Creating an IP-Based Telecom Environment

Businesses are experiencing a new wave of improving customer service through IP technology. This is also accomplishing decreased costs in service and support of the equipment and improving the speed in addressing customer service. These solutions are not industry specific; any business that has high call volume can implement an IP-based solution to expedite customer assistance. IP technology also offers companies opportunity to deploy their employees’ expertise across many geographic borders very efficiently. Many businesses that are researching how to more efficiently operate Call Centers for Sales centers, customer support centers and administrative staff are finding that an IP-based environment is their cost-effective solution.

How do businesses provide customer support through “technical assistance center” (TAC) via telephone services cost-efficiently? Conventional telecom technology has been TDM or Time Division Multiplexing (PBX technology) to handle a business’ call volumes. We are now able to operate customer call centers (either centralized or decentralized) via IP technology.

IP-based systems can be less costly than PBX solutions in both equipment and support costs. Uptime is also much more reliable then in the past for IP technology and the migration to IP technology can be deployed in phases. These key benefits, along with some other elements make the transition an easy conversion for those businesses whose customers rely on their “customer assistance” programs.

IP migration can occur gradually. As TDM-based switch’s become outdated un-supported, to costly to maintain or leases expire, IP-based technology can be implemented. When fully converted to IP technology, the data network will facilitate all voice, data and video components.

Costs are also a big factor in the conversion. An IP solution can be more cost effective then that of what the traditional PBX equipment would have cost a business. In an IP environment, scalability is easily addressed by adding as you grow. Industry standard PCs are added as the business grows and as new sites are need and new locations or home-based call center agents are easily added. Maintenance costs are also substantially higher with the proprietary a PBX solution, while many IP-based solutions provide system administrators accessibility to system reports, uptime, traffic reports for calls by group or user and make system changes relatively easy.

Numerous factors come into play when determining the feasibility of converting to an IP based system. Defining the company’s telecommunication goals and performing a complete telecom needs assessment is vital to a successful transition.