Tools to smooth VoIP installations

Although network tests are a basic part of IP phone system installations, many companies experience trouble after deployment. Industry insiders say the problems often stem from poor data network preparation. Something in the infrastructure check was missed. Finding the culprit is as difficult as tracing cables in a poorly dressed wiring closet.Some equipment and services vendors have cottoned onto the fact that more needs to be done to help companies ensure smooth transitions to VoIP. The following solutions could make the inevitable step from TDM less of a doozy.AnchorPoint's TEM SolutionTelecom expense management (TEM) is not a new concept for many communications managers. They've been turning to companies such as Avotus Corp. and Smart Thought Technologies Inc. for years to corral telecom costs. Now that IP phone systems are starting to replace TDM equipment, TEM providers are targeting the new regime. AnchorPoint Inc. is one example. Headquartered in Framingham MA, the firm is touting TEM as a way to help businesses step into IP.AnchorPoint's VoIP Solution Suite isn't substantially different from TEM for TDM. It's the way you use it that makes all the difference, says Dave Olsson, the company's CEO. "How on Earth can you go to VoIP with a prioritized game plan without understanding your usage, without an accurate baseline of costs, without understanding your assets? We provide the business case as well as a view into the topography of the TDM world that enables them to grow into the IP world."AnchorPoint's VoIP Solution Suite includes IPSS 6.0, the firm's main TEM tool, providing asset and inventory management, costs and invoicing management, and usage tracking capabilities. The suite also includes a business analytics engine to scrutinize the data. As well, the suite comes with IP Call Guard, an appliance that collects the call details for later assessment. Finally, Map-2-Win, AnchorPoint's consulting process, helps companies discover the specific steps required to support IP connectivity.The suite costs anywhere from 0.5% to 3% of the customer's telecom spend, depending on the size of the organization, system configuration, and the pricing model. AnchorPoint provides a hosted service, a managed service and a CPE-based, licensed version."We tend to focus on large companies," Olsson says. Costco Wholesale Corp., arts-and-crafts retailer Michaels Stores Inc., and insurance firm UnumProvident Corp. are among AnchorPoint's clients.Toshiba's Apparent Answer Toshiba Canada is taking a different approach to IP readiness. Earlier this year the IP-PBX provider announced that its dealers across Canada would now have access to Apparent Networks' AppCritical Professional Edition 3.1 network assessment tool. Dealers will use the equipment to suss out problems on customer networks that could confound VoIP deployments.In a survey of US Toshiba dealers, 31% of respondents said preparing the data network is the biggest challenge of VoIP installations. According to Irfhan Rajani, Apparent's CEO, application convergence is the key."Those pipes are not just running Voice over IP," he says from his Vancouver office. "They're running data such as ERP systems, CRMs, backups, et cetera. Some are starting to run video. You need to understand the interplay of the classes of the application. A heavy data application is going to affect the Voice over IP application. The technology to assess the network needs to be aware and take that into consideration."The AppCritical program considers application interplay, as well as cable and connection integrity, MTU settings and other aspects of the network infrastructure to ensure it's ready for voice. Dealers can perform the tests themselves or have Toshiba do them remotely. "It takes away the guessing and the reliance on a network manager to go through his network and find a potential issue," says Richard Wiezbowski, director, telecom operations at Toshiba Canada in Markham ON.Toshiba's Apparent deal and AnchorPoint's new spin on good ol' TEM, might help make the post-installation hunt for problems a thing of the past.

Tools to smooth VoIP installations

News | 04/01/2007 4:00 am EDT

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