Big possibilities for businesses - 4 July 2007

The way VoIP is being used is just the tip of the iceberg to what can be achieved, says Deon Scheepers, technology solutions director at ATIO.

He says companies will be able to start integrating voice calls, voice mail, fax and e-mail with their desktop and back-office applications, such as office, ERP, CRM and workforce management software, to provide unified communication.

"Over time, business applications will be able to initiate voice calls and send e-mail and instant messages directly."

This will enable users to make internal and interbranch calls from their PC or laptop directly from their application. They will be able to see on screen whether the colleague they want to contact is online, engage in desktop to desktop video conferencing and share and collaborate on documents, says Scheepers.

He says PBX and call centre solution suppliers are already signing co-development agreements with software application suppliers to enable systems' functionality to interoperate.

They will co-develop contact centre solutions and voice mail, unified messaging, video and other applications that work with standard operating systems and existing applications, says Scheepers.

Microsoft already has a co-development partnership with Nortel that enabled it to develop its new Office Communication 2007 Server software that has unified communication capabilities, and others are following suit.

"Most CRM software already provides functionality enabling users to pull up customer records on a PC screen and initiate voice calls or send and e-mail directly from the application."

Unified Communication capabilities will make it easier for companies to outsource their PBX and call centre functionality to ISPs and other service providers who are providing hosted VoIP services, says Scheepers.

"This will provide smaller companies with access to the same sophisticated technology infrastructure and functionality used by large organisations without spending fortunes on equipment and IT skills."

It will force PBX and call centre solution suppliers to partner or merge with service providers to sell both options so they can survive in this market.

Skype, which provides a global service that enables individuals to make voice calls to each other over the internet, has recently introduced a corporate version of its software.

It enables companies to link their PBX to the service and route calls across the internet to any Skype subscriber, of which there are now 21,3-million worldwide, says Scheepers.

However, the current version of the internet does not provide the quality of service needed for voice calls to ensure an uninterrupted conversation, but internet 2 is designed to support voice and video, he says.