Firms trip up in rush to deploy VoIP

Some companies are ignoring potential benefits and pitfalls

Many of the business benefits – and drawbacks - of voice over IP (VoIP) are being ignored because the success of the free Skype service has put too much emphasis on the potential cost savings of the technology, according to VoIP experts.

Chris Lee, European vice-president of VoIP gateway provider Sentito Networks, said board directors who have heard it can generate savings often force through the technology. He added that before backing the technology, IT departments need to ensure it is the right business decision for their company and it can be easily implemented.

"There can be dramatic cost savings but that is not the only reason firms should be [moving to VoIP]," Lee said. "They may not have [thought out] the handset, the service or the security [issues] – it may be a better decision for that company not to go to VoIP."

Even where VoIP is appropriate, firms must first decide whether to support it themselves, use a service provider, or opt for a mixture of the two, said Lee. Often IT staff have a poor understanding of IP and SIP technology, which makes it hard for them to ask the right questions about quality of service and security, he added.

"A lot of education is needed about VoIP services," said Lee. "IT [managers] should be asking can the solution scale up, and can the network cope. And they should look at ways staff could use it – there are some neat additional services you can get like [video conferencing] and voicemail."