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So Your Company Wants to Adopt VoIP… How Do You Know If Your Network Is Ready to Make the Transition?

Rick Endres of The Washington Network Discusses the Importance of Conducting a Network Assessment


Alexandria, VA  — June 11, 2006 — Lured by cost savings and powerful new applications, many small- to mid-sized companies have switched to Voice over Internet Protocol for their telecommunications needs. And for good reason: VoIP provides significant advantages, including cost savings and improving your ability to serve your customers.

But VoIP also puts significant demands on your network. First, your network must carry significantly more traffic. Second, VoIP traffic is sensitive to normal network problems like delays and choppy communication. Even modest levels of impairment, unnoticed by users of most data applications, will cause significant caller frustration and will not sit well with your customers, business partners or even your own employees.

So before investing in a large-scale VoIP deployment or even a small trial, you need to know how well your network infrastructure will handle the additional, quality-sensitive voice traffic. In fact, Gartner reports that 85% of networks are not ready for VoIP. And 75% of companies that do not perform a pre-implementation analysis of their network infrastructure will not realize a successful implementation.

Yet, many seemingly well-planned trials encounter delay after delay, exceed cost estimates, and are eventually canceled when the network proves unable to meet VoIP’s unique requirements. 

Your telecommunications provider can easily avoid these issues and ensure a successful transition to VoIP by properly assessing your network ahead of time. An evaluation of the network should include the following four steps.

1. Pre-Deployment Assessment

The pre-deployment assessment analyzes the network’s current capabilities, evaluates its ability to support VoIP, identifies potential problems, and determines the requirements needed to handle expected call traffic. Conduct this assessment before you purchase or install of any VoIP equipment. The analysis should include bandwidth, utilization, jitter, throughput and latency.

2. Post-Deployment Assessment

Whenever you introduce new equipment to a network unexpected issues can arise; so a post-deployment assessment should never be overlooked. This step provides an understanding of VoIP quality and network efficiencies just prior to system activation. It identifies and prevents issues with call quality or dropped calls, and assures that any changes can be made in a timely manner.

3. Regular Maintenance Assessment

Your network constantly evolves.  New IP phones, laptops, switches, routers and other devices are added or removed.  Minor changes and major ones both impact your network. You can avoid surprises down the road by identifying faults in a timely manner and correcting them immediately. Ongoing assessments help you raise quality, optimize your resources and reduce costs.

4. Break/Fix Strategy

Unfortunately, not all problems can be avoided. Your staff or business partners may bring these problems to your attention – but so can customers. What’s more, The Yankee Group has reported that some companies’ labor costs grew 30 to 40 percent because of dealing with VoIP-related network problems.  Having a network assessment tool in place lets you quickly identify a problem, diagnose and resolve it, while minimizing its impact to the system as a whole.


These four key steps illustrate the primary objective and the many benefits of network assessments.  Whether your company is about to switch to VoIP or has already gone down that path, it is crucial to accurately analyze your network.  Surprisingly, most companies overlook this integral component of VoIP implementation. The research clearly shows the cost.  

As you tap into the many benefits of VoIP, your telecommunications provider must create a network environment that allows your company to take full advantage of the technology. If network assessment is included, your provider is taking a short cut that will only lead to expensive problems – for your network, your phones, your staff, your customers and your ability to conduct business.

ABOUT THE WASHINGTON NETWORK, INC.

Founded in 1987, The Washington Network, Inc. in Alexandria, Virginia, provides computer networks, VoIP phone systems, IT support and other technology solutions for associations and businesses in the Washington, DC Metro area.

Serving clients without a large in-house IT staff, The Washington Network lowers operating costs while increasing worker productivity. The company’s flat-rate managed services include remote network monitoring, preventive maintenance, help desk, redundant back-ups and on-site support.

A member of the Northern Virginia Technology Council and Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, The Washington Network has been honored as the Chamber’s Professional Service Business of the Year.

Through its strategic membership in the Technology Assurance Group, The Washington Network serves and supports clients with multiple locations across the U.S. and Canada.

The Washington Network is located at 30 South Quaker Lane, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. For more information on The Washington Network, call 703.212.7100 or visit www.WashingtonNetwork.com.

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