IP Telephony Check List

74 Point Check List For IP Telephony & Unified Communications
Beware of Server Farms

By Greg Eicke
GregEicke2011,Allrightsreserved|www.phonesystemsbrisbane.net.au|1300851411|Page|1
Legal Notice
The Publisher has strived to be as accurate and complete as possible in the creation of this report, notwithstanding the fact that he does not warrant or represent at any time that the contents within are accurate due to the rapidly changing nature of the Industry. While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this publication, the Publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein. Any perceived slights of specific persons, peoples, or organisations are unintentional. In practical advice books, like anything else in life, there are no guarantees of savings made. Readers are cautioned to reply on their own judgment about their individual circumstances to act accordingly. This book is not intended for use as a source of legal, business, accounting or financial advice. All readers are advised to seek services of competent professionals in legal, business, accounting and finance fields.
Greg Eicke 2011, All rights reserved | www.gregeicke.com.au | 0414 75 28 28 |
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Contents
Legal Notice ............................................................................................................... 2 Introducing Greg Eicke ............................................................................................... 4 Back Ground to The Checklist .................................................................................... 5 IP Telephony Check List ............................................................................................ 7 Section 1 Users ................................................................................................... 7 Section 2 Desktop Control Software .................................................................... 7 Section 3 Remote Workers .................................................................................. 9 Section 4 Mobility ................................................................................................. 9 Section 5 Management ...................................................................................... 10 Section 6 Redundancy ....................................................................................... 12 Section 7 Third Party Software Integration......................................................... 12 Section 8 Operating System .............................................................................. 13 Section 9 Contact Centre ................................................................................... 13 Section 10 Conferencing .................................................................................... 14 Section 11 Enterprise or Multi Site ..................................................................... 14 Section 12 Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) ........................................................ 15 Testimonials From Our Happy Customers ............................................................... 16

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Introducing Greg Eicke

My name is Greg Eicke and Ive been working at the leading edge of voice communications for the past 27 years. During that time Ive found the sheer complexity of many phone and data solutions to be a major frustration. The good news is that the complexity and all of its painful implications end with Greg Eicke! Almost three decades in this industry has enabled me to develop what I call brilliantly simple phone solutions. These solutions will make communications and collaboration second nature for your workforce. And of course they save you big dollars in ongoing phone costs another reason why they are brilliant! When it comes to VoIP, Ive found that most VoIP Technology vendors stretch the truth when it comes to what their VoIP systems can do. I put this document together to help people become aware of the potential options (and pitfalls) when purchasing new VoIP phone solutions for your business. Ive been able to piece all of this together because for the better part of my career Ive installed, maintained and sold Telephone Systems. This has also allowed me to provide sound advice from Feet on the street practical experience. The aim has always been to achieve the best solution and value for money for my clients. Now onto the 74 Point IP Telephony & Unified Communications Check List I put this document together to help business owners better understand the techno jargon used today by slick sales people trying to impress CEOs and IT professionals. It takes years of hands on experience to understand telephony. Software and Servers is the domain of IT professionals, IP telephony on a computer network reveals a complex set of challenges which can only be successfully deployed with the co-operation of IP Telephony and IT professionals.
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Back Ground to The Checklist

This report is structured in a way that answers some of the more commonly asked questions. If some of the concepts are new to you, dont worry. The language used in this report is deliberately plain English and should help dispel some of the common myths and misconceptions around VoIP communications. If on the other hand you are an IT professional, it may be advantageous to chat further over a coffee. After 27 years in the industry we have a keen understanding of the intricacies of telephones and computers sharing a common platform. From our considerable experience the best results come from collaboration between telephone vendor and IT team. The overriding goal is to complete the project, not to compete. Readers whove read my Special report Dont buy a VoIP phone system before you read this report will now understand what VoIP means in laymans terms. Now let me show you that not all IP Telephony systems are built equal and the slick sales spiel often glosses over the vital considerations when selecting a perfect fit IP Telephony solution for your business. Voice on a computer network must be treated with a different set of rules. It takes many years of experience and comprehensive technical training to successfully sell, deploy and support IP Telephony systems. You wouldnt ask your plumber for his opinion on a broken leg, would you? You see software, Desktops, routers and servers are the domain of the IT professional, and an IP Telephony system simply shares the network and cabling. The challenge for many IT executives is to make the business case for unified communications. This can be tricky, because purported productivity benefits can be hard to quantify. However if the business case exist, Unified Communications is a way to improve internal communications and increase productivity. There also is the potential for cost savings. Setting and managing expectations is an important part of a successful Unified Communications (UC) deployment. Any institution considering migrating to UC must carefully evaluate the many options to determine at which point their needs actually suit a UC solution. The next 9 pages will help you sort the techno babble so you can be sure you are making an informed decision.
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This checklist is broken into twelve sections that represent a very comprehensive method of reviewing any IP Telephony solution. You are encouraged to rate each point on either on the following scale... Unacceptable - choose this option if the system you are reviewing doesn't meet your business needs in the area concerned. Poor - choose this option if the system has the feature but is still far from what you require. Good - choose this option if the system meets your business need in the area concerned. Very Good - choose this option if the system meets your business need with additional benefits. Excellent - choose this option if the particular feature EXACTLY meets your business needs and you couldn't want for any more. This wasn't explained to me - choose this if the vendor didn't cover or brushed over this point.
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Very Good
IP-PBX System: Reviewer:
______________________________ ______________________________
Rate the Features That You Require Section 1 Users

Single Number Contact LetsyoubecallandbecontactedfromANYphoneyouwantsoyou canworkseamlesslyfromanywhere. Find Me/Follow Me/Twinning Ring Desk & Mobile Allowingcallerstomakecontactwithasinglecall Busy lamp field / Digital Key system emulation SoyoucanalsohavequickeasyvisualpresencejustlikeRedlights ontraditionaldigitalkeytelephonesystemsbutwithmuchmore information. Automated Attendant & Interactive Voice Response Allowsyoutosavemoneyonpersonnel,noneedforreceptionistto transfercalls.Alsosavestimeforcallerswhoaskthesame questions(address,Fax#,fixedmessages,etc) Record calls from any phone Whichmeansyoucanimprovecustomerexperiencebyletting employeeslistentowheretheywentwrong,alsounderstandand monitoryourcallsandreturnmissedcalls. Roaming Between Sites Allowsuserstologintoanyphoneanywhereinyourenterpriseand haveprofileandcallsfollow.Justlikeloggingontoanotherdesktop PCwithyouownusernameandpassword.
Section 2 Desktop Control Software

Click to Call Allowsuserstocallwithamouseclickusingquickeasyaccessto contactsinyourcompanydirectoryorCRM Real Time Presence Letsyouknowifthepersonyouneedisavailableandhowthey maybereachednomatterwheretheyarelocatedinyour enterpriseormobilityworkers. Mouse, keyboard or telephone control Allowsyoutocontrolyourhandsetorsoftphonefromyour keyboardormousewhichmeanstimeefficiencyimprovements. Fax messages Allowsuserstosend,receive&storeincomingfaxesasstandard imagefilesinyoursystem. GregEicke2011,Allrightsreserved|www.phonesystemsbrisbane.net.au|1300851411|Page|7
Excellent 5
IP Telephony Check List
This wasnt explained to me
Unacceptable
Good
Poor
Rate the Features That You Require

Secure Instant Messaging (IM) Allows you to spontaneously collaborate with others or contact a user EVEN if they are engaged on the phone or when the telephone is inappropriate. Call centre agents can discretely request supervisor assistance. NOTE: Some manufacturers require additional servers and software to support Instant Message. Screen Pop Which means the caller ID is matched with records in your CRM data base or Outlook and automatically populates your computer screen with the callers details. Built in Fax Server - Send, Receive and Archive Fax messages So you can send, receive, store and forward your faxes with a simple click. Eliminate your fax machine and costly fax lines. Few manufacturers have fax built in however most manufacturers only support 3rd party fax software which means additional cost for software and hardware. Functionality with Microsoft Outlook Allows you quick easy access to contacts in commonly used MS Outlook so you can easily make calls, set up voice and web conferences. Complex features Complex features must be easy and intuitive to access and use, either by Desktop user software or the IP handset. User Call Control Can users easy manage their own call handling rules? These can be based on Caller ID, Day of week, time of day, users presence status, day of year, etc Interactive web conferences Is additional hardware or licensing required? Whats the capacity? How easy is it to turn an audio conference call into a web conference? Making calls How easy is it to search for contacts? How easy is it to launch the call once contact is found? Can all function be operated from handset as well as PC?
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Unacceptable
Very Good
Excellent
Good
Poor

Call Notes Allowsyoutotypenotesoncalls,notescanbepassedonwith transferredcall.Saveandarchivenoteswithcalldetails. Operating system requirements: Windows / Apple / Linux and thin Clients. Meansyourexistingcomputernetworkmaynotsupportthe proposedIPTelephonysystemorsometimesmaynotsupport featureslistedbymanufacturer.Additionalserverhardwareand softwarelicensingcostsmayapply. Softphone licence? AllowsyoutouseaPCwithheadsetasaphone,thiscanreducethe sizeofyourcarbonfootprint.Isitaseparatelicenceandwhat featuresdoIhave?
Section 3 Remote Workers

Do I need a VPN to support my teleworkers? VPNmeansaVirtualprivatenetworkviatheinternetsoyoucan accessthecorporatenetwork.Thismethodusuallyraisessecurity issuesandinconsistencies.SomeIPTelephonymanufacturers requireexpensiveadditionalhardwareandlicencestosupport remoteworkers.
Section 4 Mobility
Mobile smart phone support for Call Control software. AllowsSmartPhoneuserstohavetheallthefeaturesnomatter wheretheyare.PopulariPhoneandBlackBerryhandsetssupport mobilityfeatures. Mobile smart phone support for Real Time Presence Meaningpeopleanywherewithinthecompanyorontheroadcan checkotheruserpresencestatus. Mobile smart phone support for Secure Instant Messaging (IM) Allowssmartphoneuserstoquicklyandeasilycommunicate withoutengaginginaphonecall.Perfectforsideconversations duringmeetings.
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Unacceptable
Very Good
Excellent
Good
Poor
Section 5 Management
All in one or a Server Farm Meaninglowercostofownership,Guaranteedintegration,No fingerpointingatthirdparties,Softwareorhardware manufacturers,easeofmanagementandlowcosttoown. Management Centralised Thismeansyoucanadministerallsitesremotely,usuallyfroma GraphicalUserInterface(GUI).Somemanufacturerstoutcentral management,butstillrequirecomplexcodewherethe administratorhastoprogrameverysitewhichleadstounnecessary complexityandhighercosts. Adding a user Allowsyoutoaddanewuserinminutesviaacentral administrationGUI.Somemanufacturerswillsupplyatemporary userlicencesoyoucanconnectnewuserspriortoplacingyour orderwithreseller. Changing a user Howintuitiveistheadministrationsoftware?Thismustbeableto beusedbynontechnicalstaffsuchasareceptionist. Removing a user Howintuitiveistheadministrationsoftware? Thismustbeeasilyusedbynontechnicalstaff. Programming Howintuitiveistheadministrationsoftware?Thismustbeableto beusedbynontechnicalstaffsuchasareceptionist. Quality of support WhatareyourSLAs? WhatchoicedoIhaveifIdontliketheoriginalvendor? Whatsupportisavailableforreseller? DoesmanufacturerhavepresenceinAustralia? MybusinessisAustraliawide,canyousupportme? Howresponsiveisthemanufacturertosoftwarebugpatches? Voice compression codec support G729 + Allowsyoutomaximiseavailablebandwidthsavingcosts.
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Unacceptable
Very Good
Excellent
Good
Poor

Proprietary or Open Standard Protocol (SIP) AllowsyoutouseothermanufacturerssupportedSIPphones.This allowsyouchoiceanddoesnotlockyouintoonemanufacturerof handsets. Detailed call Logs Thisisjustlikeacallaccountingsoftwarepackageusuallybuiltinto thesystem.Youcandrilldeepintocallrecordsforreportingon criticalinformationlikereportonuseruse,trunkuse,longestcall, mostfrequentlycallednumber,etc. Seamlessly Scale to grow Thismeansyoucansimplyaddadditionallicencesandorhardware tocaterforyourgrowingneeds.Noneedtochangeoutthe equipmentbecauseitstoosmall. Automatic Call Distribution ACD Allowsyoutorouteanddistributecallstoadepartmentorgroupof operatorsratherthananindividualprovidingquickerservicefor theircustomers. Hunt Groups Thismeanscallersaredistributedbasedonruleslikelongestidle, roundrobin1234,2341,3412,4123,.etcorsequential. Agentsinthesegroupscanbeforcedtoanswercallsandhavethe callcontroloverriddenbysupervisors. Multiple Operators Allowsyoutohavebackupoperatorsonothersites,agood scenarioforthisisdaylightsavingtimedifferencesallowsforlonger tradinghours. TAPI Support MeansTelephoneApplicationProtocolInterface.Itisusedfor3rd partysoftwareintegrationwithyourphonesystem,likepoppinga screeninyourCRMsoftwareonincomingcall.NotallIPTelephony manufacturerssupport1stand3rdpartyTAPIwhichmeanscall controlmaybelimited.
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Unacceptable
Very Good
Excellent
Good
Poor
Section 6 Redundancy
N + 1 Redundancy MeansyoucanhavefailsafeequipmentwithonlyOneredundant IPTelephonySwitch.ManyIPTelephonymanufacturersrequirea completeduplicatesetofhardwareforredundancy,adding significantcosts. Integrated UPS back up power supply Graceful shutdown in event of power fail. AllowsyourIPTelephonyequipmenttoshutdowngracefully. MostUPSsshutdownequipmentwithoutnoticepotentially causingdamagetothesystem. Redundant Hard Disk Drives RAID -1 - Mirrored Drives Thismeansa2ndHardDiskDriveisautomaticallyengagedinthe eventofaMainHardDiskFailure.Mostsystemsprovideonlya backofthedata,onlysomewillcontinuewithanyinterruptionof callsordataloss. Solid State Drive ThismeansthememorystorageofthesystemusesaFlashSolid StateMemorydevicethathasnomovingpartslikeHardDisk Drives.HardDiskDriveshaveatypicallifeofapproximately3Years. Ability to reroute around failures Thismeansyouhaveredundancyoptionsfornetworkfailures;eg; callsautomaticallyroutedviaalternaterouteifbackhoedigsup yourcable. Survivability and Disaster recovery Thismeansyourtelephoneremainworkingintheeventofa networkorhardwarefailure.
Section 7 Third Party Software Integration

Microsoft Exchange Integration ThismeansusersintegratewithMicrosoftemailExchange software,forschedulingmeetingsconferences,diallingcontacts, etc Microsoft Outlook address book integration SoyoucandialdirectlyfromOutlookandreceivecallers informationonthescreenonincomingcalls.
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Unacceptable
Very Good
Excellent
Good
Poor
Section 8 Operating System

Supported on Windows, Mac, Linux, Terminal Services and Thin clients. NotallIPTelephonyManufacturerssupportallSoftwareOperating Systems.SomewillforceyoutopurchaseaserverjustfortheirIP phonesystemaddingunnecessarycosts.
Section 9 Contact Centre

Record calls from any phone Soyoucanrecordcallsfulltimeorondemand. Multisite call centre agent Thismeansyoucallemploystaffnomatterwheretheyliveanduse overflowagentsinothersitestomakesureyourcallsareanswered. Inbound Call Centre with Real-time Wall Board and Reporting Thismeansuserscanseethedashboardoftheircontactcentreata glance.Likenumberofcallerswaiting,theiraveragewaittime, totalcallsmadeorreceived,alarmsforKPIs,etc. Wrap Up Timer Thisallowscontactcentrestafftocompleteallthetasksfromtheir lastcallbeforelaunchingoracceptinganothercall.Makingsureall callsandstaffefficienciesaremaximised. Account Codes Accountcodesareusuallyusedtocostcallsandprofessionaltime toaparticularjoborclient.Usersenteraccountcodesprioror duringcallstoautomaticallyallocatethatcalltochosenjob/client. TypicallythisisusedinLegalandAccountingprofessionssotime andcallcostscanbeaccuratelybilled. Call attached data ThismeansdatalikeWrapupTimerandAccountCodesare includedwiththecallinformationforadditionalreporting. Queuing Calls Allowsyouqueuecallersinorder,playmessages,advisecallersof placeinthequeue,provideoptionstooptouttoamailbox,etc.
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Unacceptable
Very Good
Excellent
Good
Poor

Group Mail Box CallerscanleaveamessageforCustomerSupportwhichisa groupofsayeightusers.Anyoneoftheeightuserscancollectthe messagesonomessagesaremissedbyabsentusers. Instant Messaging Secure & Built in AllowsuserstochatusingtextstylemessaginginaSECURE environment.Agoodwaytocontactusersevenwhentheyareon thephoneorleaveamessageforwhentheylogbackon.Thisis verysimilartothewayteenagerschatonMSN.
Section 10 Conferencing
Web Conferencing AllowsuserstointeractandcollaborateontheInternetusingWeb Cameras,RemotesupportandAccessfordesktops,Remoteprint andfilesharing,etc. Usuallyanaddonorseparatehardware. Audio Conferencing Allowsuserstoconferencemultipartycallsfrominsideandoutside oftheenterprise.Capacitiesvaryconsiderablybetween manufacturers,besuretoknowthemaximumnumberof participantsandconferencecalls.
Section 11 Enterprise or Multi Site

Secure Enterprise-wide Unified Communications MeansyourIPtelephonydoesnotusetheInternet. Global Presence and Single Number Contact Allowsallusersvisibilityofusersacrosstheenterprise. UserscanlogintoanyIPhandsetontheenterprisetohavetheir profileandvoicemailfollowthem. Survivability and Disaster Recovery ThismeanstheIPTelephonysystemhasbeendesignedwiththe worstcasescenarioinmind.Intheeventofacompletesystem failureanIPtelephonysystemshouldbeabletoautomatically switchTelcolinesovertoredundantIPtelephonyequipment(very fewdo),allowtheenterprisecalltraffictobeautomatically reroutedtosurvivingsites.
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Unacceptable
Very Good
Excellent
Good
Poor

Support for multiple Locations NotallIPTelephonysolutionscaterformultisiteorganisations. SomeIPTelephonymanufacturerssupplySmallBusinessand Enterpriseversions.SmallBusinessversionsareusuallyrestricted tosinglesiteswhereasEnterprisesystemsareusuallycapableof 100+sites. Itsnotuncommonforanupgradeoradditionalsitetocausean expensivetotalchangeoutofhardware. Seamless multi-site integration Effectivelythismeansyourenterpriselookslikeitsunderone roof.
Section 12 Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

Do you expect users will get more done with this system? Do you expect end users to need less training than other systems? Do you expect administration to be easier? Do you expect administration to take less time? Do you expect administrators to need less training than other systems? Rate the expected annual support costs Rate the expected annual maintenance costs Rate the On Site Demonstration Rate the Technical and Product knowledge of the Sales Person Rate Vendors Project Management process Rate the Vendors presentation of solution
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Unacceptable
Very Good
Excellent
Good
Poor
Testimonials From Our Happy Customers

Ive always believed that happy customers who repeat purchase and refer others are the cornerstone of a successful enterprise. Thats why we bend over backwards to make sure that our customers are as happy as they can be with their new phone system. Heres what just some of our happy customers have said
"Even the bottom line is feeling a positive impact: one business reported a 15 per cent increase in revenues as a result of unifying their communications. It's no wonder that the majority of IT managers we talked to see it as crucial to growth." Mike Robinson, converged communications director at Dimension Data
Just under half of the businesses in the new Vanson Bourne survey already had a unified communications strategy in place. Those companies noted 10 percent productivity gains, and a 21 percent improvement in customer satisfaction, from using the technology. Some six in ten businesses said unified communications was a key element in supporting the growth of their company, helping with internal collaboration, greater business efficiency, reduced travel costs and a more flexible workforce.
Normally a sales person will tell you anything to make a sale he delivered on his promises. Ross Tait, CEO - Ballina Toyota.
Greg recommended the new system based on our long-term business plans and the requirements of our recently opened Melbourne office Deidre Grace, Director - People in Plastic.
Greg also freely advised, without favour, on solutions which were outside his commercial realm. Tim Isaacs, General Manager FITEC.
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74 Point Check List For IP Telephony & Unified Communications

Beware of Server Farms

Greg Eicke 2011, All rights reserved | www.gregeicke.com.au | 0414 75 28 28 |

Greg Eicke 2011, All rights reserved | www.gregeicke.com.au | 0414 75 28 28 |

Introducing Greg Eicke

Greg Eicke 2011, All rights reserved | www.gregeicke.com.au | 0414 75 28 28 |

Back Ground to The Checklist

Greg Eicke 2011, All rights reserved | www.gregeicke.com.au | 0414 75 28 28 |

Greg Eicke 2011, All rights reserved | www.gregeicke.com.au | 0414 75 28 28 |

IP-PBX System: Reviewer:

Rate the Features That You Require Section 1 Users

Section 2 Desktop Control Software