What Is VoIP?
Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, is networking technology that allows businesses to leverage their data networks to support their voice and telephony needs.

VoIP utilizes standard computer server hardware in place of the traditional dedicated PBX system. One solution that is rapidly gaining in popularity is the open-source Asterisk® software, which utilizes the Linux server operating system. As is true of all open-source technologies, the Asterisk software itself is freely available, with no hidden licensing or other fees typically associated with proprietary commerical VoIP solutions.

TEKMedia Communications builds its VoIP solutions primarily on the Asterisk® platform and related open-source technologies. For companies not ready to make a commitment to open-source solutions, we fully support other VoIP solutions as well, including Cisco CallManager® and the 3Com NBX® products.

Cost Advantages:
Any business, large or small, can benefit from more cost-effective tools and solutions. VoIP technologies are one solution set that can potentially provide the dramatic savings in a fairly short amount of time. For reasons of cost alone, VoIP is an increasingly popular solution.

• VoIP can result lower telephone bills. Companies can avoid the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) completely for several types of calls.
• Branch offices can avoid long-distance charges for inter-site calls.
• Merging telephone system with the Local Area Network allows many companies to consolidate their network infrastructures, providing direct immediate cost savings.
  
• VoIP systems can often be supported remotely, reducing long-term support costs by eliminating costly on-site visits for simple maintenance and configuration tasks.

Business Advantages:
While saving money, VoIP provides much more than traditional phone systems. Whereas traditional phone system have certain physical limitations (e.g., busy lines due to a small number of available physical telephone lines), VoIP systems often are able to sidestep many of these limits. Not only may clients receive phone services at greatly reduced cost, but they also receive tools tailored to make, manage, and design the network to their unique specifications. VoIP puts the client in control.

• Leveraging the existing data network enables extension dialing to be extended to multiple and even distant locations.
• Applications are all extended to employees at any corporate location (including temporary or remote locations), including, but not limited to: conferencing, voice mail, unified communications, and click-to-dial services.
• Direct integration with other network platforms, such as e-mail and directory services.

At TEKMedia Communications, we focus explicitly on designing and implementing VoIP solutions that keep telecommunications costs to a minimum while making intensive use of the network potentials within the technology.

Most importantly, we do not recommend VoIP technologies merely because they are trendy. We recommend VoIP solutions only when there is clear business benefit. As with all our solutions, we do not deploy VoIP for its own sake, but for your sake.