IP Systems - Unified Communications

IP Systems > Unified Communications > FAQs

01. Why do we need a managed voice (VoIP) network?
02. What's required to establish a managed voice network?
03. How do we connect to the public phone network?
04. Can we build a voice-only network?
05. Can we use your current PABX with an IP Systems voice solution?
06. Can we use our existing telephones?
07. Can we include fax machines on our VoIP network?
08. Do we need to change our phone numbers?
09. Can a managed VoIP network reduce my phone bill?
10. What cost savings can I expect?
11. What are the advantages of an IP phone?
12. Can an IP voice network help manage peak call loads?
13. Is the quality of VoIP as good as a standard phone line?
14. What happens if there's a power failure?
15. What happens if I lose my data connection?
16. Are my phone calls secure?

01. Why do we need a managed voice (VoIP) network?The main reason is flexibility. You'll have the ability to treat all your locations as one network, making it easy to call colleagues and forward calls. It also saves time with handling calls – a receptionist, for example, using the IP Systems Reception Module can take incoming calls and see availability for all users. Then there are the efficiencies provided by computer telephone integration.

02. What's required to establish a managed voice network?You'll need a suitable private IP network which your voice service will run across. You might already be using a private network for your data traffic. If not, we can provide one for you. We use the same network to carry your voice traffic, ensuring that voice calls are prioritized appropriately, providing high quality, low resilience calling.

03. How do we connect to the public phone network?Your private network needs to connect to the IP Systems network in at least one location. We'd recommend two connections in case you lose a link for whatever reason. We route your inbound and outbound voice traffic through thess connection, as well as carrying all the signaling information to route calls to the appropriate handset on your network. The size of the connection to IP Systems depends on the number of simultaneous calls you want to handle. Allow 100kbps per simultaneous call on or off your network.

04. Can we build a voice-only network?Yes, but for the small incremental cost you'd be advised to use the same network for carrying data. A private data network provides many cost and security advantages. You'll also benefit from the emerging on-net services that enable more collaborative and remote working.

05. Can we use your current PABX with an IP Systems voice solution?Yes. We manage all call routing, call queuing and click-to-dial functionality across our intelligent voice network. That means the functionality exists whether you are connecting a phone directly or through a PABX. Complications can exist where keys on your handset relate to PABX functions. In most cases we'd recommend that these functions continue to be managed by your PABX, but we'd recommend that over time you migrate to IP handsets for a richer feature, utilizing all the features and upgrades that we apply to our intelligent voice network. In the meantime you will enjoy many complementary features, including call queuing and centralized reception capabilities.

06. Can we use our existing telephones?Yes, but to enjoy the full benefits of an intelligent voice network we'd recommend you use an IP phone for an extended set of features.

07. Can we include fax machines on our VoIP network?Yes you can, although you will notice a loss of speed if you use a conventional fax machine connected to a VoIP connection. For inbound faxes we'd recommend you use IP System's fax-to-email option, so faxes arrive direct to your inbox, increasing security and saving the environment.

08. Do we need to change our phone numbers?No, you can port your existing phone numbers from your existing phone provider to IP Systems. We can supplement these numbers should you wish to add more in-dial services, giving each member of staff their own phone number.

09. Can a managed VoIP network reduce my phone bill?Yes. If you have multiple offices you'll enjoy free calls between offices in the same way that you make calls between extensions in a single office. You'll also enjoy competitive pricing on national, international and fixed-to-mobile phone calls.

10. What cost savings can I expect?An IP voice network will reduce the amount of administration work, particularly in how you manage adds, moves and changes to your phone system. Moves are easy – the user takes the phone handset with them to the new work station. Adds and changes are handled through an intuitive web portal.

11. What are the advantages of an IP phone?IP phones offer a richer set of features than regular phones. For example, they give you access to a central company directory, making it easy to search for staff members and call them without referring to outdated paper lists. “Click to dial” then makes it easy for you to make a call without keying the full number.

When you have your phone on “do not disturb” or “call forward” this is visible across the entire company, so everyone knows your status.

A receptionist will be able to see the status of each user, irrespective of their office location. Rather than blindly passing calls on your callers can be informed that your line is busy and given the option to wait or leave a message.

There are also huge benefits in the administration of your phone system, making it easier to manage adds, moves and changes.

You can also experience superior voice quality for calls that are made across your network. Read more about our high definition voice.

12. Can an IP voice network help manage peak call loads?Yes, if you are operating a call centre over multiple locations calls can be allocated according to available capacity at each location. Callers to a local office can also be redirected to another location on your network if there are no agents available to take a call.

13. Is the quality of VoIP as good as a standard phone line?Yes, it's at least as good as the quality you'd experience across an ISDN connection. Your call will travel across a managed VoIP network, so it is not subject to the best-effort quality of services like Skype, where calls are carried across the open Internet.

If your call is made within your network, with an IP phone you can enjoy high definition voice quality, which is a significant improvement on traditional phone services.

14. What happens if there's a power failure?If you lose power your phone handset won't work unless you connect it to a UPS. This equally applies to a conventional PBX. With an IP phone system you can manage the network through a web interface and quickly apply disaster-recovery routing. So if an office loses its power all calls can be directed to another location, or be forwarded to each worker's individual mobile or home phone number.

15. What happens if I lose my data connection?The IP Systems network is carrier-grade, with redundancy built in across the network. That means if a router fails or a link goes down we can always re-route on-net traffic. We recommend that customers have at least two links to our network to extend this redundancy across your own network. If a particular location on the network loses its link for a period of time voice calls can be routed to other locations, or calls can be forwarded to mobile or staff home numbers.

16. Are my phone calls secure?Yes. In effect there are three layers of security. You'll be making secure voice calls across your own secure private network, which is itself part of IP Systems own secure network.