New Technology Reviews!.: Disadvantages

Though VoIP is growing at a fast pace and its adoption is increasing every day, some critical issues need to be worked out before it can replace Public Switched Telephone Networks (PSTN). The keyword is reliability. VoIP is cheap, easy to implement, customize and manage, but it is only as reliable as your internet network and the underlying electrical supply.VoIP - efficiency versus reliabilityUndoubtedly, VoIP is efficient. The phone systems can be tailored to meet users' needs perfectly. But do they guarantee 100% availability like your PSTN phone? No. That's because electricity and internet outages happen. Traditional phone systems sound old fashioned but they are simple and rarely go out of order (discounting natural catastrophes, of course).If many organizations haven't taken to VoIP yet, their reluctance is justified. No business can afford loss of phone connectivity, even for a short while. Let's discuss some of the problems that VoIP developers must sort out to set the ball rolling.Total dependence on power linesThe main problem with VoIP is that it works on the internet which is powered by electricity. Any outage in wall power will disrupt the business phone system too. So, even if a business invests in a VoIP system, it will need to maintain backup to cover itself against such instances. Or it will have to invest in an uninterrupted power source.Difficult integration with equipmentVoIP as yet does not integrate with equipment such as digital video recorders, home security systems, etc. that work on the phone line. This deters home users from switching to VoIP as they would have to make a lot of unwanted changes.IP calling makes 911 call tracking difficultVoIP works with IP addresses not geographical addresses. This becomes a hindrance for 911 emergency calls as it is difficult to automatically know the geographical location of the caller, route calls to the proper call centers and nearest Emergency Medical Service (EMS). This problem could be solved if there was some way to add geographical location in VoIP transmissions.Internet connection may reduce call qualityAll the problems associated with digital transmission of information over the internet - jitter, loss of data packets, delayed transmission (latency) - are also relevant to VoIP. These factors affect the audio quality leading to voice breaking, delays, etc. - factors not conducive to a business environment.Security issuesVoIP needs all the security measures that are required with a broadband connection to protect users from hacking, virus attacks, eavesdropping, etc. VoIP developers have come up with encryption schemes to counter this risk but a lot more needs to be done for businesses to trust VoIP systems completely.Impact of computers on VoIP qualityVoIP phones come integrated with computer systems. If you are running a processor intensive application on your computer system, you will experience a sudden drop in audio quality during a call. This is called processor drain. If your system crashes, so does your VoIP system.All these issues are problematic and VoIP engineers are trying to find solutions that can make VoIP more acceptable in business environments. Security and reliability are key factors that no business is ready to take a chance on. Advancing technology can make VoIP more reliable. If so, it could easily grow into a mainstream communication channel.	 	 		 			 				 					 						Daljeet Sidhu is at TradeSeam.com. Read <a href="http://www.tradeseam.com/smallbusiness/buying-guides/view-buying-guide/520/VOIP+Services" target="_new">VoIP service providers</a> advice and <a href="http://blog.tradeseam.com/Communications/VOIP-Services/voip-for-small-business" target="_new">VoIP services</a> blog.

Disadvantages of Using VoIP Phone Service For Business

Though VoIP is growing at a fast pace and its adoption is increasing every day, some critical issues need to be worked out before it can ...