VoIP
What is 
VoIP - Voice over Internet Protocol: The admission price to success for all businesses in the 21st century is the effective use of communications and it is crucial for small and medium-sized companies to recognise this if they are to be able to keep pace with the new digital economy and new ways of working. Today’s successful business knows that work is no longer somewhere you go but something can you do from any location.
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The rapid changes taking place in telecommunications have been driven by two factors; broadband access and the ability to transmit voice communications using Internet protocol (IP).The latter has become better known by the acronym “VoIP”, Voice over Internet Protocol and has often, and incorrectly, been solely associated with making free calls over the Internet. However there is more to it.
IP networks have become standard within business today, providing the backbone to transmitting data across a company's local or wide area network (LAN or WAN). IP networks were initially and exclusively designed to carry data in small packets from point to point. However, technology has provided the opportunity of converting voice into data packets and sending them over the same, single, IP network. Hence the term
Voice over IP – fully integrated and converged voice and data communications. Page 2
Potential business benefits of VoIP include significantly improved call handling and the ability to streamline communications between sites, remote offices and home workers, by delivering enhanced telephone services and network applications, such as e-mail, messaging and business databases via the integrated VoIP system.
VoIP can also deliver significant cost savings through more effective use of the company's existing or planned network. Sites connected via VoIP can enjoy the benefit of free calls between sites and improved internal communications. As you will see later, companies are now able to take full advantage of the benefits and efficiencies of VoIP functionality with the latest
PBX telephone systems on the market.Why use VoIP?
VoIP is an essential part of a worldwide move towards converging voice and data communications. One of the key benefits that may be derived from this
Convergence is ongoing cost reduction. By running voice and data communications over a single network, infrastructure management and line rental costs can be significantly reduced. The opportunity to benefit from the installation of a single network is at its greatest when a business is considering a move to a new location, or a ‘Greenfield’ site.IP is also an enabling technology that allows telephone systems to be more flexible in offering a wider range of applications and often an IP solution can be more cost effective than traditional (
TDM) systems when expansion is a possibility. Page 3
Remote workers and satellite offices are fine examples of where IP telephony can be cost effective and highly functional.Connected at their home or branch office via an IP PBX extension telephone, staff become an integral part of the overall telephone system. They can be logged in and out of contact centres as required and take and make calls with full PBX functionality as if they were sitting in the main office. What is more, all of this can be achieved over an IP network, without any call charges. It also draws home workers into the wider work community fostering a feeling of “belonging” wherever the home worker is located.
What does it mean for business?
- Free internal calls to all parts of the company that share the computer network.
- Simpler infrastructure: with VoIP, you can simply add telephones and capacity without installing new cabling.
- Reduced operating costs: centralised system resources such as data, switchboard operation and network management.
- Improved productivity: easy desk-to-desk dialling and call transfer throughout the WAN.
- Wireless compatible cordless functionality is available with WiFi standard handsets and IP DECT phones giving staff true mobility between sites.
- Enhanced customer service: simple integration with CRM packages providing Screen Popping and customer database integration across the network.
- Flexibility: you can set up a fully functional office wherever there is a broadband connection.
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Leased Lines
Without going into too much detail and getting side tracked, leased lines provide a certain amount of data
Bandwidth between two or more locations. Historically these were supplied as 128k, 256k, 384k, 512k and so on up to 2Mb. The leased lines provided point-to-point connectivity for organisations that had more than one office and needed to share data. In addition, it was possible to connect telephone lines between these sites to obtain free calls. In some cases, units (multiplexers) were connected to the leased lines which enabled the spare bandwidth to be used for more than one telephone call at a time, however, these were expensive and unreliable. With the development of the internet, the usage began to change from leasing lines between company sites to leasing lines to connect to an Internet Service Provider. As traffic increased to access the web, so did bandwidth requirements and eventually broadband evolved. This technology enabled more data to be transmitted along the same connection, leading to virtual private networks
VPN’s. Virtual Private Networking (VPN’s)
To explain; if two computers or networks in different locations are both connected to the internet then it is possible to network them to each other directly via the internet using their internet/Public IP addresses. The problem with this technique is that there is no security and sensitive company data is being transmitted on a public network.
VPN is a facility that has software or hardware at each end that sets up a ‘tunnel’ across the Internet between the two sites. This tunnel is secure and encrypted. This means that once the data tunnel is operating, you can pass any data through it securely. Even though the tunnel itself is running through the public internet, the data within the tunnel is secure, which means that you can use it for Wide Area Networking (connecting LANs). You can even have several VPNs running simultaneously so multiple offices can all be linked. All this can be achieved using the internet and the costs are minimal when compared to leased lines.
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It is possible to “hire” a VPN tunnel as well as provide the equipment that will allow telephone calls and your computer data to be carried FREE between the two sites. All costs are typically included on one monthly bill.
What about voice quality over VPN?
Priority can be given to certain types of traffic such as telephone calls thus ensuring the best possible quality even on the busiest of networks.
What about support?
Typically, providers of these services will monitor their networks via Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) which enables the provider to constantly monitor their network nodes on a large display and respond immediately to failures if they occur.
What are the advantages of Tunnelling (VPN)?
- Link remote offices using the Internet - across the road, across town or across the world
- High-Level encryption
- Use ADSL, cable modem or dial-up links to the internet
- A fraction of the cost of leased lines
- Scaleable - support for multiple simultaneous tunnels
- Flexible - remote offices can be set up and moved quickly
- Voice and data can be carried on same link
- Users using dial-in from a hotel room can join their corporate network and even benefit from free phone calls
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Could your business benefit from installing a VPN?
- Improved security
- Reduced operational costs versus traditional leased lines
- Free phone calls for remote users
- Improved productivity
- Simplified network topology
- Global networking opportunities
- Provides support to remote users
- Broadband networking compatibility
- Dial up users can have access to their corporate network without using a RAS (Remote Access Server)
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ShoreTel's Unified Communications system encompasses phones, switches, and software that are designed to allow easy deployment and rapid flexibility, and deliver world-class quality. ShoreTel's IP phones provide the ultimate in ergonomic and aesthetics design, as well as superior audio quality. ShoreGear® voice switches are purpose-built appliances with no moving media, delivering unmatched reliability and availability. And the ShoreWare® Call Manager end-user application suite makes it easier for users to communicate with anyone, anywhere, anyway they choose. 
