stepping into the future of business communicationdoc.mediaplanet.com/all_projects/2665.pdf ·...

ip telephonyJuly 2008 A special interest supplement dstributed with the Sunday Times

stepping into the future of business communication

IP Telephony a MediaPlanet supplement2

CONTENTS

ip TElEphONy a supplement from MediaPlanet

Project Manager: Stephen DonohoeDesign / Prepress: David FranklinText: BeCreativePrint: The Sunday Times

What is VoIP and how does it work?IP telephony: the new communications frontierVoIP: a revolution in communicationsThinking of VoIP?Q & A – Irish Internet AssociationWhat can VoIP do for you?Case study with RealTime Recruitment How secure is VoIP?PlanNet 21 CommunicationsVideo Conferencing: the power of SIP Sending a smilieHyperconnectivity Connecting with the VoIP expertsIP telephony: how will it develop?

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previously, IP Telephony was promoted almost exclusively as a cost cutting technology. In the current climate, companies are opting for IP Telephony not just to save money but to also increase productivity while gaining a competitive edge over rivals. The cost

efficiencies in switching do not just come from multiple, incremental savings every time a staff member picks up the phone. There are also huge savings to be made from running a single IP network where one team ensures the bandwidth and performance levels are sufficient to run voice and data side by side, saving on the administrative costs of treating the two separately. The clincher for any company that is run across more than one site is whether they would like staff in the various locations to call one another for free over an IP network or whether they would prefer to continue paying every time an employee picks up the phone.

Once a telephone number becomes an IP address it follows an employee around, making it easier for colleagues and clients to contact through one number, rather than a series of attempts to reach them on various locations. As the technology evolves and improves new services will become available to further facilitate and enable organisations to operate with greater efficiency. Services that will leave people wondering how they coped without them - such as Unified Communications and Next Generation Networks – will quickly integrate themselves into the workflow of any company. Ultimately, of course, this will become the norm for business and then residential customers, because it simply makes much more sense to use a single, cost effective, flexible network that allows next generation services.

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VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, and quite simply entails the transmission of voice information through Internet Protocol (IP) as opposed to traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)

Traditional telephony is very simple. On a Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN) two-way conversations travel down a telephone line in a straight line, rather like traffic flowing up and down a motorway in opposite directions. The advent of the Internet gave rise to a different way of carrying information down the line. Instead of sending everything in a constant stream, IP networks take segments of data which are sent in ‘packets’ to their destinations.

Often these packets will be sent on different routes, aligning themselves in order when they reach their destination. For data this is fine because the order the data or the information appears on the screen is not normally a concern. With voice, of course, the words you are speaking have to arrive in the right order, hence it has not been until the last few years that the networks have been sophisticated enough to carry voice traffic without any deterioration in quality.

Once businesses and consumers start to

make and receive digital calls on the same IP network their data flows in and out on – be that the company LAN or a home broadband connection – a whole new world of opportunities is opened up.

The era of VoIP in business has well and truly arrived. The technology has reached a level where the case for migrating business from traditional PTSN is compelling for many companies. Although the integration of VoIP promises greater cost efficiency and productivity, it’s important to choose a solution which matches the needs of your business.

Although the integration of VoIP promises greater cost efficiency and productivity, it’s important to choose a solution which matches the needs of your business.

“

What is VoIP and how does it work?

IP telephony is establishing itself all over the world as one of the most cost-efficient ways to communicate.

Using the capabilities offered by broadband internet, both commercial and residential customers are, probably for the first time, being presented with an alternative solution for telephony that bypasses both landline and cellular providers.

VoIP – voice over internet protocol – is probably the principle way in which many people have encountered IP telephony. Making calls over the internet is usually free-of-charge to other users of the same network. Indeed, most instant messaging applications now offer voice and video call facilities. Video too will play a major role in the development of IP telephony. Where once it was envisaged that the stand-alone videophone might be dominant, users are probably more likely to be making video calls through their computers, or via video conferencing set-ups.

Although still in its relatively early days, IP telephony has make significant inroads into the way voice and video communication is effected, particularly within the IT sector. Having recognised the efficiencies created by routing all data through the one connection, rather than having different providers for different communications facilities, IT companies have, unsurprisingly, led the way in promoting the benefits and usage of IP telephony.

There has, however, been a certain reticence on the part of Irish customers to adopt IP telephony as part of the way in which they communicate. Anecdotal evidence suggested by some industry players contacted for this supplement would suggest that it is only now that Ireland’s broadband infrastructure is starting to be ready to be able to allow more

users – wherever they are located – to avail of IP telephony.

“A recent report by ComReg [the Commission for Communications Regulation] showed that around two percent of fixed-line activity was accounted for by VoIP in the last quarter,” says Tommy McCabe, director of the Telecommunications and Internet Federation (TIF).

“Whilst broadband availability has been a factor preventing people from adopting VoIP, there has also been a reluctance to change,” says McCabe. “[In the past] users have been restricted to calling those with similar VoIP set-ups, and required a PC or a laptop. It was only considered as a solution for long-distance and international calls.”

As McCabe points out, the perceived technical upheaval of implementing IP telephony solutions is a thing of the past. Broadband providers are now able to advertise the fact that their IP telephony solutions are routed through ‘regular’ telephones (that have been configured for VoIP use), rather than having to sit at a computer with a headset and microphone. Mobile phones are also on the Irish market that can allow users to route their calls through wireless internet, rather than cellular channels, if such resources are available. The normalisation of IP telephony is here to stay.

Indeed, it is entirely possible that IP telephony solutions could one day become the de facto way of using the telephone. Minimal, and even free, call costs (a novelty to European customers) to even the furthest destinations around the globe can, and probably will, make voice and video calls an increasingly viable option. Such options are already available to many. Providing them to all will be the challenge.

IP telephony the new communications frontier

IP Telephony a MediaPlanet supplement 5

VoIP is probably the best way yet of achieving the potential that telecommunications can offer.

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It is no exaggeration to say that Voice over IP, more commonly referred to as VoIP, or IP telephony, is revolutionising the way in

which we use telecommunications. Presenting a real challenge to the dominance of ‘standard’ telephony systems – including even mobile communications at this stage – VoIP is probably the best way yet of achieving the potential that telecommunications can offer.

The obvious aspect that attracts users to VoIP is the cost. Generally, calls from one online user to another are free of charge, with calls to standard landlines or mobiles usually at a lower rate than is charged by the traditional providers – providing an instant incentive for any business. However, the cost, hugely important though it is, is perhaps not the only selling point.

Freedom of use is the real advantage of any VoIP system. Opening up voice – and, increasingly, video – communications online means that physical location is much less of a factor than it once was.

“One of the major benefits of using IP telephony is that, essentially, the telephone follows the user wherever they are,” says Mark Kellett, CEO of broadband provider Magnet, who is, for the record, speaking to me through a VoIP system. “For example, someone calling a colleague on his or her Dublin number will be put through to them whether they’re in Amsterdam, South Africa or wherever. IP telephony is not bound by the usual

conventions of standard telephony.“There is a huge amount of flexibility for businesses using IP telephony. Setting up a call centre structure can be simplified greatly – there is no need for physical infrastructure, such as office space. Users can be anywhere, as long as they are connected by broadband; they can work from anywhere.”

That freedom of use also extends to video, in many respects a standard feature of VoIP systems, offering the user the opportunity to have a visual presence in an online call, providing a new dynamic on the interaction between users, and reducing further that need for a physical presence in a meeting or other situation.

Kellett points out that the ‘IP tsunami’ – the vastly increasing broadband speeds, as infrastructures develop further – will further put the emphasis on VoIP, and further away from traditional, more expensive communications options. Indeed, there are now mobile devices available that can switch to VoIP systems wherever a wireless broadband signal is available.

The marketplace for telecommunications is changing rapidly. As the emphasis on usability becomes more important, the options offered by VoIP systems are coming into their own. With the cost factor, they become even more attractive. The battle for new customers is being fought increasingly online, rather than over the cell network or the local telephone exchange.

VoIP a reVoluTIon In TelecommunIcaTIons


Fergal O’Byrne, CEO of the Irish Internet Association, talks about business on the internet, VoIP and its future in Ireland.

What impact has the internet had on the way we do business?

The internet has had a fundamental impact on the way we conduct business. Companies now use the internet for communication, marketing, data storage, CRM, e-procurement and all other facets of their business. While we have infrastructural issues in relation to broadband availability and access speeds this has not hampered the vast majority of Irish businesses from embracing the use of the internet as a business tool. A quick glance through the member listing of the Irish Internet Association (www.iia.ie) shows just how pervasive the use of the internet is. Our members cover every sector of business – a clear sign that the internet is an invaluable part of any organisation.

What impact is VoIP having on business in Ireland?

Take up of this service has been slow to date. Some of the reasons include a lack of knowledge about what VoIP actually is, how it can be used for business and what are the cost benefits of using it. The IIA runs events to promote use of this technology and promote its adoption. Once universal broadband is available a lot more of the service providers will start to offer VoIP as part of a bundled package.

What will drive the take up of this technology in Ireland?

Broadband penetration is a key driver of the take up of this technology. Access speed and affordability of broadband will help to engender take up of this service. It would also be a driver if more handsets were made available on the market. Broadband growth and education about the benefits of VoIP will ensure that Ireland leverages this cost efficient technology.

Businesses considering moving to an IP telephony solution need to think carefully about the type of service that they require. Whilst VoIP and other IP telephony solutions can be of huge benefit for communications, the actual operation of such systems needs to be considered before any commitment to outlay is made.

Thinking of VoIP?

The immediate benefit that will attract many businesses is the cost. It is widely accepted that significant savings can be made by using VoIP

systems for calls; indeed, intra-company calls on the same VoIP network will probably be free of charge, regardless of location. Calls to other networks or landlines will probably be at a vastly reduced rate compared to analogue providers.

“Cost is a significant issue, but so too is flexibility,” says Kevin Brennan, managing director of Red2, a company specialising in the development of managed services for the voice market. “For example, [implementing a VoIP solution for] a sales team of around thirty workers who are on the phone all day will deliver cost savings.

“Flexibility is also important, however. VoIP is similar to email – when connecting to the service, it does not matter who the provider of that connection is, as it is still possible to make VoIP calls, just as it is to send and receive email.”

That flexibility is probably an even greater factor in deciding the viability of a VoIP solution. Giving users much greater flexibility to be off-site, but still logged into the company voice network, and therefore not running up bills on other networks, means that they can be virtually in the office wherever they are.

However, despite all the benefits that VoIP can definitely bring, there is still one factor that will be vital in determining what services can be implemented: the broadband connection. Broadband speeds can vary, as many people know already, with contention being

another influence. Heavy users on the same, shared, connection can have a negative impact on another’s IP telephony quality.

“Those thinking of adopting a VoIP system should consider three areas, all connected to their broadband service,” says Brennan. “Broadband in itself is no guarantee of quality. ‘Jitter’ refers to such aspects as temporary delays on the line. The delay between saying something and hearing the response – rather like a satellite link – is another factor to consider. The third aspect is that of ‘packet loss’, essentially the voice quality.”

As with any potential purchase, it pays to do one’s homework before spending the money. Having a good understanding of the existing infrastructure will help to decide what services will work, and ensure that expectations can be met.

VoIP and Irish business

Having a good understanding of the existing infrastructure

will help to decide what services will work, and ensure that expectations can be met.

“

With the launch of the Ice Telephone Box, Irish business customers can specify and install a telecommunications

solution with one phone call. The solution, provided in conjunction with Ardencom, provides a single point of contact for not only the specification of the telephony system, but for all customer after sales service and support.

“This is a revolutionary approach to finding a solution for your business,” explains Yvonne Rooney, managing director of Ice Broadband. “With one phonecall, we can provide a solution that covers everything from handsets to broadband to switches. Each solution is tailored to suit the customer’s needs, from ten to a thousand users, and all hardware, software and licenses are taken care of under a single umbrella contract.

“The icing on the cake is that we integrate the data network with the voice network – what is termed an IP solution – and this reduces costs significantly, increases flexibility and allows much greater mobility for staff,” explains Rooney.

From Customer to PartnerIce Broadband is confident of its new business offering as it was a customer of Ardencom long before it became a partner. “We used Ardencom to build our new customer services response telephone system in late 2007 and were so impressed that we went on to become a partner,” explains Rooney. “Our new telephone system delivers a better service to our customers, but costs us less to operate. In addition, we can also seamlessly integrate remote workers no matter where they are located.

“As we have employees across the country, the presence of the Teleworker functionality is very important to us. We can provide installations,

backup and onsite service and ensure our engineers are still able to hook up with every office’s communication systems – from email to web to voice – no matter where they are working.”

Ardencom is a young telecommunications company that delivers operational simplicity for office managers and IT directors. Faced with the bewildering array of telecommunications solutions on the market following deregulation, it can be difficult to make an informed decision on what is the best solution to buy.

Dave McKane, sales manager of Ardencom in Ireland, explains: “We make it easy for our customers. We analyse their requirements and then present a solution that best suits their needs taking into account network resilience, customer service and technical support, as well as cost of course.”

Ardencom is unique amongst its peers in that it offers a bespoke, documented report which lays out the options available and provides accurate cost comparisons so that the customer can see the potential savings offered by each choice. “Making the decision is easy when you compare apples with apples,” says McKane. “Simplicity is what we strive for; whether in deciding what solution to go for, what handset best suits your needs and what your future growth strategies are.”

However, as McKane points out, the killer app in the telecommunications package VoIP or voice over Internet Protocol. “Integrating the voice and data networks delivers huge economies of scale,” he says. “Calls between offices are free when run over the data network and handsets can be programmed to act as if they are in the office as opposed to hanging off a network – possibly

miles away.“For example, I have a handset in Dublin that is programmed to act as though it is an extension of the office in Belfast. So I can just dial a three digit number to reach anyone in the office – it’s as if I am physically there.”

When McKane looked for a broadband partner in Ireland, he kept coming back to Ice Broadband as the partner of choice. “Initially they were a customer and we firmed up a strong relationship,” he says. “But we were also very impressed with two other aspects. The first was the depth of the penetration across the country. Unlike other operations who offer limited or metropolitan only services, Ice definitely goes the extra mile and has already installed base stations in some of the most remote parts of the country.

“The second big attraction was the levels of customer service, driven by Grainne Duffy, general manager of Ice Broadband, who hails from a customer services background, we were confident that we had found a partner who could not only deliver the product, but provide the support and backup needed. Ice provides that crucial first line support for the entire telephone system, again keeping things simple for our customers. After all, you expect a phone to work, not to be hard to support.”

Together the new partnership will deliver the innovative Business in a Box which includes:-

• Teleworker Solutions• IP handsets and Softphone applications• Intergrated voice mail, IVR and ACD functions• Screen popping

Ice Broadband 1890 444 111 Ardencom 1890 930 830

The ICEing on the cake Telephony in a Box

Premier broadband carrier ICE Broadband, owned by businessman Fran Rooney, is now in a position to offer its Irish customers a turnkey, fully featured telephony solution. Ice Broadband, one of the few fully Irish owned carriers, has already delivered a number of firsts for the Irish telecommunications industry including providing 100% broadband coverage for the entire county of Limerick.

Fran and Yvonne Rooney, Chief Executive and Managing Director of Ice Broadband


The benefits of starting to use an IP network to handle telephone calls are far reaching. An organisation suddenly finds there are extra

features which will drive the company’s performance forward, not only making it cheaper but simpler and more productive as well.“Good business communications is at the heart of any successful company. The ability to respond quickly to customers and manage communications effectively is critical to driving sales and revenues,” says Tim Webb, General Manager of Toshiba Business Communications Division (BCD). “IP telephony is revolutionising business communications by enabling greater flexibility and integration at the same time as reducing costs, helping companies to stay competitive and maintain profitability”

Feature rich Webb continues “For fast-growing businesses the key is flexibility. IPT systems can be changed at the click of a mouse to cope with business change, to provide employees with a greater range of tools”.While for larger enterprises additional services may be nothing new, for SME’s they have traditionally been seen as an unaffordable luxury. However, with VoIP, multiple line extensions become a lot more affordable, as do value added features such as call queuing and diverting and forwarding calls.

In the past, calling somebody else or forwarding a call entailed having to leaf through a dog-eared list of extensions and remembering the extension needed to put the call through. For VoIP users, employees can simply complete this action by selecting their identity from a list of employees and contacts.

Cost EfficiencyOne of the most appealing qualities of VoIP is cost efficiency. Even though a business will have to make an initial investment to replace or complement legacy systems, the cost involved with maintaining a single network is obviously lower than maintaining two. In many instances, the costs will be recuperated within a year due to the low costs associated with VoIP.

In many instances, a company need not get rid of their existing system. Webb comments “Any IT manager is looking to save money and ripping out the existing kit and replacing it isn’t always the most cost effective option. Most IP telephony systems offer backwards compatibility with TDM PBXs which allows companies to take a phased approach to migration. This helps organisations stagger costs and minimise disruption, whilst leveraging existing assets. The modular nature of IP telephony systems also means you can add new features and functionality as you go” If a business has connected two or more offices through the IP network, a VoIP system can eliminate long-distance charges among multiple offices. Connecting multiple offices also allows incoming calls to be moved to a single location and then patched to the relevant party, thus decreasing manpower needs.

Location, LocationThe business advantages of VoIP starts to make sense when you realise that you can have several numbers but, more importantly, these numbers need not be specific to where they are located.

This is particularly advantageous for remote workers. A central office telephone extension can be placed on a remote worker’s desk and offer all the same features of those based in the central office. The beauty of VoIP is your numbers are not limited to where you’re physically located.

What can VoIP do for you?

RealTime Recruitment is an IT staffing specialist providing recruitment solutions to

Irish organisations nationwide. To facilitate rapid growth, the company moved to new offices in March 2008, providing the perfect opportunity to review its telecommunications set-up.

“Reduced telecommunications expenditure, the ability to reach everyone on any device anywhere and a solution that could easily manage the communication requirements of a growing business were the three primary drivers behind our decision to consider an outsourced voice and data service.” says managing director Declan McNiff.

Armed with strong technical knowledge, gathered from working with IT and telecommunications clients, McNiff assessed an array of converged voice and data services.

“We looked at three different options- two were discounted due to the high set-up costs in acquiring new equipment and poor customer service. With Magnet Business, neither of these were an issue. We were assigned a dedicated account manager, who designed a bespoke solution to suit our needs and we were able to rent all equipment as part of our monthly fee. It was like having our own onsite project

manager, which is a godsend for a small company like ours.”

For a fixed monthly fee, Magnet provides RealTime with a 2MB broadband solution and runs its phone, internet and voicemail over this connection. They now have 16 office phones and 4 remote phones that are interconnected and offer free call transfer. With the touch of a button, staff working from home or travelling abroad can make and receive calls using their office phone number with costs the same as if they were in the office.

As a recruitment company, mobile phone calls to colleagues, clients and candidates formed a large part of its telecoms expenditure. Magnet was able to offer significant savings on these call costs, reducing them from €5,500 to €3,000 per month. Summing up the benefits of Magnet’s service to his company McNiff says: “Magnet’s Voice & Data offering has drastically improved our business processes and customer service as well as reducing expenditure. In my opinion there is no other telecoms provider delivering such a service for SMEs.”

For further information on Magnet Business and its services, call: 1800789789 or log on to www.magnetbusiness.ie

Magnet Business delivers real cost savings & mobility for RealTime Recruitment

Nicola Mortimer, Sales Director, Magnet Business and Declan McNiff, Managing Director of RealTime Recruitment


As soon as broadband is mentioned in the same sentence as telephone calls, people’s

thoughts naturally turn to security. With the news headlines full of hackers and web con men gaining access to sensitive personal details held on computers and servers, businesses and consumers need reassuring that hackers cannot eavesdrop on conversations.

Of course, no system can be described as completely safe but companies offering VoIP point out that there are a couple of advantages to calls made over the web that have the potential to make them more secure than a traditional land line phone.

First, there is the obvious answer that by the very fact that people are openly talking about security, it is already an issue and hence companies have worked on encryption technology. This codes conversations so they cannot be eavesdropped, allowing them to pass over the web securely before they are decoded at the other end. Hence it is easiest to offer encryption on integrated networks, such as a system linking several offices run by the same firm, because the key to lock and then unlock speech can be held securely at either end. If this is not possible, calls can decrypt themselves as they leave the web and go along a regular land line.

The other main security benefit of VoIP comes as a natural by-product of how it works, argues Eli Katz, founder of the Internet Telephony Service Providers Association (ITSPA). “You have to remember that Internet Protocol

packages up data and sends them to their destination by the shortest, most efficient route,” he points out. “This means that one part of a conversation will go one way and a second later it will go a completely different route. So it’s never going along the same route so somebody trying to listen in to a conversation would have an impossible time. When you compare VoIP with traditional telephone calls it is so much more secure because of that unpredictability. With a traditional land line you always know the route of the call, because it’s the line, so it’s far easier to intercept.”

Despite this potential to thwart eavesdroppers, some hackers could still get access to VoIP systems if they are not fully protected, points out Peter White, VP of IT Security Solutions at Micromuse. “It’s true that voice is split into packets and could be sent along different routes,” he agrees. “In reality though, because voice is so important and you can’t have time delays with it, it’s actually likely to be kept on the same path because the more equipment and rerouting you go through, the more likely you’ll get a time delay or degradation in quality. So, companies considering VoIP should not overlook the need to encrypt conversations because you find that people will talk about the most sensitive corporate subjects on the phone, rather than send an email which they think might get read by someone else, and so you want to ensure people aren’t listening in.”

Sean Hargrave

HOW SECURE IS VoIP?

One of Ireland’s leading information and communications technology providers. Our award winning offering consists of

a comprehensive portfolio of fully converged IP solutions. Our aim is to deliver seamless, scalable, real time advanced network solutions and business communications. Our primary focus is to meet our customer’s expectations, timetable and budget, to incorporate best practice methodologies that enable our customers to maximise their business goals and objectives. PlanNet21 Communications is committed to providing solutions to corporate, government and SME bodies.

With offices in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast, PlanNet 21 is best placed to provide efficient, cost-effective service and support throughout Ireland.

As part of its focused efforts on providing the highest level of service available, PlanNet 21’s policy of specialising in certain areas means that its knowledge ensures that technology can be used to its full potential. Experts in voice, video and data communications, PlanNet 21 can provide its customers with converged network solutions, bringing these three key areas together to maximise efficiency and reduce outlay as much as possible.

The concept of the fully integrated IP communications network has come to the fore in recent times, however, up to now, it has predominantly been incorporated by larger entities. “Those running small and medium-sized companies may think that only larger companies can afford and benefit from integrated technology solutions. This could not be further from the truth”, said Tom O Neill, Contact Centre specialist at PlanNet21 Communications. “We have developed solutions and services tailored specifically for the SME market, that help implement a converged solution, combining voice and data functionality to the same standards enjoyed by larger companies. We have taken into account the fact that companies want to lower their IT costs, and are interested in one complete solution encompassing voice, video and data, and all at one cost with one vendor”, said O Neill.

“We have found in the past that SME organisations want to set up their personal computing, multimedia and storage network using affordable, easy to install, high quality reliable products such as the Linksys range, a division of Cisco systems”, said O Neill. “Small business users want to gain a competitive edge and a solid return on investment by establishing a fast, highly reliable and secure network infrastructure that can grow over time, and with the Linksys range of products, this enables businesses to do so”, said O Neill.

The extensive range of networking products from Linksys focuses on adding value to the networking infrastructure of small business users. Linksys business solutions combine high quality, easy to use, and reliable products with the expertise and technologies offered by Linksys. “With Linksys technology, we can create small business networking solutions that increase productivity, improve customer satisfaction and strengthen the competitive advantage”, said O Neill, and all at price points that fit easily into a demanding budget.

“Reducing unnecessary costs will impact directly on the bottom line. IP telephony services will help to reduce voice communications costs immensely. With a reliable data solution, employees and colleagues can remain in touch with the office, wherever they are, minimising downtime. Remote management ensures that every networked device can be accessed, and problems resolved quickly. This helps to keep down the costs of IT, and keeps processes running”, said O Neill.

For example, for a fixed price of just €14 per user, per month, SMEs can enjoy a combined package of provision and support for telephony, desktop and maintenance requirements that essentially provide a dedicated IT manager for the company in the most cost-effective way possible.

PlanNet 21 can also provide commercial financing packages that help to spread the cost of equipment, services and maintenance over the duration of the contract, helping to keep control of the outlay and helping to manage expenditure efficiently.

A Cisco Gold Partner, PlanNet 21 also holds various Cisco specialisations, including IP telephony, wireless LAN, VPN security, advanced security, network management and voice access.

As a leading provider of IP telephony solutions, PlanNet 21 uses Cisco technology to ensure that communication is optimised for the best service possible. One of Cisco System’s leading Gold Partners, in 2007 it was awarded the titles of both Cisco IP Communications Partner of the Year in Ireland, and Cisco Solutions Partner of the Year for Ireland and the UK.

For more information on the wide range of solutions provided by PlanNet 21 Communications, visit www.plannet21.ie, or call 01 461 1947.

PlanNet 21 Communications, Unit 11, 2009 Orchard Avenue, Citywest Business Campus, Dublin 24.

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Video conferencing the power of SIP

For those of us who are not technically-minded in any particular way, writing - and indeed, reading - about the protocol systems of online voice and video

communications may not be the most riveting of subjects. However, having a bit of background knowledge about how IP telephony works can be a very useful way of understanding how the technology functions, as well as how to get the most out of using it.

As video conferencing becomes increasingly sophisticated in terms of how it functions, SIP is becoming the standard on which new video conferencing technology is based.

“

Often overlooked as part of developments in IP telephony, instant messaging software has

quietly become an essential part of internet-based communications, probably without us actually being aware of its major presence. Essentially a paired-down version of email, instant messaging (IM) clients allow users to send text messages to each other, to be received instantly, and allowing for text-based conversations to take place.

As a communications tool, IM software as we conceive of it today essentially started life in the mid-nineties (although, as with much of the foundations of the internet, the initial developmental stages happened as far back as the sixties), with software such as ICQ. Since then, development has continued to create programmes such as MSN Messenger, Jabber and AIM, amongst others. One of the distinguishing features of such communication is the preponderance of ‘smilies’, or ‘emoticons’ – small graphics, usually in the shape of a cartoon face that demonstrate a feeling or opinion.

Voice and video communications have become a standard part of most IM clients today. Providing another dimension to IM, such facilities provide free audio-visual support to many IM clients. Whilst such services may be more basic than other, more high-end solutions, they have contributed immensely to the acceptance of online voice and visual communications, both in the workplace and in the home.

One such protocol, or rule that sets out how communications should be initiated and

terminated, is the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). SIP is used for VoIP calls, video conferencing, and for other online activities such as instant messaging, status updating, and online gaming. It is likely, therefore, that most of us would have had some contact with it, even if we were not previously aware of its existence, and it remains the most widely used protocol for VoIP.

“SIP is a ‘session-control’ that makes it possible to start and end video and voice calls,” says Sean Holohan, managing director for voice, video and networking equipment distributor Videnda Distribution. “Other protocols, such as H.323 were also capable of doing this. However, SIP actually brings together other elements that allow greater flexibility during the call session.”

The H.323 protocol has been the video transmission standard for some time, and continues to be used widely in online video. However, for the purposes of video conferencing, and the added functionality required for such activities, H.323 does not have the capabilities required to provide such elements as placing calls on hold, transferring them to other users, or creating conference calls.

SIP is the standard that facilitates this, allowing different systems to communicate with each other, and permits better integration between different devices, such as IP telephones, computers, mobile devices, and so on. As IP communications are server-based, as all internet communication

is, the server takes the place of the traditional telephone exchange, and deals with all the video and voice data traffic involved in the call.

As video conferencing becomes increasingly sophisticated in terms of how it functions, SIP is, in turn, becoming the standard on which new video conferencing technology is based. Developers such as Polycom and Microsoft are using SIP to create new hardware and software solutions that will increase the scope of what is possible with video conferencing, while improving the functionality of existing solutions.

Multimedia applications appear to have been one of the main beneficiaries of SIP. Video conferencing sessions are increasingly about much more than just video and voice communications. The ability to share documents, make presentations, to establish break-down groups, to restrict access, and so on, are all essential components of the average video conferencing set-up. In an increasingly complex developmental environment where face-recognition software can make a camera track its subject and highlight specific parts of a video link, as well as providing high-definition links, ensuring that connectivity is straightforward is an essential part of the session control.

While SIP helps to ensure that video conferencing can be achieved in the most efficient way possible, it will also help to shape future developments. The aforementioned multimedia aspects of communication are here to stay: in many ways, they are more useful than if an audience was physically present in the conference

room, as presentations, documents, spreadsheets and other tools can be accessed quickly and presented clearly. There are, however, other developments taking place in video conferencing that will require reliable connectivity to ensure that they become viable.

“Telepresence is part of the way we are developing video conferencing at Sony,” says David Byrne, channel manager for Sony Ireland. “Up to now, video conferencing has entailed looking at a screen or a TV image. Whilst this has been an effective way of communicating between different locations, we are now looking at breaking down those physical barriers further. Providing floor-to-ceiling imaging will effectively create a boardroom environment that is as ‘real’ as can possibly be without the physical presence of the participants.”

In a way, SIP is helping video conferencing to become the ‘boardroom 2.0’, in so much as communications are effectively easier to achieve in organisations with personnel scattered across multiple locations. If, as Sony wants to achieve, the aspect of taking to a ‘screen’ rather than a person is changed to become as realistic as possible, then video conferencing will become indispensable as a communications tool. Realising the possibilities of IP communication for both video and voice is one thing; having the infrastructure to support such developments is another entirely. As SIP continues to help make video conferencing feasible throughout business, and even within the home, it is likely to become the standard for even further developments.


SIP is helping video conferencing to become the ‘boardroom 2.0’, in so much as communications are effectively easier to achieve in organisations with personnel scattered across multiple locations.

“

Sending a smilie


Hyperconnectivity

Small businesses and their entrepreneurial spirit have always been a source of creativ-ity and innovative thinking. However, while

their ideas can push the envelope of possibilities, the execution of these ideas has often been restrict-ed by limited resources or access to the latest com-munications tools.

Now thanks to innovative solutions specially de-signed for SMEs, simple yet sophisticated tech-nologies like VoIP, unified communications and enhanced mobility are within reach of these busi-ness innovators. In the current era of hyperconnectivity, where any-thing that can be connected to the network, SMEs can now keep pace with the big guys through ad-vanced technologies that increase productivity and ensure reliable mobility wherever employees may roam. “SMEs excel when it comes to meeting the needs of their customers. They know how to deliver a personalised service, but until recently they were often hamstrung by the lack of productivity and communications tools designed for their scale of businesses,” says Ryan James, director of Small and Medium Business, Global Product Marketing, Nortel. “Today, being small no longer has to be a disadvantage. Technology has levelled the playing field. Any sized business can dream big and win big.” Added features like secure mobility and unified messaging - with one-click access to voice, email and conferencing - allow employees to stay pro-ductive and in contact across all types of com-munication channels either in the office or on the

go. Even the smallest of companies can have the benefits of an integrated contact centre. VoIP of-fers value features such as automated “attendant” phone answering that ensure clients and partners can be directed to the right person, right away, wherever they are.

“SMEs must have solutions that are tailored to their specific needs and because those needs vary widely from business to business, flexibility is es-sential,” says James. “You can’t just take technolo-gies designed for a multinational conglomerate with a fully-staffed IT department and plug it into an SME setting.”

Complex solutions designed for large enterprise are not always ideal for smaller businesses. Often the corporate IT infrastructure needed to run large enterprise systems is not available to SME’s, and scaled down versions don’t take into consideration the unique challenges faced by smaller businesses such as limited resources.“It’s no secret that many SMEs must make the most out of every investment. Any technology they invest in needs to not only deliver benefits immediately, but also be flexible and scaleable. The solution must be able to grow along with the company without stranding any assets or driving all new investments,” he said. “SMEs are forming the heart of new business expansion around the world and Nortel is making sure this market sec-tor is well equipped to join the largest enterprises in turning the challenges of hyperconnectivity into opportunities.”Spencer Callaghan

Nortel – Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)

For charitable organizations, keeping the cost of communications to a minimum is a priority. However, when a large amount of charitable work is done via the network, access to cost-effective

communications becomes absolutely fundamental to operations.

At the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), a UK-based organization with more than 3,000 locations across the country, the telephone is a vital channel for delivering advisory services that help people resolve their legal and financial problems. Yet at many of its sites, its telephony services were costly and inconvenient. Sally Salisbury, Bureau Manager, explained: “In my local area of North Hertfordshire, staff had no direct lines. This meant that incoming calls were often transferred around to different people before reaching their destination.”

“We were also paying line rental per phone, and calls between sites were extremely costly,” Salisbury said. Keen to exploit the cost and efficiency potential of VoIP, Salisbury and her team approached a number of IP telephony suppliers - including Nortel and its SME accredited reseller, Future Voice and Data.

“With one box from Nortel we would be able to route calls, create personal call profiles for staff and reap the benefits of IP telephony. This made Nortel equipment the right choice for us,” she said. “I’m thrilled to say we are saving hundreds of pounds thanks to VoIP technology.”

CASE STUDY


VoIP: What is it used for?

VoIP is used as an alternative to the metered telephone network, allowing users to avoid paying long-established tariffs on the traditional local, national, and global voice networks. VoIP acts as one more application of the globally connected Internet, which lowers costs and, potentially, puts more people in touch with each other than keyboard actuated IP tools such as email alone. The second step in the transition was “toll bypass,” this predominantly entailed the use of existing telephone hardware with customised software, which allowed avoidance of toll charges and a growing perception that VoIP was basically regular toll voice at a lower price.

What’s in it for me?

Every organisation, from large enterprise or SME, has differing business needs. To fully understand what VoIP can do for an individual company, it’s important to find your compelling event, your business driver. There is much activity in Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC), bringing Applications together, trying to optimise people’s time and support systems. VoIP and its child IPT, have opened up new possibilities within the arena of Applications, such as Presence, seeing who is on line at a glance, while you are mobile (PDA) or at your PC. There are exciting new technologies that sit on IPT Networks such as TelePresence and life-size High Definition Video Conferencing. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration say these new technologies can enhance a work-life balance, reduce travel and optimise your business by means of Collaboration. Not to mention, keeping your Carbon Miles down…

Connecting with

the VoIP experts

What are the business benefits of VoIP?

The economic landscape for businesses is becoming more and more challenging: we all need to be more efficient, more responsive, and be able to cut costs at every opportunity to ensure that we remain competitive. If we don’t, then someone else will. The struggle is always to do more with less.

VoIP is one of those rare opportunities that enable you to do just that. Traditionally, a business would have a telephone system and a data network: two sets of equipment, two sets of people making them work, and separate bills for each type of service. Each physical site would need a private branch exchange (Pbx) and users would make inbound and outbound calls using the public switched telephone network (PSTN), incurring charges as they do so. The set up is relatively rigid, and it’s complex to make changes and add services; it becomes a big technical challenge that soaks up investment in terms of time and money. By creating a single IP network that carries both data and voice, businesses can cut through this complexity and reduce costs while also reducing their reliance on expensive voice circuits.

Migrating voice applications to data circuits will no doubt raise the question of security and resilience for businesses. However, by using data circuits for voice calls, businesses gain flexibility and greater control over their communications through the aggregation of traffic and the ability to quickly reroute traffic in the event of unforeseen disruptions. In addition, confidentiality both on and off network can be guaranteed by carrying calls on a secure IP VPN, as opposed to routing IP calls over the public Internet.

What are the business benefits of VoIP?

Many small business owners have heard about voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), but they’re not sure how it applies to them. By combining all of your communications-everything from voice to data to video-you can enjoy a cost-effective, easy-to-use business solution full of features that help you do business better.

Small business owners are discovering why VoIP is such a powerful tool for maintaining a competitive edge. When you switch to an IP-based unified communications system, you’ll find that you’ll increase productivity by combining and simplifying your communication tools. You’ll secure your voice and data. And you’ll make it easier for your employees to maintain access to your network, whether at work or at home.VoIP lets you have many features without paying extra fees such as Voicemail, Caller ID, Conferencing, call forwarding.

Tom O’ Neill, Contact Centre specialist, PlanNet 21

What is the benefit of VoIP through wireless technology?

Businesses’ now have the ability to access a broadband network without dependency on a DSL connection. Wireless broadband can be accessed in areas where DSL is not available allowing businesses, located outside of the urban centres, to avail of high speed internet access and VoIP call savings.Wireless is flexible and can be installed and fully operational within 1 hour, therefore quickly delivering VoIP and high speed data to a business.

The existence of wireless gives greater choice to the consumer. Businesses are no longer dependant on the incumbent operator to deliver a service to their region. A wireless network can be rolled out quickly, delivering immediate call savings and integrated features, without the need for a landline.Wireless technology is scalable and can be upgraded with a simple phone call to the broadband provider. This allows for greater flexibility when adding new employees to the voice & data network, without the upfront capital expenditure involved with DSL or leased lines.Wireless offers reliable networks with multiple redundancies in place. This means there is no single point of failure, which can be the case with wired providers. This reliability is critical in the delivery of VoIP to businesses.

Liam O’Brian, Head of Business Marketing, BT

Yvonne Rooney, Managing Director, Ice Broadband

Gary Keogh, MD of Colt Telecom


IP telephony: how will it develop?

The expanding scope of broadband infrastructure in Ireland will help to

ensure that IP telephony also increases its presence in both businesses and homes. Converged network solutions – using a broadband internet connection to route all data and voice communications – allow the user to exercise more control over the way that they operate, and provide a more cost-effective option.

Cost may appear to be the most attractive feature of any IP telephony system. Unlike elsewhere, the costs of using both landline and cellular communications can still represent a significant portion of the overall cost of performing voice calls. Whilst such options, particularly mobile phones, will probably continue to play a major role in everyday communications for some time to come, users are becoming increasingly aware of the need to keep costs down, and also of the alternatives.

However, cost is only one part of the equation. “I do think that cost is only a small part of why people are choosing to implement IP telephony solutions,” says Liam O’Brien, head of business marketing for BT Ireland.

“At BT, we have over 200 users who route all of their communications through IP, with another 400–500 users using it as a backup service. I do see IP telephony becoming the pervasive carrier for communications within the next eight-to-ten years, perhaps even the next five years.

“Where once IP telephony was seen as a ‘geeky’ way to communicate, the benefits of a unified communications structure are becoming more apparent. Once users have the IP telephony interface on their desktop, they can very quickly become accustomed to

the increased features that it provides. It creates a different communications dynamic – knowing that with a camera installed, they can have visual communication with a caller as well as just voice, for example. It does change the way people behave.”

Knowing that the combined power of cost and feature-heavy systems is a challenge to the once all-powerful traditional carriers – including the cellular providers – broadband providers have a unique selling point for their products that would not really have been possible even five or six years ago; a selling point that still has a great deal of mileage in it as Ireland becomes more broadband-friendly, and as IP telephony itself changes and adapts to become even more flexible.

“Our users are attracted by the fact that we offer attractive IP telephony solutions as part of our standard broadband services,” says Gráinne Duffy, customer service manager for Ice Broadband. “These include free calls to the UK and US, for example. However, our wireless internet service bypasses the need for a landline telephone connection to provide the connection, so another aspect of our service is that the customer has no requirement for a phone line, and therefore does not have to pay for line rental. An IP telephone unit is essentially no different to a ‘regular’ telephone. Users can make calls in the same way as they always have.

“Working from home is becoming more important for businesses looking to keep costs down. An IP telephony solution means that employees can be virtually in the office, regardless of where they actually are.”

With broadband providers pushing

IP telephony products, it would seem that such solutions do provide a real challenge for the established communications companies.

“We are in direct competition with the established communications networks,” says Duffy. “Our company is about to provide 100 percent coverage for broadband in County Limerick, with other areas to follow. That means we can match both the traditional and cellular providers for coverage with an IP solution.”

Just as broadband has become the only internet connection that most users would consider installing, having changed rapidly from the dial-up and ISDN services that were prevalent until very recently, the same can probably be said for IP telephony.

“IP telephony will be a de facto service,” says O’Brien. “It will be a standard part of a broadband package. There will probably be no need to even discuss it, as it will have become a standard feature of communications in both the office and at home.”

Therein lies the answer to how the future of IP telephony will develop over the next few years. Regardless of aspects of cost and functionality, the essential answer to the question is that broadband companies are making it a standard part of their service. Just as it would have once been unthinkable to consider that people would want to do such bizarre things with mobile phones as send images or video, so it would have been just as strange to make telephone calls through the computer. However, as IP communications become ‘normalised’ in the eyes of the end-user, it is becoming an increasingly standard part of life throughout the communications market.

Where once IP telephony was seen as a ‘geeky’ way to communicate, the benefits of a unified communications structure are becoming more apparent.

“

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