Streamcore published a list of key considerations for successfully deploying VoIP. Streamcore issues these tips to inform organizations that VoIP phones are not to blame for dropped or delayed calls, but rather the organization needs to ensure their network can handle the congestion from other traffic as well as properly prioritizing VoIP traffic.

As more organizations deploy VoIP, it is important to have quality calls that are not disrupted by other business-critical applications sharing bandwidth such as video conferencing, file transfers, Citrix or email which also take up bandwidth and compete with VoIP. If VoIP does not get the bandwidth needed to run properly, calls will become noticeably patchy and delayed, and will affect the organization’s day to day business. Organizations need to allot the necessary bandwidth to handle applications, especially when there are various applications running on the network.

Streamcore offers these tips to help organizations improve call quality when deploying VoIP.

• Make VoIP a “VIP” – Organizations should prioritize VoIP traffic above other applications with less criticality, so calls are flawless under any circumstance without any disruptions. VoIP calls need sufficient bandwidth and by prioritizing applications based on importance, organizations can ensure intelligent use of bandwidth that puts VoIP first.
• VoIP Visibility – Network and application visibility allow organizations to receive reports on the network, and measure quality to ensure better calls. IT can track bandwidth usage and monitor the quality of applications to understand where and how VoIP quality is adversely affected.
• Troubleshoot issues – Identify performance problems with VoIP by making sure there is real-time ability to fine-tune application delivery to guarantee VoIP traffic has the highest priority based on network conditions.
• Monitor call quality – By monitoring MOS (mean opinion score) of call at the user level, organizations will have a better understanding of VoIP success and will be able to adjust VoIP to ensure its MOS score is always as close to the ideal as possible for a strong end-user quality of experience.

VoIP will continue to play a major part in businesses today, but it demands priority in the network for success. Organizations considering these tips will appreciate improved VoIP performance via enhanced network and application management which will not impact the performance of other business applications.