Determining the number of phone lines required for a facility can be a daunting task for IT leaders that have recently taken on telecom responsibilities. Planners should leverage available data sources and established traffic analysis methods to...

(22-Jul-10) Skype, which disrupted the telecommunications industry with free or low-cost calls routed over the Internet, is once again an independent company. EBay (EBAY) bought the Estonian startup in 2005, but, after a strained relationship,...

I have had a series of opportunities, over these last few weeks, to witness the industry confusion over the question of which platforms will succeed. Since the resolution, and understanding, of this question will drive much of the computing...

(11-Jan-10) Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer opted not to talk about his company’s soon-to-be-expected Windows Mobile 7 OS during his keynote address at last week’s International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Considering the...

(4-Jan-10) This year will see phones organized around contact lists, an upsurge in video-on-demand, social networking as a primary means of communication, people tracking each other via GPS and smart phones as all-in-one entertainment hubs,...

(IT World Canada) - With the growing rivalry between Telus and Globalive heating up before the companies have even started competing, many industry observers are debating why the Vancouver-based wireless giant has taken such a strong stance in...

(Bloomberg) - Cisco Systems Inc., facing waning demand for networking equipment from businesses, is working with phone and cable carriers on products and services that let consumers hold videoconferences through their televisions.

Skype's combination of strengths and shortcomings make it a complicated issue when it comes to use in business environments. However, while the desktop application poses similar security risks to other consumer messaging tools, small business IT...

IP-based trunking services represent a significant and increasingly viable voice services solution for today's enterprises, particularly for redundant connectivity. IT leaders must understand the opportunities and implications associated with...

VoSKY's Skype-based call trunking solution may draw the interest of organizations that are looking for cost effective opportunities to scale their expanding communications infrastructure. IT leaders should explore the merits of the VoSKY...

Although IP convergence offers a range of opportunities and benefits, it also introduces several critical performance considerations, not all of which are related to network operation. Understand the factors that affect IP voice, video, and...

IT departments should take an active role in managing their corporate cellular phone policies and practices. Implementing a comprehensive management plan can result in significant monthly cost savings from various avenues.

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...

Dell's new partnership with Fonality positions it as an unlikely but important new entrant in the increasingly competitive small enterprise IP telephony space. While it lacks telephony experience, Dell's size, sales, and distribution strengths...

IT leaders in small enterprises need to look beyond financial factors when evaluation the adoption of IP softphones. Understand the scope of benefits and tradeoffs associated with softphones.

As a full-featured IP Telephony solution from a market-leading vendor, Cisco's Smart Business Communications System (SBCS) offers solid value for small enterprise environments. Companies that are exploring phone systems for up to 48 users should...

Enterprises that have identified a business need to migrate to IP Telephony (IPT) face several challenging decisions. While considerable time and effort typically go into evaluating different products and vendors, enterprises must ensure that...

Hosted VoIP represents a compelling enterprise IP Telephony (IPT) option that is being increasingly explored by smaller organizations. Considering the current bloat within the hosted VoIP market and the risks associated with outsourcing...

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...

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