In our last blog we discussed our current phone configuration, the $2,000.00 monthly savings we expect to realize and the sequence of the steps we're taking to deploy VOIP. Since my last blog, we've ordered and received our phones, configured them with our Switchvox server and initiated a port request for several of our direct inward dial (DID) numbers. Let's take a moment now to discuss the installation of the Switchvox server and selection of a VOIP provider.
As previously discussed, the decision to select the open source solution from Switchvox was made after testing several open source solutions. Switchvox is owned by Digium and positioned as a Voice Over IP solution for small and medium sized businesses. They claim their solutions are easy to install, easy to use, full of helpful features and costs less than a traditional PBX. I have to agree with them on all accounts. First, Installation was a breeze....by simply inserting the DVD containing the ISO file and rebooting our target server the Switchvox software was completely installed in about 15 minutes. We installed the free edition on an existing server and later purchased the free to SMB software upgrade (approximately $3,250.00) which automatically upgraded the free edition to the full featured version.
If you're new to VOIP and have limited experience with networking you may be facing a bit of an uphill challenge connecting yourself to the network and securing your VOIP installation. There are several questions to ask. What VOIP provider should you obtain service through? Should your VOIP traffic be on the same network as your data traffic? Will you allow users to access your VOIP network externally? What phones will you use? And finally, given you've answered all the proceeding questions, what will your network configuration consist of?
These can be some pretty challenging questions, so lets talk about how InfoQuest is addressing each of them.
What VOIP provider should we use?
To answer this question we first had to understand how VOIP service providers operate, then choose one we believed would offer services that match our needs. In short, a VOIP provider provides you with the gateway between the public telephone exchange and the VOIP data network that passes calls to your VOIP server. The VOIP service provider provides you with telephone numbers accessible from the public exchange, service plans for inbound and outbound calling and a variety of other services that range from call forwarding, reporting, toll free service and much more. VOIP providers have web sites you can provision service through and manage your account so its important to find a VOIP provider that offers the features you need and makes it easy to manage those features through their web site.
After selecting a VOIP provider that matched our requirements, we ordered a local telephone number in our existing area code that would be passed to our VOIP server when called from the public exchange. When a call to our number comes into the VOIP providers network, the VOIP provider automatically routes the call over the Internet to the IP address of the server we've identified to them for our account. We used this number to test our installation and the system prompts we configured on the VOIP server.
One of the great benefits of VOIP is the ability to conduct Internet to Internet calls for free. There is a fee for inbound calls from the public exchange or outbound calls going to "regular" telephones (traditional land lines or cell phones). Another great benefit of VOIP though is the low cost of those calls (1.2 to 1.4 cents). A good VOIP provider will only charge you by the second so you save even more when compared to services that round up to the next minute. This with the added benefit of there being no taxes or tariffs on VOIP services make up a big part of our expected monthly savings.
Another great reason to use VOIP is the amount of mobility it provides you with. For example, now that our VOIP server is up and running we can connect to our work extensions from home using either IP based phones or a variety of soft phones (commonly called SIP phones) that are installed on and run directly from your computer. If your a real gadget geek like I am, you'll get a kick out of the fact that we've even configured our cell phones to handle inbound and outbound calls using our VOIP network instead of our cell providers network. Now think about that for a minute...you can be anywhere in the world (well anywhere you have access to your cell providers data network) and your cell phone becomes the phone on your desk at work. If my work extension is 9200 --I can connect my cell phone to that extensions using a soft phone. When a call comes to extension 9200, my cell phone rings. Likewise, I can make an outbound call from my cell phone just like I was in the office (hmmm...golf anyone??).
Obviously, there is more to understand about the total configuration of a functional VOIP system. In my next blog, I'll continue with an overview of VOIP network configuration.
Until then, happy computing. Oh, and If you have any questions, give me a call on my VOIP line by calling 717-441-0561.
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