SIP Voice Service: It's Time

We have been hearing about Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) for
a long time.  But it has not been until the last few years that companies really began to implement it.  
This was primarily due to ever-decreasing local/long distance usage rates on TDM; there was never a 
significant return on investment for many organizations, especially when considering the potential costs of roll out and risks associated with a young technology.  The investments a few years ago could have been significant for many organizations.  Potential network upgrades (to MPLS) to support SIP, which in most cases would require new hardware.


But that has all changed and SIP is becoming more and more commonplace.  Many organizations have 
upgraded their networks as a matter of course in the past few years and are now "SIP ready." Carriers 
have continued to develop their solutions and have gained experience rolling out and supporting service 
to customers.  Despite this, see many of our clients struggle with decisions about rolling out SIP 
because of the challenges they have in considering SIP for their company which include:

• Understanding existing costs and comparing them to the SIP marketplace
• Comparing various SIP offerings that may not have "apples-to-apples" cost structures
• Comparing various SIP offerings in terms of technology, flexibility, security and support
• Understanding the potential ways SIP can play a role in the organization's infrastructure (small or large)
• Identifying a non-disruptive deployment plan
• Managing working with one or more carriers and one or more internal teams (telecom and IT) to develop and roll out a solution

Overcoming these challenges can yield significant benefits, though:  

• Simpler voice and data network construct
• Simpler invoicing
• Simpler management
• Greater trunking efficiency
• Free calling over the network between locations (and in many cases, between organizations using the same carrier/solution)
• Low usage rates
• Excellent flexibility for growth and shrinkage of requirements
• Lays the groundwork for Unified Communications (UC)
• And many more, but let's set those aside for another article

For help with identifying if SIP can help your company save money and improve communications, visit www.sourceoneinc.com