About four types of VoIP products

Application Guide: clarifies the concepts of managed and hosted VoIP

Managed, centralized user switch, and hosted VoIP. Oh, my God! There are many available products for enterprises looking for alternative products for the indoor telephone system. This product has various types and sizes. Hosted speech, IP centralized user switches, managed ip pbx, and network-based voice services are all alternative products available in DIY mode. However, these terms are often used interchangeably. In most cases, they are incorrect. This creates confusion for purchasing groups and does not know under which product to use.

For many organizations, the complexity of running VoIP exceeds the capability that the IT department can handle, so an outsourcing solution seems more attractive. However, a detailed review of various products can easily lead to confusion. Buyers shake their heads and wonder what the service is and how it works. A clearer understanding of what will at least help you raise some appropriate questions to differentiate these services. Of course, the premise is that people who sell products fully understand the differences between their products. Sales people do not always understand their products.

Product

When outsourcing services are considered, there are four basic product types. Managed ip pbx, manageable ip pbx, network-based service, and IP centralized user switch. The basic premise of all these services is that a third party manages everything and provides services to this institution. However, these services are different. One of the main advantages of outsourcing services is that many risks are transferred to service providers. However, the user has not lost direct control over the solution.

Manageable IP PBX

This is an indoor application of traditional ip pbx. In addition to outsourcing to third-party management, enterprises can also choose to manage this product by themselves. It is important to note that not all managed services are the same. Managed Services include simple mobility, addition, and modification until all VoIP lifecycle management is outsourced. Currently, most VoIP services are managed services provided by most telecommunications and system integrators, and even by many vendors such as Avaya and NEC unified solutions.

Managed IP PBX

Hosted ip pbx is no different from any other hosted applications such as email. The ip pbx is not in the customer's room, but in the vendor's hosting center. This type of ip pbx is actually the same as the ip pbx you bought in the room. That is to say, enterprises will purchase managed Cisco products or managed Avaya products. In this way, this product is compatible with indoor devices. Some companies place the ip pbx in their own data centers, host these devices themselves, and then control the telephone calls from each branch office. Many companies I interviewed put their major IP PBX in the company's data center, and the backed up IP PBX in a third-party hosting center. These system integrators and VAR (Value-Added agents) are the primary providers of hosted ip pbx. An interesting choice for Avaya users is the on-demand voice service jointly provided by Avaya and Savvis.

IP centralized user Switch

IP centralized user switches are mainly used to explain what telephone control is on a network rather than a branch. Many carriers use this name for their services. However, most of these services are IP-based traditional centralized user switch services. The real IP centralized user switch service puts an IP Gateway in front of the traditional five types of switches to provide services on the IP network. However, the basic service is still a traditional centralized user switch service. However, the growth potential of such services is limited because many advanced unified messaging functions cannot be provided in this way. In addition, in the United States, the centralized user switch service has not been overly popular. IP networks can make such services more accessible, but poor names of centralized user switches still apply. As far as I know, no major carrier provides centralized user switch services with IP functions. ILEC (a veteran local telephone operator) in some rural areas provides this service. However, the growth of voice services is truly a network-based service. The focus is as follows.

Network-based Speech

Network-based services are similar to hosted ip pbx, but there are also some differences. First, the infrastructure of the soft switch that provides telephone control is located in the telecom network and not in the hosted center. This soft switch is a multi-tenant product. That is to say, this product can contain the call function of multiple users, and a hosted ip pbx can be deployed based on each user. This type of soft switch has always been positioned as an IP product equivalent to an old five-category switch. However, in addition to providing voice services, a software switch is also an application server that can provide application services. Any service created by a soft switch can also provide many Unified Communication applications. One mistake many operators make is to name their soft switch-based service "IP centralized user switch. For example, Verizon's IP centralized user switch service is actually a network-based service built on the Broadsoft infrastructure, not just a basic centralized user switch service. AT&T's Voice DNA and Vonage's telephone service (consumer service) are also examples. Many organizations that consider such a service should strive to accurately understand how the service is provided and the long-term roadmap of the service. The disadvantage of these services is that the infrastructure for providing such services must comply with industry standards. That is to say, the functions of these services are limited to those approved by the standard body. Most of the indoor ip pbx services provided by Cisco, Avaya, and other vendors also comply with these standards, but these products have added some new features by extending these standard features through proprietary technologies. In many cases, standard-based functionality should be sufficient for many organizations. However, companies that consider such services should remember this. With the passage of time and standard maturity, the difference between proprietary and standard-based functions will be very close.

The main theme behind hosted, IP-centralized user switches, and network-based voice services is that telephone control is something uncertain. All customer needs are IP phones and a router used for data service. Remote office staff and PC-based soft phones can also communicate with these services.

Although the telecom industry has created some confusing concepts for all available VoIP services, I think, these services are a good alternative for organizations that require less overhead for device purchase and device management. If you want to consider a service, remember some things.

Understand the architecture behind the service

Many services have been used to describe brand names that cannot accurately describe their nature. For example, the "hosted IP centralized user switch" service does not really indicate whether this service is a truly hosted service, a centralized user switch service, or a network-based service.

Even if you are an influential diy it organization, you should consider using a hybrid environment for hosted services provided by small branches and remote office staff. This may be easier to upgrade when you transfer more sites to VoIP.