What is a converged voice and data solution?
A converged solution enables voice, data, and multimedia communications to be carried over a single network. It means you can:
- Lower your cost of ownership by providing a single system for both voice and data.
- Send faxes or make long distance calls between offices over your data network instead of using a phone line.
- Manage your telephone system over the Web, even from a remote location.
- Network between offices.
- Set up one central phone number and skills based routing for customers and have the system intelligently route calls to the appropriate party, department or office.
- VPN into your business network and access the company's database, network or e-mail while you are out of the office.
Typical applications of a converged voice & data solution include:
- IP Telephony, which converts a voice call into a packet format that can be sent over a data network.
- Advanced applications which allow you to view presence and begin a voice call or Instant Message (IM) session with co-workers or federated external contacts.
- Unified messaging, allowing all users to manage their voice, fax and e-mail messages from a single Inbox on their PCs or laptops.
- Contact centers - large or small, formal or informal, which can be linked to your Web marketing and sales initiatives.
- Computer telephony integration providing the ability to use computer desktops to make and answer calls, store call information, screen pop customer information and address books or track exact call durations for billing purposes.
- Voice networking links to shared applications, such as voice mail systems among different locations.
- Workplace wireless LANs enabling the extension of all the features and benefits on the LAN to a wireless environment, meaning that work can take place anywhere.
- WLAN extends the capabilities of the existing LAN by delivering voice and data to mobile workers.
What can a converged voice and data solution do for my business?
Save money on long distance
Voice and fax transmissions can be sent over an existing data network between offices, reducing your business' reliance on long distance services. Administration can also be simplified by managing voice, data, and multimedia locally or remotely.
Improve internal communications
Help your staff get critical information when they need it. With a converged solution your team can share files over the network, talk to co-workers in other offices without toll charges, view presence, instant message, and retrieve e-mail and voicemail from any location.
Online ordering systems
Provide new services to help your customers through the purchase process. Say, for example, your product is available through the Web but a customer would like to talk to a representative before ordering. With a converged network, the client can click on a "Want to Talk" button. Your system selects an appropriate agent and triggers a telephone to call back. You decide how the system selects agents - by product knowledge, or perhaps by time zone. Now you have the best of both worlds: instant and worldwide access to your product with personal service from one your representatives. This is just one of the many ways a converged network can help your small business operate like a larger enterprise.
Increase efficiency
A converged solution can streamline several separate communications devices as well as a variety of services and applications for maximum efficiency. And you will need only one service contract for your integrated network. Unified Messaging increases efficiency by consolidating voicemail, e-mail, and fax to a computer.
According to Sage Research, employees at organizations using Unified Communication clients with their IP communications platform save a full 32 minutes a day on average by being able to reach other coworkers on the first attempt. In addition, the average employee using Unified Messaging saves 43 minutes per day by being able to manage all emails, voicemails and faxes from a single inbox. As a result, you can accelerate decision- making while simultaneously cutting costs to deliver real business value.
Improve mobility
A converged voice & data solution helps solve the business challenge of anywhere, anytime accessibility by providing users with a consistent, reliable, secure mobile experience regardless of how they are communicating, what device they are using or where they are.
What key things should I keep in mind when choosing a converged voice & data solution?
Ensure your network is available for critical communications.
Network congestion is bad for your business. It can mean:
- Voice conversations that are difficult to understand.
- Clients that hang up because their Web transactions are too slow.
- Critical files that aren't transferred in time to meet customer contract commitments.
Today's best systems can route network traffic according to priority to make sure critical communication goes first. Mission-critical devices, applications, groups and users can be set up for guaranteed bandwidth. A network configured this way can add value to your business by keeping your communications highly predictable and allowing you to deliver data in a more reliable manner.
Reliability
Downtime can dramatically affect your business. You can't afford to miss a contract deadline or have a client unable to reach you because of a system failure. Find a company with an excellent reliability record - one that has been in the business for several years and sells dependable products and systems. Ask about the reliability of any systems that you are considering and ask about back-up capabilities that will allow your business to carry on even if a problem does occur.
Flexibility to grow with your business
With today's rapidly changing world, it is hard to see into the future and predict all your business needs. Your business has to adapt quickly and so does your communications system. Some systems have pre-installed applications that can be activated in minutes using a software access code. There may even be a free trial options to help you determine if an application will fit with your business. Make sure you can quickly add features such as a call center or auto attendant as your business needs grow. Make sure your solution is flexible in size and functionality so that you can customize it for your business needs of today and tomorrow.
Maintenance and servicing
With a converged system the maintenance hassle factor is reduced because a single service vendor can attend to all your voice and data needs. A solution designed specifically to work as a converged system will ensure seamless communications. Maintenance is further simplified if the system can be managed from a single location, no matter how many offices you have. Look for systems that have preventative maintenance tools that can identify and fix problems before service is affected.