BUYER’S GUIDE

What to Look
for in VoIP
VoIP technology and services are now nearly
essential for every enterprise. This guide outlines
the technology of today and what you need
to know before you buy. JON ARNOLD
BUYER’S GUIDE
What to Look
for in VoIP What to Look for in VoIP
Voice over IP in the enter-
prise has clearly emerged as
the successor to time-division
multiplexing (TDM), offer-
ing businesses an overhaul of
their telephony systems.
In 2015, VoIP reached its
20-year milestone, so the tech-
nology has been here for a long
time. But as often happens in
technology, adoption has been
slow.
VoIP has been business-grade
for many years. Its gradual adop-
tion has reached critical mass,
where most businesses now
know about it and a growing
number are using it.
Before delving into the buying
process, it’s important to cover
2 EXPLAINED
the VoIP basics, especially if
you’ve never used it before.
VoIP EXPLAINED
Let’s start by breaking down the
acronym, which incorporates
two distinct ideas. Voice over
Internet Protocol represents the
intersection of telephony and
the Internet. Telephony is the
primary medium for voice—but
not the only one—and has long
operated independently from
other communication channels.
This approach served businesses
well, as there was no need to
integrate it with anything else
until the Internet came along.
The Web has given rise to the
HOW IT WORKS
Internet Protocol (IP), a set of
standards that allows various
forms of data to travel over a
common network. Since legacy
telephony—TDM—was not data,
it initially remained separate,
running on a dedicated voice
network.
The common denominator for
IP traffic is packetization, which
transports digital packets across
the Web in a highly efficient
manner. The information flows
at wire speed this way, with vir-
tually no cost. Because the Web
is a collection of interconnected
networks, the operating prin-
ciple is for packets to be routed
over the most efficient path that
consumes the least amount of
FEATURES THE BOTTOM LINE
BUYER’S GUIDE
network resources. Since many
What to Look
for in VoIP paths are possible, traffic rarely
flows in a linear fashion, often
making multiple hops en route
to the final destination.
This approach is the polar
opposite of TDM, which oper-
ates on the principle of a closed
circuit between two parties. By
having a dedicated connection,
TDM calls are clear, private and
secure. But those circuits can-
not be shared while in use, and
compared to IP, TDM is a highly
inefficient model for managing
network resources. This is a key
reason why the cost of legacy
telephony is so high.
VoIP’s pioneers recognized
the opportunity and worked on
bringing these worlds together.
Once they could find a way
to packetize voice, it could be
added to the IP data stream
and, from there, dramatic cost
3 EXPLAINED
reductions in telephony service
became possible. Early efforts
were plagued by poor qual-
ity, but as the Web matured
and broadband supplanted
dial-up service, VoIP overcame
those issues. Today, it is a bona
fide replacement for legacy
telephony.
HOW VoIP WORKS
When purchasing VoIP, busi-
nesses must understand that
two components are involved:
the phone system and the ser-
vice. They can be purchased
together as a service, in which
case there won’t be any integra-
tion issues since the phones
will already be IP-enabled. As
explained above, VoIP travels
on the data network, and the
phones must be IP-based for
the packets to convert into voice
HOW IT WORKS
signals. Legacy-based phones
are built around analog or digital
technology, but will only work
on the dedicated voice net-
work—not an IP network.
Although many businesses
have sunk costs in legacy phone
systems that are still going
strong, they can still use VoIP—
so these businesses are not pre-
vented from starting down this
path now. To IP-enable these
phones, you need an Analog
Telephone Adapter (ATA) or
comparable peripheral for each
endpoint. ATAs aren’t expen-
sive and provide a great bridge
to continue using legacy phones
until it’s time to replace them—
along with getting the benefit of
cost savings from VoIP today.
For businesses that have no
existing telephony system con-
figured, going with a full VoIP
service and IP phones makes
FEATURES THE BOTTOM LINE
BUYER’S GUIDE
sense. With phone vendors
What to Look
for in VoIP and service providers both
transitioning from legacy to
VoIP, greenfield opportuni-
ties have many options to
consider.
A different scenario could be
a trigger event where the exist-
ing phone system needs to be
replaced. Whether a breakdown
occurs or capacity issues sim-
ply reach a point of no return, a
change has to be made. This will
likely lead to a wholesale switch
for both the phones and the
service.
VoIP FEATURES
Buying VoIP products requires
careful consideration of a num-
ber of factors. VoIP vendors
should be evaluated primarily
by the following criteria: ease of
use, definition of scope, existing
4 EXPLAINED
During the evaluation process, products should
be compared with modern VoIP offerings rather
than an organization’s existing TDM service.
network infrastructure and the things, such as the VoIP service,
possibility of future upgrades. broadband connectivity and SIP
Selecting a VoIP service pro- trunking. A comprehensive set
vider requires careful consider- of buying criteria will depend on
ation for two distinct reasons. the needs of the organization,
First, you need to determine but the four common criteria
from whom you’ll be buying. that apply to all VoIP phone
In most cases, you will buy system scenarios are VoIP fea-
VoIP via a reseller or dealer— tures, scope of the service, net-
the channel—but in some cases, work requirements and plans for
businesses buy VoIP direct from future expansion.
the vendor. Second, buying a Considering features and
VoIP phone system has more functions should always be
variables than a legacy phone the starting point when you
system. In some cases, orga- are ready to buy VoIP. To get
nizations need a full-fledged full value, products should be
IP phone system, while others compared with modern VoIP
might just want basic IP phones. offerings rather than an orga-
Furthermore, IP phones are nization’s existing TDM ser-
increasingly bundled with other vice. At minimum, VoIP must
HOW IT WORKS FEATURES THE BOTTOM LINE
BUYER’S GUIDE
replicate legacy telephony, espe-
What to Look
for in VoIP cially to ensure easy adoption
among employees. The phones
should have a familiar look and
feel with the dial pad, preset
buttons, handset, visual display
and volume controls.
Beyond this, however, VoIP
supports several new fea-
tures including ad-hoc con-
ferencing, call recording, Web
browser, presence indicator,
Bluetooth support and more.
Since these phones connect to
the data network, there will be
different power configurations.
Some models will be powered by
plugging directly into the power
supply, but most will use Power
over Ethernet.
In terms of must-have VoIP
features, the most important
factor is ensuring the phones
support the features being
offered by the VoIP provider.
5 EXPLAINED
VoIP supports new features such as ad-hoc
conferencing, call recording, Web browser,
presence indicator, Bluetooth support and more.
Some phone vendors still main- need models with good headset
tain proprietary protocols, support. Warehouse employees
especially for SIP trunking, so need more rugged and/or cord-
choosing a vendor should not less phones. And meeting rooms
be done in isolation from the require conferencing phones.
VoIP service. Another exam- When developing a request for
ple is high-definition voice, proposal, identifying your com-
which can be a great feature pany’s various needs will be a
for the contact center or con- key area for vendors to tailor
ferencing, but only if the end- their offer.
points can support it.
Finally, the range of VoIP
features varies by price point, THE BOTTOM LINE
and IP phone vendors offer a Once a business realizes VoIP’s
range of models to address dif- potential, many questions may
ferent use cases. While most be raised—not just about the
employees can manage with a technology, but also its business
standard phone model, execu- value. New technology usually
tives might want higher-end implies risk. But in the case of
phones. Contact center agents VoIP, that concern should be
HOW IT WORKS FEATURES THE BOTTOM LINE
BUYER’S GUIDE
nominal.
What to Look
for in VoIP While many businesses are
still learning about the ben-
efits of VoIP, the technology
is mature enough to replace
legacy telephony. This consid-
eration is important since the
underlying TDM technology has
served businesses so well for so
long.
When understanding the need
for VoIP, this history is relevant
because the bar was set so high.
TDM is expensive, but it deliv-
ers outstanding quality and
reliability. For IT departments,
TDM does not pose any major
network challenges, and for
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Communications today.
While many businesses are still learning about
the ben­efits of VoIP, the technology is mature
enough to replace legacy telephony.
management, the business case
has to be compelling to consider
replacing something that works
so well.
VoIP isn’t the only way to
boost employee productiv-
ity, nor is it the only reason to
upgrade the network, but the use
cases can be very strong. This
largely depends on whether the
decision to switch is driven by
IT or management. The overall
takeaway is VoIP can provide
short- and long-term strategic
benefits for the organization.
Thinking about VoIP strictly
as a vehicle to save money is a
valid driver, but a narrow one
that undermines the bigger
picture value proposition.
Businesses had no reason to
think this way with standard
telephony, but they do with
VoIP. n
JON ARNOLD is principal of J Arnold &
Associates, an independent telecom analyst
and strategy consultancy based in Toronto,
whose primary focus is providing thought
leadership and go-to-market counsel re-
garding IP communications and disruptive
technologies, like VoIP, mobile broadband,
contact centers, telepresence/video, unified
communications, collaboration, SIP trunk-
ing, cloud communications, session border
controllers and social media. Arnold
was named a Top 100 Tech Podcaster by
GetVoIP.com and is frequently cited in both
the trade press and mainstream business
press.

6 EXPLAINED HOW IT WORKS FEATURES THE BOTTOM LINE

 This Buyer’s Guide What to Look for in VoIP is a SearchUnifiedCommunications.com e-publication.

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