VoIP revolutionises business operations in the growing Middle East economy

The emergence of convergence technology has resulted in significant cost savings and improved levels of efficiency for an increasing number of companies in the region, said Bashar Dahabra, CEO and Managing Director, Info2cell.com, a leading wireless application service provider in the Middle East.

VoIP or IP telephony as it is known, helps users make phone calls that travel over the Internet in bits and pieces of data, like e-mail or a web page over a telecommunications infrastructure.

"With the emergence of VoIP, businesses are now considering attaching additional services to their common networking infrastructure to handle all corporate communications. This new culture of seeing the IP infrastructure carrying more than just IT services will open up other opportunities, such as the ability to carry video and data traffic too," added Dahabra. "By converging video, voice and data networks onto a single IP-based network, a company can lower its total cost of network ownership by reducing expenditures associated with equipment and maintenance, network administration and network carrier charges."

Not long ago, voice, video and data each required its own dedicated infrastructure. Now as new standards of technology emerge and bandwidth availability increases, opportunities are presenting themselves making the dream of seamless connectivity across multiple communication channels a reality. Convergence technologies provide new ways for companies to collaborate with their customers and business partners in a manner that creates new opportunities and improved revenue streams.

"A converged network facilitates employee mobility and also provides a solid foundation for a new generation of applications, based on IP technology. An increasing number of companies in the Middle East have recognised the importance of investing in convergence technologies. In order to facilitate a smooth transition to a converged network, companies must understand all the relevant factors that influence their key operations. All IT initiatives must support core business strategies and provide quick returns."

"With the deregulation of the telecom sector in the Middle East and the legalising of VoIP by many countries in the region, an increasing number of companies, including Multi National Corporations in the Middle East are switching over to VoIP. Communication operators, call centres and other sectors have realised the advantages of VoIP," said Dahabra.

Moreover, the use of VoIP in call centres is proving to be extremely beneficial mainly because of VoIP's ability to support agents, regardless of their physical location. The other benefits include VoIP's lower costs, as VoIP sends voice packets over public and private networks, particularly the Internet, cutting phone bills by eliminating the need for separate circuits. With VoIP, companies don't have to run separate infrastructures for automatic call distribution, interactive voice response and predictive dialling, because each application can run on network-based services.

"Today's economic climate has made it more crucial than ever for businesses, whether operator or enterprise, to ensure that any investment delivers value or can provide a competitive advantage. The emergence of voice, video and data 'convergence' has caused business decision makers to rethink their current network strategies. Companies are trying to reduce their operating costs, increase productivity and improve Return On Investment, by making wise investment decisions and technology choices," concluded Dahabra.