The VOIP Phenomenon

As it spreads it wings, VOIP holds out the promise to be another disruptive technological innovation, leveling the fields. As cable folks adopt VOIP to compete in new industries, so too do organizations such as contact centers as evinced in the sites speaking of the Yankee Group research, keen on reducing cost to gain competitive advantages. Companies like Verizon are going even further in reducing the entry level cost into a VOIP solution by providing some of the services like a Toll Free & IVR on its own network, thus making it almost as easy as buying a plug-n-play contact center!

There are also new devices based on VOIP led convergence entering the market, some from the creatively-silly to backend switch-level hardware. But the immediate developments do seem to be to integrate the mouse with a VOIP communication device, as seen in Sony's and Logitech's initiatives. The variety of VOIP phones available boggles the mind, Freetel's new phone aims to integrate the PSTN and VOIP phone into one. Wireless VOIP phones too are beginning to make their presence felt, with companies so far down the value chain to engage in aesthetics keeping the use of the equipment in mind, such as GN Netcom

But hope does not seem lost, for telco's like Verizon seem to believe that FTTH will be their key weapon to compete with VOIP. Is this too late - 1000 customers churning per day from Telcos to Cable companies in the US seems to be quite on the high side! Further, for large scale government deployments, the need for high speed internet connectivity that VOIP predicates does seem to be a barrier to its adoption over POTS/PSTN lines in totality - rather clients are looking for blended solutions, even in developed and advanced nations. Another barrier that seems to be coming up is the actual cost of deploying an entire VOIP architecture and solution, and what kind of time frames justify the infra and running costs overruns versus the savings on usage. There is also a school of thought that opines that Telcos will embrace VOIP and become primary providers of the service over the next 10-15 yrs (?!) in advanced nations, while in less developed nations embarking on the telecom revolution - VOIP will be the de-facto entry route.

Other VOIP Developments
Security : For those who believe that VOIP security will be a critical issue, here's Zimmermans attempt at encryption.
Devices : Philips launches cordless phones, one supporting Skype, one supporting Windows Live.
IM : IBM integrates VOIP into Sametime Connect. (What a pity that some organizations using IBM's Lotus Suite use less than 1/100th of its true Collaboration Tools)
Backend Products : Viola Network has a range of products that work in measuring the effectiveness of VOIP networks, one such being NetAlly Lifecycle Manager. Basically the range of these products serve functions like measuring session quality, evaluating network structures pre and post VOIP implementation etc.



There is also increasing adoption of VOIP technology for purposes that are beyond the basic low-cost benefit, as can be seen in the emergence of the medical-translation industry. Similarly the Hammond Care Group is implementing a VOIP solution across its centers, using VOIP to enable additional services to its consumers. The idea of revitalizing the good old payphone using the convergence of VOIP & WiMax is simply brilliant - The ideal spots would be the Railway stations and airports for this kind of setup. I wonder which is the overseas telecom companies refered to here, I would not be surprised if its MTNL/BSNL (Personal digression : my own experience has been that the tech folks from these firms are so incredibly forward thinking. I wish I'd listened to my dad and written the Civil Services exams - though in retrospect I wonder if I'd have got thru!)