Switching to VoIP

8.1. Assessing VoIP Readiness

Now that interoperable soft and hard IP phones and ATA devices exist and best practices for ensuring quality on the TCP/IP network have been established, the path to VoIP is paved with confidence. Thanks to voice-over-data pioneer Cisco Systems, the industry has gotten the proof it needed that Ethernet can indeed be used for enterprise voice traffic. The true appeals of VoIP aren't just a novelty, but rather real, solid propositions of dollars and cents. And the justification for any infrastructural change of VoIP's magnitude always boils down to dollars and cents .

Just as it took VoIP a few years to be ready for business, it may take a while for businesses to be ready for VoIP. Your business environment, network, and implementation plan must be up to par if VoIP is to succeed in your organization.

VoIP readiness can be heightened or lowered by these factors:

Business environment

Is the business culturally ready for VoIP? Are its applications or cost models seeking benefits from VoIP? To what extent can VoIP really help the businessan IP-based trunk here and there or a full, end-to-end replacement network?

Network environment

Is the network ready and able to deliver toll-quality voice services? What are the cost and timeline to get it ready? Is it desirable, or possible, to migrate the network to VoIP services a workgroup at a time, a LAN at a time, or a trunk at a time?

Implementation scenario

Are the social, timing, and project-management ramifications of VoIP conducive to a successful rollout? Is there effective, mandated leadership and enough resources to complete the implementation?