NetworkWorld has an interesting story about a medical health center that is still taking baby steps toward VoIP and converged networking.

Baptist Health says a measured transition to VoIP makes the most sense for it, and there are lessons to be learned from its approach.

Most of Baptist Health’s 8,000 phones are located in a 15-floor building in Little Rock, but the medical center has eight sites overall. As it moves offices or builds new facilities, it will outfit those desktops with IP phones, Myers says.

“We never made a decision to forklift everything out and replace it with IP, but as departments moved or are added or if we buy up a clinic across town – if we feel it’s a good candidate for IP that’s what we do,” he says.

The success of a VoIP implementation – even the decision whether to implement VoIP – is customer or vertical market-specific in the end.

Whether you are in the market for a complete overhaul of your VoIP systems, or you want to transition slowly, VoIP can be scaled to fit your needs, while also realizing a significant ROI.

Most of us have been plagued by astronomically large telephone bills one time or another. This is all the more true for people having relatives in other areas of the globe. The need to talk to them could sometimes become so overbearing that the practical considerations of the amount of money that would be required for the exercise does not come in. However, the practicality of the situation often strikes later. And even the most emotional among us are motivated to rethink the way we are making our calls. Our thoughts inadvertently go towards Voice over IP and the benefits that it entails.

It can be said that the long distance phone calls are no more a cause for concern for many people. It has become possible to connect with friends and family members– who could be located in distant areas of the globe in a cost efficient manner– using the latest innovation called Voice over IP or VoIP. The routing of calls over broadband networks has made long distance communique very much affordable and easy. The role of VoIP devices can be understood in this context.

The VoIP devices are simple, cost effective and innovative and are required for the effective culmination of the process of data transfer over internet connections. First and foremost, the analog audio systems are converted into digital data which is then routed over the internet. One can use the latest applications in VoIP technology to make free calls to a distant place. One could also use the devices for making calls from personal computers– albeit with the services of a provider of repute. This way, the users are able to talk for extended hours with people who matter without worrying about exorbitant phone bills.

The Analog Telephone Adaptor is one such device. The phone that a person is currently using could also be used for making VoIP calls and the ATA makes this possible. It forms a modem between the traditional calling devices and the network connections to the user’s homes or workstations, as the case may be. The audio signal in analog format is converted into digital data packets and transferred over the internet. And the best part is that the users need not be very tech-savvy for using the ATA– it is quite simple and straightforward to use.

Another device that is gaining in popularity in the VoIP market is the Internet Protocol phone. These phones resemble the traditional phones that are in vogue today. There are separate buttons for the purpose of dialing. There is also a handset into which one can speak. An Ethernet connection is used for making calls that are routed through the internet.

Last but not the least; such calls can also be made from personal computers. When the calls are between two computers, then the users could go for the services of a reputed provider. The provider would ensure the availability of special software, microphone, and sound card – all necessary for the making of long distance phone calls. The monthly fee that the potential users would have to pay is quite affordable. As a matter of fact, it would more than make up for the astronomical phone charges that they would otherwise have to pay.

By: iCallGlobe Ltd.

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What will happen to the VoIP industry during a recession?

John Edwards makes his predictions - with arguments for both sides of the story. Here’s an excerpt:

When businesses are pinched by falling revenues, they often respond by scaling back expansion plans, curtailing new initiatives and cutting back on purchases. This could be bad news for VoIP equipment makers — the vendors who build everything from servers to gateways to phones — as more businesses cancel orders, switch to products with less power or fewer features or simply never place orders. Software vendors will also likely feel the pinch as fewer businesses purchase their offerings.

While cold logic dictates that a recession should be universally distressful, there’s also good reason to believe that the VoIP industry may not be hurt as much as many other businesses. VoIP’s big draw is, and always has been, that it is cheaper than traditional telephony. So it stands to reason that as more businesses look to cut their telecom costs, many will decide to make the switch to VoIP. In fact, a recession could turn out to be VoIP’s golden moment, as more enterprises dump costly, aging telephone systems in order to take advantage of VoIP’s cost-saving potential and technological flexibility.