Already Using VoIP? Give Productivity a Boost by Going Wireless
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Already Using VoIP? Give Productivity a Boost by Going Wireless If you're serious about lowering business expenses and increasing efficiency, you may already be among the growing number of SMBs using Voice over IP (VoIP) technology to offset telecommunications expenses. But did you know that by blending VoIP technology with your existing wireless LAN, you can make another leap in productivity -- through a new technology called wireless VoIP? The idea may not be so strange. In recent months, more and more businesses with 10- to 50-person networks are realizing Voice over Wi-Fi technology is within their grasp. By using it, these SMBs are leveraging the power of converged wireless communications to transport telephone traffic to and from mobile users. How It Works If you have an existing wireless LAN, that network already lets employees stay connected to the network as they move from place to place while on campus -- between conference rooms, during lunch or at meetings. This helps them boost productivity since their work can be accomplished virtually anywhere. By adding VoIP technology to your existing wireless LAN -- in the form of 802.11-enabled Wi-Fi phones -- you can transmit voice communications over your wireless infrastructure and tap into newfound benefits. With wireless VoIP, employees can still access e-mail while in a conference room or cafeteria -- but now, they can also pick up calls from their phone extensions through their wireless phones. This decreases the frustration of phone tag, the wasted time checking voice mail, and the risk of missing important calls from customers. Plus, it delivers increased communication, accessibility and productivity, thus sharpening your company's competitive edge. By mixing telephone traffic with WLAN data, your company not only nets better employee mobility, it can lower network costs. After all, supporting a single infrastructure that handles both data and voice traffic is generally simpler and less expensive than two separate ones. Wireless VoIP in Action Say you're a manufacturing company whose single building houses its manufacturing, warehouse and corporate offices. You may use a wireless LAN to provide wireless data collection in inventory and shipping/receiving functions -- but you also use two-way radios to enable communications between supervisors and warehouse employees scattered throughout the building. By using Wi-Fi phones designed to interface with the WLAN, you can now avoid the need for two-way radios and their associated operational management functions. Instead, everyone's office becomes virtual, with each person's extension ringing to a personal handset that’s with them wherever they go. Some manufacturers also provide wireless phones that switch easily between the company network and a cellular network to give users even more freedom to roam off campus. The Makings of a Wireless VoIP Solution To create a wireless VoIP network, you'll need four components:
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