Author:  Gary Barnett

A few months ago BT INS, an IT software consulting firm, released the results of its Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) survey.  I read about it on NetworkWorld.com.  While the survey sample size was rather small (it consisted of 157 IT professionals), I still found the results interesting.  A few things jumped out at me: 18 percent more companies have deployed or are in the process of deploying VoIP than in 2005, and cost justification ranks high on the list of possible barriers to VoIP adoption.

First, I’d like to comment on the increase in deployments.  Aspect Software is also seeing this upward trend, but it is worth noting that most existing contact centers (meaning not Greenfields) are opting for slow, controlled migrations.  This allows them to implement VoIP while they continue to use their traditional telephony systems – a good approach because it enables centers to begin to take advantage of new applications, while maintaining their investment in their existing technology.

That brings me to the topic of cost justification being a barrier to VoIP adoption. VoIP cannot simply be considered a replacement for traditional telephony.  It is much more than that. VoIP is about the convergence of voice and data …  it is about the myriad of possibilities presented by current and future applications that ride on the IP infrastructure … and, VoIP is about the opportunity for contact centers to easily offer multiple channels such as chat or instant messaging.  The true financial benefits are not derived from the actual VoIP deployment, but from the applications that VoIP enables and the efficiencies and improvements those applications bring to the business. 

For example, using VoIP in conjunction with advanced skills-based routing, companies can easily and inexpensively route calls to the first available agent regardless of their location around the globe. The end result? Better customer service, satisfaction, and potentially market share.  I’d say that’s pretty good cost justification.

What do you think?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 27th, 2007 at 8:18 am and is filed under Contact Center Technology, VoIP. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.