good question...
being involved in ip telephony since 2000, i've seen many different solutions for many different reasons.
the main reason VoIP, ip phones/telephony, are a draw to customers is two fold:
first, there was the ability to have a mission critical service, telephony, to be added to an already existing data network.
this had the benefit of being able to use one data administrator to manage two systems, (vs. a data tech and a telephone tech), as well as requiring only one infrastructure to support data and telephony. COST SAVINGS and quicker Return On Invenstment were the major goals.
second, with the telephony riding on top of the data network, companies could now be spread across the world and have 'free' telephony costs between their sites. (vs. long distance or international costs for calls) again, COST SAVINGS...it's all about saving money, producing a bigger bottom line, increasing revenues while decreasing costs.
now the tricky part...when does a company actually gain the benefits of cost savings and increased revenue production by switching to VoIP?
in my experience, it really depends on the costs you are currently providing to support a data network and telecommunications, as well as, can a company benefit from 'toll free telephony'; aka toll bypass.
the concept of aggregating two autonomous systems into a single heterogenous system seems simple. eliminate two systems and create one. easier to manage, requires less personnel to administer and the cost savings.
it is right for a company, no matter what size, to move to VoIP when these are actual factors to consider and the benefits and savings out weigh the costs.
do you have more than one site for your company? if so, are your telephone bills high enough to justify the costs of a VoIP solution? (in other words, can you save money with toll bypass? (not paying for your calls between locations and the geographical areas they cover.))
do you have multiple administrators performing the data communications and telephony functions? if so, can you eliminate one of these costs if you implement VoIP? (will this actually reduce your overhead?)
now, i will state that these may not be the only factors to consider. for example, i switched to Vonage VoIP for my home. why? because it is just plain cheaper. $27.00 per month...PERIOD, (plus $10 for every additional line.), vs. a regular telephone line which had monthly costs over the $27 whether i made calls or not. that was a no brainer for me. i save about $40+ per month.
as far as a company is concerned, the previously mentioned factors are a big part of the decision.
one last thing to consider is that not only can VoIP help reduce costs and increase productivity, but once you have VoIP (cisco solution) there are so many more features and services you can provide your users and customers. these alone can justify the reasoning of moving to VoIP.
bottom line, you'll have to do some number crunching. if you don't mind sharing your costs for data communications, telephony, company size and future growth expectations with us, perhaps we can better recommend if VoIP is right for you yet.
