theartofservice

Here are some notes on Voice Over IP (VoIP) that may impact any decision on using the technology within your business.

VoIP is not about voice communications anymore. The future of VoIP is the convergence of all communication methods into a unified package that is not bound to a location. Essentially, each person will have a single address for data transmissions and voice transmission. The person can access that address from anywhere using a VoIP device held in their hand.

Security concerns are always a big problem with transmissions of any kind and, with VoIP, a new set of challenges await. The good news is that VoIP is part of the data network and as such incorporate the data security controls already in place. To do this, a voice transmission must be submitted as a voice packet that is encrypted and goes through the firewall. Unfortunately, VoIP opens some new vulnerabilities to the network in the form of voicemail spam, impersonation, session eavedropping, voicemail bombs or hijackings. Pay attention to minimize these vulnerabilities.

Some early complaints about VoIP was the quality of voice communications. Early implementations on poorly engineered data networks was the source of that problem. VoIP requires error-free delivery. Networks designed for data can tolerate errors occasionally, that become pops or static in voice transmissions. Additionally, networks that connect to the Internet can tolerate a few seconds of delay before responding which cannot happen for VoIP, especially when interactivity is required. In a properly designed network, VoIP can provide as good or better quality as a traditional phone connection.

Voice requirements on bandwidth is much smaller than for data. That is the good news. The bad news is that too many voice transitions at the same time can bring down the entire network. Phishing attempts, telemarketing spam and the like can clog up the network in no time. But the problem isn’t just capacity, but also configuration and connectivity. If the network carries both data and voice transmission, the bandwidth dedicated for both should be predetermined and configured. If 70% of the bandwidth is required for expected data transmissions, than only 30% is available for voice. Instead of potentially dropping a call, a busy signal should be provided when a voice transmission attempts to exceed the dedicated bandwidth.

Not all networks support VoIP. So before implementing the technology, so it is important to perform an audit of  network applications and their priority to identify what can or cannot support VoIP. Ports and traffic that may be blocked to protect the LAN may be necessary for VoIP. Make sure the environment can support the technology before installing it.

VoIP is the direction for business communication. IT has its advantages. Just don’t jump with your eyes closed.