Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

VoIP Solutions - Going Further

Mobile Communications

If your company is dipping its toe into wireless networks, enabling staff to log on with Smartphones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), consider how VoIP could fit into your strategy. To tap into this developing area, you need to know about SIP (Session Initiation Protocol).

SIP is an emerging IP telephony standard, which is being positively endorsed by the VoIP industry. With SIP-compliant systems users can:

• make and receive calls from anywhere;
• maintain a point of contact that is consistent, whatever device you are using and wherever you may be;
• automatically notify colleagues of their online status;
• provide the same address for e-mail and voice messaging and
• update call management systems using standard contact management and calendar tools like Microsoft Outlook.

Mobile workers with SIP-based applications can use multimedia laptops, even PDAs, to stay in touch. Full function SIP phones remain expensive - they cost around £300.

While wireless networks bring great flexibility, they are relatively new and can bring increased security risks. Anyone with a wireless-enabled gadget can potentially tap into a wireless network, so you need to make sure you put in a firewall or encryption, as well as password protecting data and applications.

If you're considering using the internet for voice calls, you need to make sure your phone equipment conforms to industry standards.

Check that your PBX is:

• QSIG compliant - QSIG is the open, international standard for PBX systems and it has been specifically designed to support VoIP; or

• DPNSS compliant - DPNSS (Digital Private Network Signalling System) is BT's proprietary standard. Currently more than two thirds of existing UK private telephony networks use it.

If you don't fancy buying the kit and weaving it together, it may be easier to buy in third-party expertise to provide a solution for you.