Daily Payload

Why We Should Not Question Moving To VoIP

January 20, 2009

Back in the 1990s, technology companies made a strong push to accelerate the development of VoIP technology. Some believed it would not work, while others saw it as the future of voice and video communication. Now, more than a decade later, it surprises me that so many people still ask whether one should move to VoIP. There is no reason to contemplate the decision: VoIP is the future and the legacy TDM networks are merely aging into obsolescence.

Perhaps the reason the question of whether one should deploy VoIP technology is asked because the technology comes in many flavors. There are standard protocols, like H.323 and SIP, and there are proprietary protocols, like Skype's. There are also managed services provided by traditional carriers and there are new up-and-coming service providers that may or may not have more than ten people running the whole operation. There are free software products on the market and there are enterprise and carrier class equipment that are as costly as (or perhaps more so than) legacy TDM equipment.

The fact is that VoIP is quickly replacing TDM networks. Service providers have already made significant progress in replacing legacy networks with IP-based systems. So, even if an enterprise does not replace its existing telephone system, calls may still be going over VoIP networks managed by its service provider or a peer carrier.

The only valid question to ask today is which VoIP equipment and service is right for your business or home. There has been a lot of speculation that 2009 will see significant growth in VoIP communications, and I personally have no doubt this is true. Why would an enterprise not want to take advantage of the new capabilities that VoIP offers in order to increase productivity and reduce operational costs? And why would a consumer want to continue to pay insanely high prices for voice calls over a traditional phone line? Why hold on to the legacy technology that has already been abandoned in the market?

If you have not already made the move to VoIP, then 2009 should be your year.