Ten Common Business VoIP Deployment Pitfalls
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) delivers excellent advantages, not the least of which is reduced cost and enhanced features. But a VoIP deployment must still be approached carefully and with caution, and there are a few common, but avoidable pitfalls that can be encountered.
Dependence on power. Your IP PBX, IP phones and other devices are dependent on the supply of electricity to operate. Older analog phones can simply be plugged into the phone jack and will operate independent of the power lines. If your office suffers from a power outage, you will also have a phone outage. An emergency backup power source, such as a generator, should be part of any emergency plan.
Possibility of security threat. Security for VoIP is excellent, and the same technologies used to secure your Internet connection are used to secure your phone system. However, though rare, attacks such as theft of service, denial of service, or surveillance can still occur.
Possible need to upgrade bandwidth. Your VoIP system is deployed on your Internet connection, and voice traffic goes over the same link as data. Because of the added traffic VoIP imposes, you may need to upgrade your bandwidth connection to accommodate the extra traffic.
Voice quality anomalies. Voice quality on VoIP has improved to the point where in most cases, it is equivalent to the PSTN. However, poor voice quality can still occur if you have a slow connection or improperly configured QoS parameters, and quality will still vary between providers.
Alarm monitoring. If you roll out a VoIP system, and you have an alarm monitoring system already installed, the VoIP system may interfere with your alarm system. Without a secure backup connection, a distress call may not be possible in an emergency situation.
Install and forget. While it's true that VoIP is a fairly simple technology, a reporting and monitoring tool is still essential to make sure it is being used properly, calls can be accounted for, and service interruption can be kept to a minimum.
The do-it-yourself install. A company may try to cut corners by installing the IP PBX internally, but this can lead to big problems later on if internal staff are not specialists in this technology. Your VAR or third party provider has a good understanding of all the many different considerations, understands the details of configuration, and can help make sure that your installation goes smoothly.
Ignoring the SLA. Your provider will give you a service level agreement, but too often the SLA may be weak, or the client may ignore the terms of it. The SLA can be a powerful tool to ensure strong performance, so make sure that the details of your SLA are very specific and appropriate to your situation.
Feature overload. VoIP brings with it a dizzying array of new features and functions, which can help make your office more productive. But not everybody needs the same features. Avoid ordering features for their own sake, before deployment, make a list of the features you will actually need.
Timing. There may be occasions where even though it may be a good idea, deployment of a VoIP system should wait. If for example, you have an existing, very expensive PBX and thousands of business phones that have not yet been depreciated, it may be more appropriate from a financial standpoint to wait for the VoIP rollout until the existing equipment has reached the end of its depreciable life.