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2^nd Opinion paper

VoIP

Is VoIP a Silver Bullet for the Global Business World?

When I say Gizmo Project, Skype and Vonage, what’s the first thing to pop into your head? No, we’re not talking about the furry creature from that creepy 80’s movie called Gremlins. Yes, Skype is a real word (seriously, it’s a company!) No I’m not talking about the retro van in the Vonage commercials, or the “w-hoo hoo” theme song of theirs. I’m talking about VoIP (Voice over IP). The concept had been around for a couple years, buts it’s quickly taking shape on the global level.

VoIP basically is the means in which you can use an internet connection or company T1 line to make or take phone calls. Rather then using the traditional phone lines, the call actually is run through an existing network with access to an internet connection (e.g. WiFi and broadband) or private company T1 lines. What use to be a cheap way for exchange students and US troops overseas to make calls back to home, has turned into a new global business solution.

Along with many other technologies, VoIP has both pros and cons. For as many pros that come with using VoIP, there are close to the same amount of cons (which actually aren’t against VoIP itself, but have to do more with its limitations.) Some people are ready to give up the traditional phone to go entirely VoIP (usually this occurs more on a personal level and not a company), while others refuse to have anything to do with VoIP. Ideally a business should look for that magic compromise somewhere in the middle. This strongly is determined by what the company does and how it uses the many forms of communication.

First evaluating and discussing the pros to VoIP; the foremost pro is VoIP’s mobility. VoIP allows business travelers the ability to make and take calls where ever, whenever. The only requirement is that of an internet connection. Often in these cases, that connection is a WiFi hot spot (e.g. hotels data centers, airport terminals or street side coffee shops.) This optimal mobility allows business travelers to take and make calls overseas as if they were local calls. If one where to work in San Francisco, but currently was in Tokyo for a business trip, they could take their VoIP phone number with them. It essentially is like having a cell phone that worked on a global level, but instead of having a small cell phone, you just need access to a computer with the internet. As you can quickly see, the benefits of this for some would be tremendous to some.

Another positive aspect to VoIP lay in how VoIP is already inherently integrated into computer and internet technologies. Such features that are often included with VoIP services: 3-way calling, phone conferencing, call forwarding, auto redial and caller id. In addition to these features, other features enhance the already mentioned; such as: (1) video (for 3-way calling and phone conferencing), (2) file transfer (for 3-way calling and phone conferencing) and (3) online status (for call forwarding, auto redial and caller id). All these features can greatly enrich the phone call and usually at no charge; whereas with traditional phone calling, some features are not possible, while others come with a fee.

As with all wonderful things in life, not everything is prefect. Let’s now cover the cons to using VoIP. Again, these cons are not necessarily because VoIP is bad or evil, but more or less because of its current limitations. The first one has to do with security. Depending on what a company uses its communication lines for, VoIP may not be the most secure option. As it stands now, VoIP cannot handle encryption very well. Though this aspect of VoIP is being addressed, I believe it will take some time to improve this element of VoIP. Until then, any company dealing with sensitive information may not want to use VoIP as its choice for telecommunications.

Another aspect of VoIP that is currently being worked on, but still needs improvement is the quality and stability of calls made via VoIP. It’s not uncommon to run into any of the following issues: echoes, lag time, cross over and even dropped calls. Because of this a company who needs stable telecommunication lines may not want to use VoIP until it can be shown that these problems no longer exist, or exist only at the same level as using the standard phone.

Additionally VoIP due to its nature of being ultra mobile also runs into troubles with geographical features tied to the traditional telecommunications, primarily the 911 system. Usually, when one makes a phone call to the 911 system, it can be determined geographically where the call is being made and the nearest dispatch center receives the call. Because of this permanent geographical element with traditional landlines, VoIP fails terribly in this respect. At the present time, the issue is being addressed and the E911 (enhanced 911) systems is being revised to bring VoIP into the 911 network. This however, will not completely fix the geographical aspect that landlines have, which VoIP does not. This will only allow those using VoIP to register where they normally are, so that educated guesses can be made as to the geographically location of the call incase the 911 system is being used.

Shifting to the physical demands of VoIP, another aspect that sets it apart from physical phone lines is that of power source dependency. Unlike phone lines, when the network goes down, or there are brown/blackouts; the VoIP in that area also is susceptible to going down. Because of the power source dependency, companies must be aware that using VoIP as it’s primarily form of telecommunications made lend itself to a troublesome situation if their power goes out or networks go down.

Speaking of power outages and networks going down, another key aspect of VoIP is the ability to firewall it. Some countries that have government run telephone systems currently are imposing restrictions on VoIP. One of the ways to restrict it is through the means of setting up firewalls to block transmissions into our out of a country. These governments have the capacity to shutdown and cause VoIP blackouts. Other means to restriction of VoIP is that of taxes, charges, bans, fees and in some extremes considering it a criminal offense. Because of this, if a company decides to use VoIP (especially for global business traveling), they should first look into how other they counties they deal with, treat VoIP.

As you can see, VoIP does have many fantastic features to it. But along with the great potential, one must look at what limitations it also brings. In some situations, VoIP seems to be a very good solution, but as with all technology, there is no silver bullet that can remedy every situation. Many outside factors should be considered prior to a company investing in VoIP. Companies also should not over invest in VoIP. By that I mean, a complete replacement of traditional phone lines. As pointed out in some situations above, VoIP isn’t always the best option as a form of telecommunication. As long as a company does its homework and fully understands how it can harness the power and potential of VoIP, I believe it can be a very useful tool in the business world.