Here are five questions your customers need to answer before implementing SIP trunking:
- What are your capacity requirements (simultaneous calls)? Knowing this is an important factor in determining IP or broadband requirements and TCO.
- Will your current connectivity suffice, or do you need more? Following up on question 1, how much bandwidth do they currently use? It’s common to prioritize bandwidth to favor voice over data streams; but it’s also not uncommon to need more or even separate capacity rather than just using what you already have. Educating your customer on how SIP trunking will perform in their real world environment is important, and builds trust.
- Will data and voice be coming through the same pipe? This happens often withSIP trunking, but there might be business reasons for keeping separation of church and state. It is cost effective to do this, and provides additional business continuity. Even more than traditional T1 PRIs. Make sure you ask the customer the question, and are prepared to explain pros and cons of each approach.
- How will things such as faxing, credit card machines and alarm systems be addressed? This is not the most important part of the equation, but it does need to be addressed; otherwise, you’re inviting post-deployment chaos.
- Are you on the same page in terms of QoS? SIP trunking quality is generally as-good, if not better, and very few businesses have issues when implementations are done correctly. However, certain businesses may be more sensitive to quality than others, so it’s important to address it. This topic will likely need to be finessed given some customer’s preconceived notions.
It’s critical to not make assumptions about the customer’s business, and it’s just as important to make sure that they aren’t making assumptions about what they’re signing up for. By asking these basic questions, you can be sure to deliver a great solution that will help them move their business forward.
To be sure, SIP Trunking offers greater communications flexibility, business continuity, and cost savings for end-user customers. That’s why it’s rising in popularity, and that’s why you need to be smart about it so you can guide your customers to the right solution for their needs.
