

Because your data travels through different routes and paths it becomes possible to crack it, if tech savvy pissed on you then it can give a hard time.

VoIP security best practices:

Beside all the issue about VoIP security there is one way out. VoIP security best practice is to encrypt your calls. Encryption is very useful method which changes the entire data in to a form that actual data cannot be extracted unless you're got accesses to thesecurity key. Encryption has different levels like 128 bit, 256 bit and so on. 256 bit is widely used middle level encryption which cannot be broken easily unless the government starts giving full concentration in your data, but still it takes time and most of the time it's impossible because most of the country don't' have such technology. Hence, you can consider 256 bit encryption a secure practice.
But the question is did VoIP Service Encrypt calls?

Actually, there is one VoIP Service Provider which use 256 bit AES (Advance Encryption Standard) and that is Skype. But the other provides like Google Voice and Yahoo won't practices suchsecurity.

Well no one can deny the power of 256 bit encryption but most of the time encryption is not a sole method to stay safe because if your PC is infected or malfunctioned than there is not much to help. You might hear about programs which installed automatically in your systems and send your confidential video audio as well as keyboard activities to its source. For example: if that software is recording your keyboard activity and you entire your username, password, your name, address, credit card numbers etc. all these information are send from your computer to the source through internet.

VoIP Security Solutions:

If you want to secure your information than make sure that your software stays update and if your computer has good system configuration then let antivirus run in background all the time or else scan your computer once in every week. Make sure that you antivirus are full version with complete internet protection suite. Hence, this following this you can at least 60% safe.

At The End: There is nothing which can make your VoIP calls 100% secure but following the mentioned procedure will definitely help you.

VoIP pushes industry to HD voice

VoIP players are setting new standards in voice quality with HD codecs. Cellcos have had their own HD voice standards for years, but challenges abound, and the simpler solution could be to embrace VoIP for themselves
Television channels aren't the only things going "high-definition" (HD) these days. Even voice calls - the traditional cash cow of the telecom sector - are moving into HD territory, particularly in the mobile sector. HD voice promises to make callers sound like they're practically in the same room. And it's been generating considerable buzz in the past six months.

Several HD voice solutions were on show at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. And cellcos in the UK have been demonstrating HD voice, including 3 UK and Orange, the latter of which launched trials of HD voice in several cities with plans for a nationwide rollout. Orange also has HD voice trials ongoing in Eastern and Western Europe.

However, for the most part it's not the traditional cellcos that are turning users onto HD voice, but upstart VoIP players - which is ironic, not least because VoIP call quality is typically portrayed as a matter of low latency. Anyone who has used Skype or similar VoIP apps knows when the call is having latency issues. However, they also know that in terms of actual voice fidelity, VoIP codecs are way ahead of the game.

Skype executives know it too and have been going out of their way to tout the value of HD voice. At the Emerging Communication Conference America earlier this year, Skype chief technology strategist Jonathan Rosenberg included a slide showing that as his company's own SILK codec has improved in audio quality, the frequency and duration of voice calls go up.

Rosenberg said that HD voice quality can increase the length of a voice call 45% (see chart, page 20). Little wonder that Skype's latest iPhone client, which allows Skype calls over 3G networks rather than just Wi-Fi for the first time, boasts "CD quality" voice capabilities.

Meanwhile, Google clearly sees value in HD voice. In May this year, it paid $68.2 million in cash for Norwegian company Global IP Solutions (GIPS), which specializes in VoIP and video processing platforms. Industry observers have speculated that Google could put GIPS' HD voice engines to work to enable an HD version of Google Voice for its Android OS.

What's even more ironic about VoIP's lead in HD voice is that circuit-switched HD codec standards have been around for years. The mobile version, Adaptive Multi Rate Wideband (AMR-WB), has been an ITU standard (G.722.2) for close to a decade, as has the fixed-line version (G.722), and solutions have been commercially available since at least 2006. But deployment has been held up by a number of factors, from cost of deployment to sheer lack of incentive. After all, customers have been using standard voice codecs for ages - they're used to it, and as long as they can understand the person on the other end, why fix what ain't broke?

But that's becoming less and less the case as VoIP - which claims over 900 million users, according to ABI Research - increasingly sets expectations on what voice calls ought to sound like. The trick is that the challenges that have delayed HD voice for so long for operators remain in place - so much so that (and this may be the biggest irony of all) the answer may be to embrace VoIP for themselves.

Handsets, expense, coverage

The chief factors holding up HD voice for operators boils down to a few key themes: handsets, expense and coverage.

The problem with handsets, says Ericsson CTO Michael Lee, is simple: mobile phones have to support AMR-WB for HD voice to work, and at the moment, few do.

"We haven't seen a lot of support from the handset market to accommodate AMR-WB," Lee says. "But to be fair, it's also a chicken-and-egg problem. If there are few operators interested in AMR-WB, why should handset suppliers support it?"

Another issue is network investment, says Lee. "Today operators deploy transcoders in every switching site of the network, so that the 16-kbps codec I use between the mobile and the base station can convert into a 64-kbps connection to adjust for the traditional circuit-switched PCM-based voice codec," he explains. "If you want to do AMR-WB, you have to take those transcoders away and introduce new functionality at the gateway of the architecture that handles transcoder-free operation. All this means you have to make some investment in the network."

This factor has given VoIP players the edge over traditional operators in HD voice, says Alexander Kravchenko, marketing director for voice/video engine specialists Spirit DSP.

"Using HD voice with something like Skype doesn't bring any additional cost to the service provider because the software is free," he says. "For carriers, the situation is quite different because you have to install a lot of equipment."

This isn't necessarily the case for everyone, says ABI Research principal analyst Fritz Jordan. "Newer 3G networks - those deployed since about 2005 and 2006 - can already use the new format and require only a software update and a changeover to HD handsets," Jordan said in a research note. "That's why HD voice, unlike most technologies, will first find traction in developing markets," while markets with older 3G networks will have to upgrade their networks.

However, that raises another key problem - HD voice has to be supported on both ends of the call, otherwise it drops to the default narrowband codec. And islands of HD voice support inevitably mean inconsistent service, says Lee.

"What that means for the end-user's point of view is that sometimes you get high-quality voice and sometimes you get standard-quality, depending on whether you call someone on another network that doesn't support HD voice, including a fixed-line phone, or someone whose handset isn't HD-enabled," Lee says. "It can even be an issue in cases where the operator has deployed HD voice for its 3G network but not its 2G network to cut costs."

That's tricky for operators, he adds, because once users try HD voice, the lower quality of narrowband becomes much more noticeable. "Once they try the high-quality, they notice when it's lower quality and they think it sounds bad, even though it was what they were used to in the past.

Codec interoperability

A related issue with connecting HD voice islands is interoperability between the various codecs in play, from G.722 and AMR-WB to VoIP codecs like Skype's SILK, says Jim Machi, senior VP of worldwide marketing for Dialogic.

"Interoperability is a major issue, whether it's interoperability from HD voice-enabled networks to non-HD voice-enabled networks, or from one HD voice-enabled network to another, as well as potentially from one HD voice codec to another type," Machi says. "There are infrastructure elements called gateways that would need to be installed to enable this. Or more appropriately said, there are gateways being installed every day in networks around the world, so we would need HD voice enabled gateways."
The interoperability problem also includes related value-added services like voicemail, Machi adds. "If you are on an HD voice-enabled network and you want to record a voicemail, you would want to record it in HD voice format, right? So we need media servers to be HD voice enabled."
Perhaps the biggest obstacle for enabling HD voice is the business case for it. Put simply, there isn't one - at least not if operators see HD voice as a potential new source of premium revenue.

HD voice is a hard sell, partially because of the inability to guarantee HD connections regardless of call destination, but also because not everyone can tell the difference on first listen, says Kravchenko of Spirit DSP.

"If you play narrowband and wideband voice samples for the customer, not everyone can perceive a big difference between them right away," he says. "It takes time for them to use it and get used to it, and only when they go back to narrowband do they hear the difference. So it's hard to sell HD instantly. That also means that you can't really charge more for HD voice, even for enterprise users."

The real value for HD voice, says Ericsson's Lee, is in two main areas: longer talk time (as championed by Skype above) and customer retention. "If the question is whether that translates to more ARPU, we see some doubt from the operators on that, and we haven't yet seen a successful case where the operator can generate higher ARPU directly because of HD voice."

That's not to say there won't be opportunities to put HD voice to use in creative value-added service bundles to differentiate themselves from the competition, says Lee.

"Take couples, for example - if you and your lover both subscribe to the same mobile operator, you can enjoy very intimate HD conversations with your partner over the phone," he says. "For the corporate segment, you can offer HD voice to everyone in the company, which is useful for certain businesses that really require good quality voice, like stock traders, for example. You could also use it for DTMF speech recognition services."

If you can't beat 'em ...

Interestingly, despite all the talk about HD voice and VoIP, there's some disagreement over just how much pressure operators are under to take voice high-def.

Lee, for one, says cellcos feel more pressured by VoIP players on things like IDD tariffs rather than voice quality.

"They don't see it as anything urgent, because the value for mobile networks still comes from mobility, and as long as customers still enjoy that mobility, mobile operators still have an advantage," he says. "Also, they still face the same challenges now as they have in the past. So when the competition comes up from other mobile operators, they'll move more quickly to deploy AMR-WB."

Machi of Dialogic, however, credits increased usage of VoIP for resetting customer expectations for voice call quality.

"In the enterprise, using the latest equipment from Avaya or Microsoft or Cisco, you can get HD voice, and Skype also uses an HD voice codec," he points out. "So people have been exposed to HD voice and know how much better it sounds."

Either way, it's going to take time for HD voice to catch on in the cellco world - but when it does, it's going to ramp up fast, according to ABI Research. An April report says serious growth for mobile HD voice won't kick in until at least 2013, but usage of HD-enabled handsets will skyrocket to 487 million subscribers by 2015.

That growth could be even faster for cellcos that are prepared to embrace VoIP for themselves, says Kravchenko.

"In the mobile space, it's probably easier to move to HD voice by enabling VoIP," he says. "Instead of enabling wideband voice on the traditional circuit-switched network, you can use a VoIP software app on the data network and offer it that way. It's a way to get people to try HD voice without the expense of changing the terminals or the base stations."

Spirit's VoIP expert for Asia Slava Borilin adds that using VoIP as an HD enabler also makes the interoperability problem simpler to address.

"There are about five or six software codecs that you'll typically come across in VoIP, and it's not as difficult to get them to interoperate," he says.

The trick there, of course, is convincing cellcos to embrace VoIP in the first place. Most operators have resisted VoIP out fears of cannibalism of existing voice or data capacity issues, and many still block usage of VoIP over their 3G networks (although Wi-Fi usage is usually still allowed). But migration to all-IP LTE could mitigate the capacity concerns, says Kravchenko.

Meanwhile, Skype has been maintaining its charm offensive with cellcos, pitching a November 2009 case study by CCS Insight showing that 3 UK's partnership with Skype has not only lowered churn, but also boosted traditional voice and SMS usage rather than cannibalize it.

To date, only Verizon has taken Skype up on its offer to follow in 3 UK's foodsteps. But the idea does seem to be catching on elsewhere. In July, Korean operator SK Telecom announced that it would include mobile VoIP as part of a broader updated mobile broadband strategy that includes unlimited data plans and an accelerated LTE rollout timetable.

Granted, there are caveats in place - while mobile VoIP subscribers are free to use any VoIP client they wish on SK Telecom's data network, actual mobile VoIP usage will be metered and capped to avoid data congestion.

What's striking is SK Telecom's public admission that the operator's previous objections to VoIP - that it "might act as a disincentive to carriers to make investments and hinder industrial development," as president and CEO Jung Man-Won put it during the press conference - have been overridden by the realization that the pros of VoIP outweigh the cons.

"The introduction of m-VoIP is projected to have a negative effect on our revenues in the short term. However, we expect bigger positive effects in the mid- to long term," Jaeeun Namgung, manager of SK Telecom's pricing strategy team, told Telecom Asia. "It will deliver greater customer satisfaction and help us better retain our customers as we'll be providing them with a wider range of experience and options. Also, we expect growth in our ARPU and revenues as we attract new high paying customers and as our existing users switch to higher priced plans."

Interestingly, Namgung didn't specifically mention HD voice as a particular benefit of mobile VoIP, focusing instead on VoIP's inherent flexibility in terms of creating new voice apps and business models that would be too difficult to do with traditional voice.
"For instance, m-VoIP functions can be added to various applications including real-time remote lecture system, remote health-care service and  real-time games," she said.

That said, however, the HD capabilities of voice certainly wouldn't hurt in any of those apps or services.

Either way, analysts are tipping mobile VoIP as a major growth opportunity. Frost & Sullivan says mobile VoIP will generate $29.57 billion by 2015, despite ongoing resistance from cellcos. And a May report from Ovum warned cellcos that those that choose to block or avoid VoIP do so at their own risk.

"Blocking VoIP is like trying to control the tides. Most mobile operators today have attempted different means of hindering the use of VoIP, or are cautiously monitoring usage," said Steven Hartley, principal analyst at Ovum and report co-author. "However, these approaches merely garner negative publicity from vocal early adopters demanding access."