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Your answering machine; where is it? Or perhaps you are ‘Generation Y’ and you never had an answering machine and have always settled for voicemail.

Like servers and storage, this service has also moved to the cloud --- while providing some very compelling benefits.

The trend over the past five-to-ten years is a big move to Voice Over IP (VIOP), essentially a private cloud solution where the phone server sits on premise in your data center connecting to traditional phone circuits, like T1s and individual phone lines. While companies have enjoyed the vastly improved internal flexibility of such systems, there remained a challenge when connecting multiple sites. This was often addressed simply with an emerging technology at the time called MPLS – extending your LAN over the WAN. Overall the solution has been a good fit -- providing internal system management flexibility; however the costs for circuits remained high.

Today, business needs are driving further change: they want additional flexibility, a mobile workforce. and a reduction in spend. Combine that with the introduction of new internet circuit technologies, like Ethernet 3.0, and the recent sharp reduction in prices. And you have a model for significant change.

The result is the spread and adoption of what are called ‘SIP’ phone technologies, where, in essence, the entire phone system is in the cloud. All that you need is a high speed internet connection. It’s essentially like a VOIP solution of past years, except there are no phone circuits or server onsite at your location. An MPLS network to connect your sites is no longer needed as well, as long as the sites can connect to the internet. With SIP, businesses are simply providing an extra phone to users which they plug in to their internet connection at home --- and they are connected to the company’s phone system. It’s that simple.

Systems like this are not without their limitations, as with any technology. It’s important to consider your options carefully for your business and budget. Call me; CMI can help.

See you next time.

Read more about Storage Solutions and the Cloud in our CMI Business Brief White Papers available by Clicking Here for the links.