VoIP for small agencies
Six months ago we acquired a new location for our second office and began a several-month renovation project. We knew the phone system needed to be moved, but instead, we began considering a new system. After an initial review of features and benefits, we selected VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol. We also decided to upgrade our other office in order to tie the two offices together. The total cost of the system was $20,000. As a small agent, that may seem like a huge charge. However, on a five-year lease with a $1 buy-out, the cost reduces to $250 per month, per office for five years. On those terms, the expense is manageable. With remote-line access, outbound lines (which enable us to make a local call when thousands of miles from home), interoffice extension transfer (for offices 35 miles apart) and free interoffice communication on intercom (both between offices and anywhere out of town), we save an additional $50 per month, for a net cost of $200 per month, per office. Installation tips 1. Determine how many lines are needed First, identify how many lines you need. This sounds simple, but it can change if you have shared fax/modem lines in your current system. More than one fax line can require purchase of additional equipment because the standard system typically only accommodates a single fax line. Wiring should all be pre-placed and tested before installation. Any handy person can route the Cat5E cable (or Cat6) to the desired locations. Female jacks can be purchased at any electrical supply store and run about $5 each. After installation of the wires is complete, testing can be conducted using a tone generator and line tester. They cost about $75 and are available in the electrical department of any “big box” building-materials store. 2. Plan your call workflow in advance Next, begin to plan for the call workflow; this is an important part of the installation process. Your entire voice program selection alternatives should be planned and written in advance, and there should be substantial interaction and discussion with the vendor about how you want the system to enable you to engage your customers. Remember, the phone system is one of the most important points of contact with customers and companies. In a VoIP system, the entire office voice-mail system is housed at one office. It’s not possible to tolerate a weeklong troubleshooting process after the installation begins. 3. Research your Internet connection Since most of the key benefits of a VoIP system depend upon an Internet connection, both the capacity and reliability of that connection take on new priority. The most desirable connection is one that has QSS capacity. Check with your Internet provider to determine if they include this service. If they don’t, the reliability of VoIP calls decreases, with an estimated 10 percent call-drop rate. The phone vendor actually sets parameters so that a call drops when the transmission quality is not adequate for clear voice transmission. Be sure to identify the recommended bandwidth capacity minimum specification required by the phone system for VoIP transmission. This requirement will typically be greater than that necessary for simple data transfer, even if you currently have a VPN in place. The VPN “tunnel,” which the phone system depends on for effective interoffice connectivity, must be 99+ percent reliable. Our VPN, which worked well for data transmission, had to be reconfigured to reliably support voice transmission. Confirm this reliability before installation. We ended up having to fix this after the fact. 4. Reserve space for a phone server VoIP systems integrate with your agency business computer server. You will need to provide space for an additional dedicated PC phone server, which is part of the phone package. If you need to conserve space, purchase a keyboard/video/mouse (KVM) switch, which allows two or more computers to be controlled by a single keyboard, video monitor and mouse. If you only have a single server, a two-port KVM switch will solve this space-requirement issue. 5. Close shop for a day Close your office on the day installation is scheduled to be complete. This obviously requires weeks of advance notification to customers in order to minimize customer dissatisfaction. Be sure the phone line provider fully understands the transfer and schedules it early in the day, so that he/she has the entire day to work. This is not unique to VoIP, but it is critical to a successful transfer. Also schedule your technology support/server provider to be present on installation day. The integration of computer and phone systems requires cooperative engagement of both systems; having your technology provider present eliminates chasing communication/configuration issues on the critical installation day. 6. Train, train, train Staff training is an integral part of the changeover. We found one-hour training, including practice calls, was adequate. (You may need more; in our case, the new phone functionality was similar to our old “Partner Plus” system.) Concluding thoughts We have found VoIP to be a legitimate and affordable alternative for small and rural agents. However, prior planning and troubleshooting is critical to a smooth, effective implementation. Because this phone technology configuration closely integrates your phone and computer server systems, there are compound technology applications that need to be addressed during the installation process. Small agents: You can implement these forward-edge applications. Just plan meticulously, so you can manage the unexpected. This article was reprinted with permission from the August 2005 issue of TAAR. The Anderson Agency Report. www.taarreport.com Ed Higgins, CPCU, contributed this resource. He is an active agency principal with over 28 years of experience and an agency technology workflow consultant. He can be reached at (800) 453-8917 or ed@edhiggins.com. |
