Forum hears business is fast moving to integrating network voice services THE FUTURE of business telephony lies in voice over internet protocol (VOIP), according to speakers at ITWeb and HP`s recent OpenCall forum. The consensus at the forum was that, over the next few years, most organisations will have completed their conversion from traditional telephony services to VOIP.

Africa Analysis Team managing member Dobek Pater" rel=tag>Dobek Pater says his studies indicate that companies are rapidly moving towards integrating network voice services, backing up the feeling that VOIP is the wave of the future.

According to Pater, the primary driver of convergence locally has been the value gained from the deployment of both data and voice. Internationally, high fuel prices have created a need for a mobile workforce. "Driving long distances can be prevented with the use of converged services," he pointed out.

Data and voice deployments allow service providers to play on an even field, Pater says. "Services can be provided by a single vendor, making it a convenient option." However, he pointed out that there are a number of inhibitors to deployment locally - including high bandwidth costs, the initial high costs of deployment and the quality of new services.

"There is also a single point of failure with everything running across an IP network, which can prevent organisations from considering the option. Some businesses have also complained about interoperability problems," he says.

Pater says the next phase of converged services will be for companies to implement unified communications. However, that is still a long way off for South African business. In Pater`s research, while 30% of local businesses have either an official converged strategy or a plan in place with a budget linked to it, there are still around 69% that have no plan to implement converged services.

ALL ABOUT SERVICE

Service providers (SPs) are quick to take up converged services, says Pater. "There is a growing relationship between SPs and the enterprise. With this, connectivity providers are using the SPs as a channel to market."

Through convergence, SPs want to play across different service markets and to differentiate, so they need to add new services, such as online music and gaming. "Wireless networks will be a big element of those needs. SPs will need wireless to offer full-time connectivity," adds Pater.

HP OpenCall marketing manager for EMEA Antonio Brignoli adds that SPs need to provide compelling service to compete. "However, they must also change their focus," he says. Many of HPs customers have done just that, and realigned to consider the consumer, he explains, adding: "They are realising that the customer must be considered first."

Brignoli cites the iPhone as an example of customer-centric converged devices that considered how the user would interact. He says any service provider introducing the iPhone into its business model boosts its revenue by 30% on the day it goes to market. "The service delivery platform approach reaches beyond convergence," he says.

Another obstacle service providers face is the burden of legacy infrastructure. "They must also consider revising operation models and mindsets," says Brignoli. He adds that users want control and are demanding enhanced services. There are also brands which establish themselves quickly, he says, such as MySpace and Facebook, which are disrupting the services market. "These are all new services with new paradigms. Convergance in the services space will allow SPs to compete."

HP showcased its own converged offering called OpenCall at the forum. The product was initially focused on telecoms companies, but has subsequently been expanded to meet the needs of media and entertainment industry verticals.