EXPERT RESPONSE
Some of the opportunities for VoIP savings and potential benefits include:
• IT/Telecommunication Cost Savings
o Reduced phone bills via toll bypass -- save up to 60% on current call costs by routing inter-office voice calls over data networks
o Reduction in old Centrex contracts which tended to be pricey
o Consolidation of calling plans and rate reductions
o Elimination of inter-group/call center toll transfer charges
• Increased IT Administrative and Support Productivity
o Convergence -- one network, one management easier to manage solution
o Reduce moves adds and changes as it is easier with an IP based solution, changing hardware reconfiguration to plug and play or simple software reconfigurations.
• Capital Savings
o Reduced cost to establish new call centers, or investment required to support call center moves, adds and changes
• Increased employee mobility and productivity
o Unified messaging – voice mail, email, FAX
o Personal Assistant features like Find-Me-Follow-Me
o IP voice and video teleconferencing >
• Business capability and agility
o Virtual call centers
o Integrated applications
o Improvements in ability to direct calls to self service, handle calls with the right channel and right resources, and reduce on-call / research time
o Increase up-sell and cross-sell
o Enhanced customer service-oriented applications
• Costs to consider include:
o VoIP central system hardware and software
o Phone set upgrades or replacements
o Network equipment and wiring / cabling upgrades
o Managed services or hosting (alternatives to in-house)
o Implementation labor and services
o IT Training
o User Training
o Transport cost increases (T1 lines)
o Application development or integration
o Other change costs: write-downs, support increase initially, potential downtime
• Potential risks to consider that might drive up costs or undermine benefits include:
o Network readiness and upgrade investment underestimated due to poor readiness assessments and planning
o User adoption/ training – users do not adopt or use new features as expected
o IT capability and maturity – IT staff is not productivity improvements do not occur as expected.
o Quality of service (QoS) issues
o Security and disaster planning
To help you on this project, I recommend visiting Alinean's Web site for a free ROI analysis tool that includes a robust VoIP model as well as a model for Customer Contact Center automation which can help isolate call center benefits.
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