Don't throw away the PABX

With cheaper, higher quality bandwidth likely to be the order of 2011, more and more South African companies are considering a shift to VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)-based telephony. The good news is that making the change is not as costly or complicated as you might think.

It's getting cheaper and cheaper to route company communications through the Internet, via VOIP. Truly, 2011 could so then be the year when South African companies move decisively towards VOIP solutions, driven by the steadily falling cost of bandwidth.

Immediate concern for decision-makers

An immediate concern for decision-makers, but, is the complexity and cost of integrating VOIP with existing systems.

“Regardless of whether you're running a from-home business or a major corporation, the basic questions are the same,” says George Smalberger, MD of specialist telephony company, SS Telecoms. “How much will we save and how much will it cost - in capital and lost productivity - to switch to a VOIP system?”

The VOIP savings on offer are so then documented

The VOIP savings on offer are so then documented, now, according to Smalberger, integration is a particularly strong point of corporate concern, given the extent of existing investments in infrastructure just as PABX systems.

“There's a common perception that one would have to 'start again' to move to VOIP, and lose the value of existing investments in the process, however this isn't accurate,” he says. “There are a lot of cost-effective gateway solutions out there that allow companies to utilise existing telephony systems via their DSL connection, without having to replace or change what's already in place.”

SS Telecoms has been designing and manufacturing telephony solutions in the South African market for over 21 years, and distributes the global Media 5 range of VOIP products, just in case to other telecommunications products and services.

“Gateways exist to attach to all the standard PBX (Private -Automatic- Branch Exchange) interfaces, whether analogue or BRI/PRI,” says Smalberger. “Providing you're dealing with the right service provider and innovation, integration with your existing architecture should be straightforward.”

“Your service provider should understand your operational context and help you put a system in place that can scale according to your long-term requirements,” he says. “Even if you're a small company, your research should allow you to grow the scope of your system as your company grows and its staff dynamics change.”

What happens when an undersea cable breaks

And what happens when an undersea cable breaks and Internet connectivity is lost? That is, could a VOIP crash deal a fatal blow to operations?

The bottom line is making sure your organisation is operating according to an evolutionary mindset when it comes to its telecommunications set-up, Smalberger concludes.

SS Telecoms has been designing and manufacturing telephony solutions in the South African market for over 21 years. The company develops a complete range of telecoms products and solutions via an extensive national distributor network. SS Telecoms products are utilised in businesses across the country, from major corporations to home offices.