Voice over Internet Protocol is shaping up to be the future of communications. Rupert Kendrick explains

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a technology that allows voice to be carried as data over the Internet. In other words, telephone calls are carried over networks using the technology of the Internet, rather than traditional analogue or digital telephony systems.


As an example of how popular it will become, one business consultancy, Frost and Sullivan, claims VoIP will account for three-quarters of the world's voice traffic by 2007. BT intends to convert to a pure VoIP-based network by 2009, so there is no ignoring it.


The reason for the expected boom in VoIP technology is, quite simply, the business case: free calls between offices, lower maintenance costs, and greater convenience for remote personnel. Some reports claim a return on investment within 16 to 18 months in 70% of cases, by doing away with leased line charges as well as lower maintenance and management fees.


VoIP means the telephone on your desk becomes more like a computer, merging into a giant multimedia system offering a whole range of different technologies to end-users.


In the present market, Skype is one of the most popular providers, but there are others, among them Avaya, Vonage, MCI, Cisco, Voice Commerce, Network Equipment Technologies and, of course, BT.


If you want to investigate further, a useful starting point for checking the accreditation of a provider is the Internet Telephony Services Providers Association (ITSPA), on the Web at www.itspa.org.uk. Given the immature VoIP market and that initial investment in time and money, its claim that 'any product or service bought from a company displaying the ITSPA logo comes with a high standard of consumer protection, which is properly enforced and includes a dispute resolution procedure' could be

critical.


So do you take the plunge? My advice is: be careful. This attractive proposition does not always apply. Many VoIP projects are limited in scope, so some adopters try to rely on analogue systems at the same time, which can prove costly.


But smaller law firms may be better placed to make the most out of VoIP - only a broadband connection, and perhaps IP phones attached to a network, are needed.


Rupert Kendrick is the author of Managing Cyber-Risks