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Voice over IP (VoIP)

Voice over IP (VoIP)

 can be used for transmitting voice over a LAN or on a wider scale. You 

will remember that IP stands for Internet Protocol and so VoIP enables phone calls to be 

made over the Internet. IP enables a single network to handle all types of communications 

needs of an organisation, i.e. data, voice and multimedia. VoIP (pronounced ‘voyp’) is proving 

increasingly popular for reducing the cost of making phone calls within an office and between 

offices, particularly internationally. IOD (2005) estimates that after initial investment, the 

cost of managing a converged VoIP communications system could be 50 per cent lower than 

managing separate voice and data systems. In the longer term, major telecommunications 

companies such as AT& T and BT will replace their existing voice networks with IP networks.

Other benefits include:

● 

Click-to-call – users click the number they want from an on-screen directory.

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Call forwarding and conferencing to people at other locations.

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Unified messaging. Emails, voicemails and faxes are all integrated into a single inbox.

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 Hot-  desking – calls are routed to staff wherever they log in – on-site or  off-  site.

● 

Cost control – review and allocation of costs between different businesses is more transparent.

Several options are available: