A company that doesn't have the expertise to run a VoIP system should stop right there and consider the alternatives. One of these is to start hiring staff or engaging a consultant to guide the organization through the process, another is to seriously consider a managed solution. Ultimately, a final option is to simply give VoIP a pass and wait until the company has developed the appropriate expertise in-house. After all, VoIP will still be around next year -- and the entry costs might actually be lower.
"For a lot of companies, VoIP won't make sense just yet," Machowinski says. "If your TDM system works, and you don't have the resources to implement VoIP, then there's really no reason to."
Examine Your Network Infrastructure
If the project still has the green light, the next step is to determine if your network infrastructure is up to the challenge of VoIP challenge. VoIP is particularly sensitive to network congestion and you will hear any infrastructure insufficiencies in annoying jitter and latency. The capital expense of a VoIP system can extend far beyond the VoIP hardware itself.
"It's a genuine concern for midsized businesses," Goodall says. "That's why we're seeing companies move incrementally and trying to avoid handset replacement. On the other hand, midsized organizations are moving to level-3 switches already, so those upgrades are already baked into the LAN upgrade cycle."