Don't talk to me about outsourcing VoIP...

Enterprises remain sceptical about outsourcing voice capabilities - even with the advent of managed IP networks.

Addressing delegates at a BT Ignite breakfast briefing on evolutionary paths to converged networks, Steve Brady, VP for data and IP services at Ignite, said that companies had two clear choices on IP telephony: to outsource, or to migrate PBXs to IP and then link them directly to the network.

For the present, Brady said companies were choosing the second option.

"There are signs that a significant number of companies want to migrate rather than outsource. There is interest in outsourcing, but it is really more of a cultural issue than a technical one. Some companies don't like to outsource something that is integral to the success of the business.

"It's horses for courses," he said.

He added that this was natural and attitudes would evolve with the technologies.

"It doesn't all have to be done at the same time. Most customers don't want to do it all on the same day."

But industry claims about 'revolution' are still ringing in many network managers' ears from the last five years of trade shows. This would not happen, he said, because vendors had never considered the preferences of individual businesses.

"It will always be mixed. Some companies like to do more things themselves.

"At the start of IP, companies tended to buy managed services as they recognised that it was a leading-edge technology. Others see the benefits but don't have the will or money for a managed solution and go DIY," said Brady.

But he side-stepped one issue that has been of concern to comms and data network managers in both convergence and outsourcing. With the implementation of single networks for voice and data, there is a fear that some may lose their jobs, and recent independent research commissioned by BT Business Information Services suggested that telecoms managers were most likely to be the losers.

The survey showed that, when considering a move to VoIP, only five per cent of firms would involve the voice manager.

"It's a very difficult challenge. Companies know where they want to go but it is, at times, hard to get there. At BT Ignite, we don't really get to see this area, it's more of an internal or 'political' debate," he said.

UK companies could learn some lessons from the US experience, where the role of the chief information officer had come to the fore, he said.

"Americans don't get everything right, but over there you have seen the rise of the CIO, who is seen as a profit centre. Over here, they're seen as an expense.

"Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned - the network can be used to transform a business. It's not just an overhead."

Whatever the effect on current working practices, Brady insisted that IP had emerged as the technology of choice for telecoms.

"We are in a position now with IP that we have the opportunity not just to reduce costs but to increase functionality at the same time. Previously, companies were concerned about investing in technology when they couldn't guarantee that they were betting on the right horse. Now, IP is clearly the winner."

THE MANY ROADS TO IP

Brady said the way that a business migrated to IP would depend on the network technology already in use. "For example, from a Frame Relay network, convergence can be achieved using enhanced permanent virtual circuits (PVCs), which prioritise traffic over a network.

"An alternative is to link directly into the MPLS network, which brings the benefit of any-to-any connectivity - better for companies with dispersed sites as no physical network links are needed. The same applies for ATM networks using a constant bit rate PVC."

He added that BT would be announcing class of service for its IP VPN product in the first half of next year.