The Ten Myths of Enterprise VoIP Migration

The growth of IP telephony has created buzz around the productivity and cost benefits and an array of equipment and service offerings so expansive and complex that organizations have a difficult time sifting hype from the meaningful impact VoIP can have.  Citel’s “Ten Myths of Enterprise VoIP Migration” attempts to provide answers for enterprises who are performing IP telephony migration planning, those in process of deployment, and those deployed who now seek to maximize benefits.

The benefits fall into three primary categories: operational cost savings, application integration and worker productivity.  Companies are often led to believe that a complete change-out (Rip-and-Replace) of existing digital PBX equipment is the most effective way to realize these benefits. This can be false.

At its core, IP-PBX technology enables convergence of voice and data networks whereby voice simply becomes another application on the data network. It also enables flexibility, scalability, customization and many features not available on previous-generation digital PBX and key system hardware.  Some of these include Click to Call, Find Me/Follow Me and Unified Messaging, all of which enhance the case for VoIP migration.

That said, many vendors bundle complete solutions including handsets, call controller servers and software and LAN infrastructure as a package for marketing, cost economics and purported compatibility reasons.  But the cost of the entire migration package including media servers, software, new handsets, new or upgraded LAN and wiring infrastructure, power over Ethernet (POE), network security, and user retraining can dilute the case for IPT.

In the end, many components of an end-to-end VoIP migration solution are unnecessary to obtain the most substantial benefits in a sensible, managed way that will meet the often-conflicting motivations of IT and Finance departments. 

This series is designed to arm all stakeholders in the VoIP migration plan with meaningful advice for deploying a converged voice and data platform.  The goal is for a platform that increases competitiveness and productivity, reduces cost and is scalable with growth.

The Myths in Summary

Myth 1: Assessing Your LAN Infrastructure Is the First Step Toward A Successful VoIP Migration

Before your enterprise spends time and money on a LAN assessment, start by asking whether you really need one. Migration options can enable you to achieve most of the key benefits of VoIP without having to spend time, money and resources upgrading current infrastructure.

Myth 2: IP Phones Are Inherently Better Than PBX Ones.

Visit an enterprise that has deployed current-generation IP phones and observe how they are used. Users make calls, take calls, put callers on hold and transfer calls, which is more or less what they did with the PBX phones. Despite claims that large color screens are useful tools and contributors to the increased productivity benefits, and despite the claim that IP phones can auto-relocate, fundamentally an IP phone is just a new PBX phone and an additional sale to the vendor.

Myth 3: Your Enterprise Is Going to Need IP Phones Eventually Anyway.

With the convergence of fixed and mobile devices plus the improvement in unified communications environments, today’s IP phone may be a purchase you can bypass altogether. The applications and devices you’re going to deploy in just a few years time may look and work differently (and cost much less) than today’s products.

Myth 4: A Pure IP Deployment Is Better Than Hybrid. 

In practical reality, there is no such thing as a pure IP deployment of VoIP. Virtually every one includes analog phones in some locations and/or TDM  interfaces to the PSTN.  All VoIP deployments are hybrid—it’s only a matter of degree.

Myth 5: Migrating to VoIP Is Just A Matter of Plugging in IP Phones

If your enterprise plans to deploy IP phones on your VoIP network, there is a near certainty that a new or upgraded LAN will be required. Even if Cat5 cabling is up-to-date, PoE as well as new Ethernet switches will likely be required.

Myth 6: You Need to Throw Out Your PBX to Obtain the Benefits of VoIP.

The biggest benefits of VoIP come from enterprise integration on the WAN: having a single dialing plan, single voicemail system and central administration for your entire company, making free calls among your sites and being able to support telecommuters.  With today’s migration options, all of these benefits can be obtained with your existing PBX.

Myth 7: Migrating to VoIP Should Wait for A Normal PBX Replacement Cycle

A normal replacement generally happens when one of the following three events occurs: the enterprise moves, outgrows the current PBX or the PBX breaks.  Today’s migration options provide a compelling case for almost any organization to migrate to VoIP and start enjoying the many benefits without waiting until the PBX reaches the end of usable life.

Myth 8: Your Digital PBX Phones Can Work Only with Your Current PBX

Current migration options enable you to retain your existing digital PBX phones while changing out the PBX itself for a SIP-based solution. You can even combine multiple vendors’ phones into a single SIP-based voice network.

Myth 9: Business Disruption and User Training Are Not Major Factors in the Total Cost Installing new phones causes disruption. In some cases there will be physical disruption (noise and dust) caused by the need to pull new Cat5 cable. In all cases there is the disruptive effect of having to go into every workspace and swap the phone. Once complete, users have to be re-educated (or re-educate themselves) to use the new devices.  The new phones do the same things, but with different buttons.

Myth 10: Your Enterprise Needs to Buy and Install an IP-PBX

An IP-PBX is a piece of software on a server. You may find that you are better off having a carrier run that software and server for you rather than it sitting in your office.

The Myths in Detail

Myth 1: Assessing LAN Infrastructure Is the First Step Toward a Successful VoIP Migration

An enterprise must evaluate the effect of additional voice traffic on the existing data network, commonly called a LAN assessment.  These are generally not free, although certain manufacturers and providers will waive fees as a part of an overall product or service and installation package.

If the infrastructure is not adequate to handle the additional security and QoS requirements, VoIP applications and services may not operate properly and can cause unnecessary performance and security risks. The assessment will measure current network performance, availability and scalability, amount of bandwidth available both on average and peak (or burst) basis and other QoS requirements.  Not surprisingly, enterprises often learn that their existing infrastructure is not ready for the additional demands of voice when combined with day-to-day data traffic as well as growth in other high-bandwidth applications such as video and multimedia.  

Infrastructure upgrades can add significant additional per seat costs. In addition, enterprises commonly use a data communications vendor for LAN infrastructure and a telecommunications or interconnect vendor for voice telephony.  Essentially, these two vendors compete for the same business in a premise-based IP-PBX deployment.  It is important to understand their long-term motivations and be certain the solutions proposed are best for your unique circumstances.

New technologies enable enterprises to deploy VoIP and avoid LAN assessments (including the predictability of the additional upgrade expense) by running the VoIP network over existing digital PBX telephony wiring infrastructure and not taxing the existing LAN with voice traffic.  By utilizing digital and analog handset gateways, existing Cat3 wiring and patch panel infrastructure carries voice traffic through the gateway and a router directly to the IP-PBX, whether on-premise or hosted at another location.  Where the majority of existing digital PBX handsets are combined with a small number of IP handsets, impact on the existing LAN may not be as significant as with a wholesale upgrade to new IP handsets.  In either scenario, avoiding infrastructure upgrades enables migration more cost-effectively. 

Myth 2: IP Phones Are Inherently Better than PBX Phones.

Many claims have been made about the inherent superiority of IP phones versus traditional TDM-based PBX ones. These typically revolve around two specific concepts: automatic relocation of a device from station-to-station and a small browser screen on the phone.

Auto-relocation is the ability of a user to change offices or locations by unplugging the phone, moving to a new location, plugging the phone in and using the device as if at the original location. IP phones have this capability provided the LAN is configured to support it.  What is also true but less widely-known is that the same capability has existed in many digital PBX systems for years.

The idea that auto-relocation is a new capability is a misconception but there is a good reason why it is not widely-known – it is generally not enabled. Most companies do not want users relocating from station-to-station on their own, for obvious reasons. And for many users, lugging a desktop handset from location to location is inconvenient.

The second commonly-claimed benefit is a small browser built into the device, very similar to the one on a PDA. In theory, people will use these small screens to access weather reports and stock quotes or trade instant messages. This is also a practical misconception.  IP phones with built-in browsers are often substantially more expensive so most enterprises deploy lower-cost phones without this functionality for the majority of users. These phones are typically sitting next to laptops or PCs equipped with large, full-featured browsers.  In this environment, there are very few applications that favor a small one.

Most of the cost and productivity enhancements offered by an IP-PBX occur at the server or call controller level, not at the handset.  In many cases existing digital PBX handsets can be VoIP-enabled via digital or analog handset gateways to support most features offered by the new platform. Gateways provide a translation mechanism between the unique signaling of existing digital PBX handsets already installed and the signaling of a new IP-PBX.  When gateways are utilized, the existing digital PBX is removed from the phone closet and replaced by an on-site (or premise) IP-PBX or hosted IP-PBX from a service provider.

SIP is a growing standard offered as a common language to support a variety of end point devices regardless of manufacturer.  With such gateway devices, features of the IP-PBX are mapped to the buttons and displays of the existing digital PBX handsets.  In most cases the change from digital to IP-PBX is transparent unless new functionality is added.  Features that require complex displays such as multimedia messaging and video are supported on desktop or laptop PCs, which offer more screen capacity and processing power than even the most sophisticated IP handsets. 

At the end of the day, the best phone may be the one already paid for and installed on a user’s desk.

Myth 3: Your Enterprise is Going to Need IP Phones Eventually Anyway.

For years the business telephone handset was virtually the only device suitable to support the primary enterprise communication application: voice.  This was partly based both on practicality and tradition.  However, the notion of a telephone handset and its capabilities has changed dramatically. IPT developers and manufacturers have broadened the definition of “end point” by offering products ranging from desktop handsets with features mimicking low-end laptops to softphones that effectively eliminate the desktop handset altogether. Softphones enable users to connect a wired or wireless headset to a PC or laptop.  The softphone application emulates the functionality of a PBX display on the screen as well as integrating messaging and other applications.  Even further, PBX functionality once reserved only for landline phones such as Automatic Call Distribution, four-digit dialing and call queuing has extended to mobile devices – e.g. cellular phones, PDAs – utilizing public WiFi, WiMAX or cellular telephony networks that blur the distinction between wired and wireless connectivity.

Depending on features, new enterprise-grade IP handsets with browser displays and multimedia capabilities range in price from $250 to $600.  Others can be obtained for substantially less but with limited features and questionable quality.  In addition to handsets, the costs of associated infrastructure (PoE wiring drops, installation, LAN upgrades) should not be underestimated because they often comprise 60 to 70 percent of the total migration cost, based on a 50-500-station deployment. 

All have their place in the enterprise environment, depending on the job function of the user.  For call center workers spending the majority of working hours in front of a PC or terminal screen, the headset and softphone combination can be the most effective.  Users have a comfortable headset for making or receiving calls over a long period of time.  System Administrators have fewer devices to maintain and increased flexibility to change features or configurations on the user’s desktop or laptop.

For office workers with consistent day-to-day phone use but who are not tied to a phone for long periods of time, a desktop handset may be the most effective for the very reason it has been for the better part of a century.  When a call needs to be placed, the user picks up the phone and dials.  When an incoming call arrives, the user picks up the phone and talks.  For these users, a handset with PC or laptop functionality may be considered overkill.  The PBX handset is for making and receiving phone calls.  Multimedia applications can be pushed to the desktop or laptop screen, with a much larger viewing area and more processing power. 

For mobile workers or road warriors, the primary device for voice communications can change from day-to-day or within a day.  When at home or in a remote office, a traditional telephone handset can be used.  On the road, a mobile phone or WiFi-enabled PDA can be used.  How applications are delivered (whether to the desktop, laptop or PDA screen) is largely based on convenience and location at the time. 

In each one of these instances – call center employee, office worker, road warrior – users can obtain the benefits of next-generation IPT services and applications largely without the purchase of a new IP handset, thus saving considerable cost and limiting business disruption caused by the need for training on new devices and features. 

As enterprise adoption of IPT grows, end points will also evolve.  Will softphone technology proliferate to the screens of PDAs and mobile devices?  Will desktop handsets be replaced by softphones supported by multimedia laptops and desktops?  The technology, still in its infancy, leaves many of these questions unanswered.  As such, companies may want to consider extending the life of existing PBX handset and wiring infrastructures until these questions are answered, basing investment decisions on a solid productivity- and applications-based business case rather than simply on the aesthetics and cosmetic appeal of a new IP phone.

Myth 4: A Pure IP VoIP Deployment Is Better Than Hybrid.

Some manufacturers of IP-PBX infrastructure claim there is a greater level of cost savings, efficiency, and user productivity with an all-IP (or pure IP) VoIP deployment. In reality, this is very difficult and often impractical. 

Enterprises have a number of different types of phones on their voice networks.  Desktop handsets are used in offices, call centers and reception areas.  Fax machines used in office pools are often not integrated into the PBX system, relying instead on dedicated analog circuits.  Single-line phones are often used in common or reception areas and also often rely on analog circuits.  Upgrading or enabling all of these devices to operate on the VoIP platform can add unnecessary complexity and cost, with questionable gains in cost savings or productivity. 

Enterprises should consider the increased incremental cost and the diminishing economic return of integrating the last few devices such as fax machines and single-line phones. Many organizations leave such devices on the existing voice platform and still obtain the benefits of IPT on the remainder of the network. 

Myth 5:  Migrating to VoIP Is Just a Matter of Plugging in IP Phones.

LAN infrastructure manufacturers understand the impact of adding voice telephony and other converged communications applications on performance and security.  In many cases existing infrastructure is completely suitable for data requirements but not for the addition of voice.  As such, VoIP upgrades offer a profitable opportunity for LAN equipment manufacturers to re-sell and replace existing infrastructure.

Most office workers in all but the most bandwidth-intensive application environments achieve maximum productivity with the 10/100 Ethernet infrastructure in place today.  Most enterprises of 50-500 employees have few bandwidth bottlenecks at the LAN level.  Upgraded infrastructure with PoE has limited applicability at the laptop or desktop level. It is generally designed and deployed to support new IP phones with multimedia screens and browser functionality.  LAN upgrades present a perfect opportunity for the vendor to sell high-margin infrastructure with even higher-margin IP phones, or use discounts on the phones to reduce the total cost of an upgrade.  It can be argued that neither a new LAN nor new IP phones have a significantly positive impact on the overall performance or productivity advantages of the VoIP applications to which they are connected.   

Myth 6:  You Need to Throw Out Your PBX to Obtain the Benefits of VoIP.

Many enterprises have made substantial investments in existing PBX infrastructures with complex ACD, IVR, call recording and call queue functionality.  In many cases, this prevents them from migrating to IPT over the near term.  They already realize the benefits available, but their applications are often custom-developed.  In other words, the PBX infrastructure in place at company headquarters is not going to be taken out-of-service any time soon. 

Are there still areas where the enterprise can benefit from IPT?  Absolutely.  IP trunks can be used to reduce recurring operational expenditures. VoIP adapters can be used to connect remote locations to the primary PBX over IP circuits.   

IP or SIP trunks can be used to reduce expenditures through lower recurring costs and more efficient use of channels to provide a similar amount of throughput.  However, the benefits generally end there. 

VoIP adapters are used to distribute the applications and resources of a centralized digital PBX to remote locations over an IP circuit whether it is across a city or halfway around the globe.  With this technology, remote locations do not need separate PBX or key systems.  The adapter is installed in the closet next to the existing phone system patch panels and digital PBX handsets are connected to the patch panel.  Users then have the ability to dial four-digit extensions anywhere in the enterprise, utilize the ACD and IVR systems and obtain benefits of a unified dialing plan negotiated at headquarters. 

More recent deployments are combining the use of SIP trunks with VoIP adapters to achieve substantial cost savings as well as local presence at each branch location without having to negotiate individual contracts with local PSTNs.  This approach also allows a greater level of business continuity across locations by centralizing hardware and access resources at a managed location with redundant power and other protections. 

Myth 7: Migrating to VoIP Should Wait for a Normal PBX Replacement Cycle

Most digital PBX hardware has an expected life of 7-9 years, although several manufacturers have built so well that it can extend far beyond a decade.  The substantial market for refurbished hardware by some vendors on auction and other business-purchasing websites validates the quality of much digital PBX equipment.  While some enterprises are eager to change out phones as the next generation becomes available, many find economics and consistency reasons to maintain handset infrastructure to or beyond expected life.  As a result of several considerations outlined below, the right time to change out, upgrade or replace existing digital PBX infrastructure can vary widely from enterprise to enterprise.  The following are the most common factors that contribute to the PBX buy cycle:

Myth 8:  Your Digital PBX Phones Can Work Only with Your Current PBX.

Historically, digital PBX and key system infrastructure has not supported interoperability among manufacturers’ platforms.  Phones from one generally cannot be used on the platform of another, and vice versa.  The reasoning behind this is relatively simple.  Manufacturers utilize unique signaling between phones on desks and the PBX in the wiring closet to enable features specific to that model.  Feature sets are used as competitive differentiators from one platform to the next and OEMs have not been motivated to create open standards to enable interoperability. 

The advent of SIP turns this upside down, creating an open environment for interoperability among manufacturers as well as end user devices whether PBX phones, mobile devices, or desktop and laptop computers.  SIP is a common standard supported by many IP-PBX, handset and application developers and manufacturers who are providing a growing set of common features supported across the VoIP platform.  Customization can then be focused more directly on unique needs.  This is a positive development for VoIP buyers because it encourages competition and increases value by allowing developers to focus on applications and services that enhance the business case.

SIP also enables enterprises to use existing PBX phones on a new IP-PBX platform.  Because it is a common language, digital and analog handset gateways can be utilized to bring PBX phones from a number of different manufacturers onto a single IP-PBX with tremendous flexibility in programming and customization.  This allows the benefits without requiring new LAN infrastructure, PoE or new IP handsets. The result is a deployment that is significantly less expensive and time-consuming than a full Rip-and-Replace.

Myth 9: Business Disruption and User Training Are Not Major Factors

Enterprises that have changed from one PBX to another as a result of relocation, growth or merger know the process can be time-consuming and disruptive.  A full Rip-and-Replace migration can be even more so as additional steps of LAN assessment, cable and PoE upgrades and new handsets add complexity.  Pulling new Cat 5 cable and station-by-station installation of handsets can also disrupt worker productivity.   

In addition, after installation the training of users on new handsets and features adds cost and time and is often given less-than-ample consideration in the overall business case.  

Myth 10:  Your Enterprise Needs to Buy and Install IP-PBX

The most radical departure from the digital PBX environment to IP-PBX is the nature of the equipment itself.  Digital PBXs are large, complex pieces of equipment hanging on the wall of the phone closet with station cards, line cards and other connectors that bring together lines from service providers, extensions from users, and other hardware or software for voicemail, call distribution and so on.  In other words, it is an inherently hardware-based system. 

In contrast, at its core an IP-PBX is a piece of software that resides on a server.  Connections between end user stations and the outside world are through gateways, routers and LAN switches.  The server powers PBX functionality as well as basic services such as voicemail and call distribution.  Integrating the VoIP platform with existing web and database applications is more straightforward, enabling next-generation feature integration between voice and data platforms.

And this brings us to the next question. If an IP-PBX is simply software on a server, can it be hosted at an off-site location and supported by a third party?  The answer is a resounding yes.  A growing number of mainstream service providers, ISPs, and an entire new category of entrants offer Hosted IP telephony (or IP Centrex) services not only to small or branch offices but to large corporations, educational institutions and healthcare facilities. 

Hosted VoIP allows an enterprise to take advantage of the applications, productivity and cost efficiencies of IP telephony and customization but with the additional advantage of utilizing an outside party to manage (or host) the entire platform, much the same as a website or email server is hosted.  In these deployments, the server is often maintained in a temperature-controlled, managed environment with redundant power and high-speed IP connections, thus ensuring a level of availability and survivability normally too costly to maintain, for a per month or per user fee. 

Hosted IPT allows an enterprise to focus on day-to-day operations rather than on installation, implementation, business disruption and training of a VoIP migration.  In addition, IT staff can focus on performance of the LAN infrastructure to support both existing applications and services and the new converged applications and services offered by the host.  Digital and analog handset gateways can be used to connect existing handset and wiring infrastructure to the provider, thus making this method of VoIP migration one of the most transparent and cost-effective available.

Conclusion

Massive marketing budgets and clever messaging have created a perceived conventional wisdom on the most effective strategies for migrating to IPT.  Many of these strategies have a greater impact on the bottom line of the infrastructure supplier than on the enterprise actually deploying the platform.  ROI, TCO and Operational Expenditure analyses aside, VoIP has much to offer from a productivity and application integration standpoint.  The benefits are making enterprises more connected and competitive every day.  In addition, system integrators and application developers are finding new ways to converge mission-critical applications with the voice platform to improve customer service and response times for employees, suppliers and partners. 

But the offerings can be complex and confusing, and there are often other motivations for selling VoIP infrastructure beyond those that can have the greatest impact.  As such, all groups expecting to utilize and gain benefit should be involved in the process of selection and deployment.  These groups should recognize that organizations may already have much of the required infrastructure in place to deploy VoIP quickly and cost-effectively, basing investment decisions on the business case within the enterprise rather than on the offering of the equipment manufacturer.  Doing so ensures not only a successful migration but also cost and productivity benefits that can positively affect long-term growth and competitive market positioning.

Taken from Citel White Paper Series, July 2006.

For more visit www.citel.com.