The innovative feature sets and capabilities of IP Telephony (IPT) are attractive for enterprises that are seeking a competitive advantage in their respective markets. While cost-savings is often the initial motivator for considering IPT, Info-Tech’s research indicates that enterprises have often adopted IPT in order to gain competitive advantage through the IPT feature sets.

With a number of enterprise-class dual mode devices and platforms now available, the business benefits of Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC) are finally accessible. Enterprise IT leaders seeking ways to streamline the enterprise communications infrastructure and reduce mobility costs should explore the technology and potential applications today.

The hype around Unified Communications (UC) is building to a fever pitch. However, the technology is quickly maturing and will ultimately offer significant benefits for specific business functions. Enterprise IT leaders need to understand UC capabilities and solutions and begin laying the groundwork for their approach.

Microsoft’s Office Communications Server 2007 (OCS 2007) successfully applies the company’s software strengths to address common enterprise communication challenges, warranting serious evaluation by most organizations investigating Unified Communications (UC). IT leaders should gauge the applicability of this product for their organization and determine whether it has the potential to deliver...

More enterprises are discovering the capabilities and potential benefits of Unified Communications (UC) and are beginning to engage in early UC planning. However, emerging solutions vary significantly, introducing a level of confusion for IT leaders. Explore the UC strategies of leading vendors to better understand how their approaches align with or deviate from the enterprise’s own UC objectives.

The ability to stream diverse video content to the user desktop can represent real value for enterprises that are facing the communications and training challenges often associated with a growing, distributed workforce. IT leaders should be aware of the potential benefits and important network implications that are coupled with the deployment of a video streaming infrastructure.

Among Unified Communications (UC) platforms, IBM Lotus Sametime 8 is suitable for enterprises with requirements for cross-platform support and broader objectives for integration across a multi-vendor environment. Given its diverse capabilities and the market presence of the vendor – which cannot be undervalued, due to the cross-silo nature of UC – enterprise IT leaders evaluating UC should...

Although IP softphones have emerged as a practical and low cost alternative to desk phones for many environments, organizations need to look beyond financial factors when evaluating adoption. Enterprises that are planning an IP Telephony deployment should understand the benefits and tradeoffs associated with softphones.

Rather than short-term cost savings, enterprise IP Telephony (IPT) strategy should focus on generating productivity improvements and operational efficiencies from the integration of IPT features. Finding new ways to drive business improvements through IP communications is how enterprises can gain future competitive advantages.

A foremost concern for enterprises moving forward with an IP Telephony (IPT) deployment is the critical dependability of their new enterprise voice solution. Prepare to assess and address the key risk areas when building a high availability plan for IPT.

Enterprises are increasingly coming to a crossroad where a decision needs to be made on the future direction of telephony infrastructure. Whatever the driver for a migration from traditional telephony to IP Telephony, this TCO and ROI calculator can help IT managers make a sound business case for the upgrade.

To ensure project success and that financial objectives are met, enterprises planning an IP telephony deployment must first perform a comprehensive analysis of their existing telephony and network infrastructures.

When making network infrastructure plans for a new remote office, enterprises are faced with a variety of technology options. Carefully evaluating enterprise requirements against the available LAN, WAN, and telephony options will help the enterprise deploy the appropriate technology now and ensure flexibility for the future.

When an enterprise allows a communication service contract to renew automatically, the enterprise pays more than it should. Save money and get the best services available by actively managing the renewal of communication service contracts.

An enterprise-wide telephony upgrade is a significant undertaking into which many enterprises are being pushed. Even if the upgrade seems inevitable, perform due diligence to ensure the “why” is valid and the “how” maximizes financial returns.

Using home-based or virtual call center agents to augment or replace traditional brick-and-mortar call center agents seems like a great idea. Virtual agents can offer many benefits, including increased scheduling flexibility, reduced infrastructure costs, and a greatly expanded pool of potential candidates to choose from, but IP Telephony (IPT) over the public Internet is not up to the task.

Disparities between the feature sets offered by leading IP Telephony (IPT) solution providers are shrinking. The examination of a vendor’s ability to help the enterprise meet future business objectives must be part of the enterprise’s IPT evaluation process.

For small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) evaluating IP Telephony (IPT), 3Com’s NBX V3000 represents a proven, if unspectacular, solution from a reputable vendor. However, the company’s recent struggles in the space are a cause of concern for potential enterprise customers.

For small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) evaluating IP Telephony (IPT), Alcatel-Lucent’s OmniPCX Office represents a solid SME solution. However, the company’s historically weak North American presence and concerns over the long term results of the recent Alcatel-Lucent merger limit its applicability.

For small- and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) evaluating IP Telephony (IPT), Avaya’s IP Office represents an industry-leading product from a foremost enterprise telephony solution provider. IP Office is a complete IPT solution that will meet the current and future needs of a broad segment of enterprises.

For small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) evaluating IP Telephony (IPT), Cisco’s Unified CallManager Express represents a very compelling product. As a fully integrated network infrastructure solution, it offers enterprises the value of both leading edge features and equipment consolidation.

For small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) evaluating IP Telephony (IPT), Mitel’s 3300 ICP represents a very competitive solution, especially for vertical-specific features designed to serve the hospitality and healthcare sectors.

For small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) evaluating IP Telephony (IPT), NEC’s Univerge SV7000 MPS represents a very competitive offering with solid vertical applications.

For small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) evaluating IP Telephony (IPT), Nortel’s CS 1000 represents a very strong all-around solution with an impressive application portfolio.

For small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) evaluating IP Telephony (IPT), ShoreTel’s 6.1 represents a highly scalable and cost effective solution.

For small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) evaluating IP Telephony (IPT), Siemens’ HiPath 3500 represents a versatile product. However, the uncertain future of the company’s Enterprise Networks division introduces moderate risks with respect to long term SME support.

The selection of an IP Telephony (IPT) solution requires careful evaluation of not only the product itself, but the vendor and integrator. Use this tool to evaluate and rank IPT products, vendors, and integrators.

Enterprises selecting an IP Telephony (IPT) solution often focus on the product itself and neglect the vendor and reseller/integrator. Leading product features and functions are generally very comparable for most enterprises. When selecting a solution, focus on the strength of the vendor and the experience and expertise of the integrator.

The costs of carrier services have fluctuated significantly over the past few years, and while pricing has stabilized considerably, some volatility remains. It is possible to have the best of both worlds; long-term contracts with assurance of competitive pricing, but you have to ask for it. Most carriers will be accommodating if you know what to ask for and how to ask for it.

Enterprises investigating hosted VoIP services face a wide array of providers and solution offerings from which to choose. Considering the still moderately-high risk associated with outsourcing voice services, it is incumbent on IT leaders to conduct a thorough and extensive evaluation of potential providers and services. Use this guidance to direct a comprehensive assessment of hosted VoIP...

When preparing for an IP Telephony (IPT) implementation, enterprises must be thorough in evaluating their VoIP traffic requirements against the current traffic characteristics and capacity of their existing data networks. A clear understanding of the nature of VoIP traffic and the impact of adding it to the current data infrastructure will help enterprises to identify the most appropriate network...

Converging voice with the existing data network requires due care to ensure voice quality. To achieve quality voice performance, enterprises must be diligent in assessing the readiness of their existing networks for IPT. Use this checklist to determine if your enterprise network is ready for an IPT implementation. Follow up on any outstanding items before proceeding with IPT plans.

While IP telephony (IPT) offers a range of operational and strategic advantages, converging voice with the existing data network requires due care to ensure voice quality. To achieve optimal voice performance, enterprises must be diligent in assessing the readiness of their existing networks for IPT and making the necessary improvements prior to implementation.

Changing telecom providers can be a painful experience at the best of times. For enterprises with one or a few sites, switching service providers can be managed relatively easily. But for enterprises with dozens or hundreds of sites, switching telecom providers is a huge and costly project that must be very carefully managed.

Hosted VoIP services allow enterprises to capture the powerful productivity advantages of IP telephony without a significant administrative burden or upfront capital expenditure. To ensure the success of a hosted VoIP deployment, enterprises must verify network readiness prior to implementation and make plans to immediately integrate new VoIP features into business operations.

Enterprises preparing to implement IP Telephony (IPT) can learn from the experiences of their peers. Avoid the most common pitfalls associated with IPT deployments to ensure that the project is within budget and on time.

Sufficient network preparation is a critical success factor for any enterprise deploying IP Telephony (IPT). Enterprises planning to implement the technology can save themselves from considerable pain by following proven strategies in ensuring network readiness.

Implementing video conferencing over an IP network requires network planning and design changes. Ensure that video-based services perform as advertised by implementing a LAN and WAN infrastructure that supports their bandwidth and real-time performance requirements.

Thin clients combined with virtual PCs have emerged as a legitimate alternative to traditional PC deployments in the enterprise. However, there are limitations that need to be considered. One such limitation is the inability of the Remote Desktop Protocol to support two-way voice communications. This note looks at how this limitation impacts softphone provisioning in a virtual desktop...

For many enterprises that have made the decision to pursue Unified Communications, Microsoft’s Office Communications Server 2007 product has considerable appeal, offering flexible deployment and tight integration for Microsoft-centric IT environments. Enterprises planning to implement the solution should assess these chief deployment considerations.

Given the frequency with which vendors can release critical fixes, a structured approach to applying new firmware and software updates within an enterprise IP Telephony (IPT) deployment is essential. Protect against IPT vulnerabilities with a comprehensive patch management plan.

Although many enterprises that have deployed IP Telephony (IPT) realize immediate operational benefits, many fail to explore and pursue additional high value opportunities after implementation. Leverage advanced call routing capabilities to drive additional cost savings and productivity gains.

An IP Telephony deployment imposes wide-ranging security risks. Enterprises must understand and implement appropriate LAN security measures to mitigate these risks.

Given the extended effort and expense that can go into an enterprise IP Telephony (IPT) implementation, the likelihood exists that some IT departments will undervalue the importance of end-user training. However, a formal approach to training end users is a critical component of an IPT project. Follow these recommended approaches to IPT end-user training.

A significant percentage of enterprises implementing IP Telephony (IPT) are doing so in an effort to reduce costs. If cost reduction is a primary driver for an IPT deployment, ensure that benefits are realized. Reducing labor costs by eliminating redundant, dedicated telephony management positions is one of the key contributors to cost reduction with IPT.