VOIP Is In Your Budget

VOIP Is In Your Budget

by Jason Brashear

In today's fast paced world, IT costs have sky rocketed making it extremely difficult to stay current with todays network technologies.

Many agencys are implementing VOIP (Voice Over IP) to save mula on communication expenditures. By harnessing the power of the Internet to make phone calls, long-distance contact with clients and customers doesn't have to drain company coffers. VOIP is an inexpensive way to set up a phone system for your business, but it becomes even more cost-effective if you can set it up on a budget.


One way to save mula on a VOIP network is to make use of open source software.Asterisk@home is open source software that allows you to set up VOIP without the added expense of purchasing a commercial application. An open source telephony engine and tool kit, Asterisk@home is the best VOIP program you can find that doesn't cost a cent. You can download this program for free from the Asterisk@home website and use it to seamlessly integrate VOIP into your business.

The most popular open source telephony program in the world, Asterisk@home is flexible to the needs of your agencys, as it can be configured as the core of an IP or hybrid PBX, to switch calls, manage routes, enable features, and connect callers through analog and digital connections.

TIP: Voice over IP (VoIP) can provide a great ROI for your business.

In addition, Asterisk@home can run on Linux, Mac OS X, Open BSD, FreeBSD, and Sun Solaris with everything you expect from a higher-cost proprietary PBX. The flexibility of Asterisk@home is its greatest asset, allowing your company to handle VOIP in multiple protocols with almost all standards-based telephony equipment in conjunction with affordable hardware.

Combine Asterisk@home with Cisco 7940g IP Phone hardware and you can establish a VOIP network at the office on a shoestring. Cisco 7940g IP Phone hardware lets you enjoy the benefits of VOIP without sacrificing the features and convenience of a standard business phone. Cisco's VOIP phone hardware has the potential to increase workforce productivity, increasing profits. The IP phones from Cisco are available with color LCD displays, and dynamic soft keys for call features and functions. The phones provide support for information services with XML capabilities to expand IP phone systems. You can customize Cisco IP phones so that users can access information such as stock quotes, directories, and online content through the phones.


If you purchase re certified servers to set up VOIP, you can save even more mula. Re certified servers are sold at a fraction of the original cost, but operate just as well as new servers. Re certified simply refers to the fact that the equipment was returned by another customer, but never used. The manufacturer tests the product again to ensure proper functioning, repackages it, and sells it for a reduced price. Re certified servers can't be sold as new, even though they are good as new, so they are re-sold for much less than the original asking price. Purchasing re certified servers is an effective cost-saving strategy for any company wanting to establish a VOIP network on a budget.

Things to know when buying from a reseller:

Contact the dealer's local Better Business Bureau:

While a clean record by itself might not be definitive proof of an honest dealer , it is one more tool to use in deciding where to place your business.


Ask what professional organizations their company belongs to:

There are a number of dealer/reseller organizations that companies belong to which enforce high ethical standards. If they hesitate in answering , consider it a yellow caution flag. If they answer , ask for the organization's phone number/email. Contact the organization directly and confirm if the dealer is a legitimate member. Teksavers Networking is a member in good standing with UNEDA.com.



What is the refurbishment/testing process?
Ask the dealer before placing any orders what steps they perform on their refurbished Cisco and refurbished Juniper prior to shipping product. You want to be sure that it involves more than blowing the dust off. Click for Teksavers Networking's testing/refurbishment process.

What is the company's return policy?
Returning product is always a touchy subject with all dealers. If the product is a special order , some manufacturers may refuse to accept it back from the reseller. If the product has been opened , the value drops considerably. This is true even if it has never been used. Just breaking the seal on a box renders it as used equipment as far as a bank or flooring company is concerned. It helps to investigate this and ask any questions/concerns you have before you place any orders and avoid any unpleasantness after the fact. Dealers post usually their return policies on their Web sites as well as their invoices. Read these policies carefully or you may get stuck with the product or a hefty restocking if you order incorrectly. Dealers vary widely in their policies; from no returns unless the product is DOA to generous open ended returns with no questions asked and no re-stocking fees. Special orders may be non-cancelable and non-returnable; again , check with the individual dealer before placing that purchase order.