* Faster bandwidth at reasonable prices will enable businesses to leverage collaborative apps for their branch employees
A small announcement last week caught my eye because it has significant consequences on capabilities at small branch and telecommuter offices. Verizon Online bolstered the speed of its business DSL service to 7.1Mbps to 16 more states, resulting in an impressive reach (28 total states and Washington DC) of high-speed access.
Of course, there’s nothing earth-shattering about a carrier increasing the speed of Internet access. The trend is, has been, and will continue to be better, faster bandwidth. But at these speeds and at reasonable prices – $99 for a dynamic IP address; $199 for a static IP address – organizations will be able to leverage collaborative applications for their branch employees.
One of the top applications is videoconferencing, which requires high bandwidth to achieve good-quality transmissions. In the past, limitations in affordable, high-speed bandwidth have prevented organizations from extending videoconferencing to the branch offices. Now that obstacle is gone, at least in the 28 states that Verizon offers the service. The result? Branch office employees will be able to collaborate on projects, join corporate videoconferences (rather than just audioconferences), and feel more like part of the team.
Will organizations be able to justify spending $100 or more for a single telecommuter? It depends on who that telecommuter is. If he or she is an executive, a key IT staff member, or the remote manager of a contact center or several retail stores, for example, then the cost is in line.
Companies have used remote surveillance cameras for some time. But the quality is generally poor. With faster speeds, quality will improve, and as a result, the way a company can leverage that investment will change. For example, a clearer picture can help a manager talk a remote worker through repairing a product. A regional manager of a retail chain can keep an eye on the style, cleanliness, and employee productivity of several retail stores with remote videoconferencing.
The cost of the circuit can be further justified by converging all types of communications over it. Of course, it’s always wise to retain a back-up POTS line or two, but by moving voice and data traffic to the circuit, the overall networking costs at the branch office are affordable. They key is making sure proper monitoring/management tools are in place and that QoS settings are properly configured.
Nortel this week announced a product called IPT 1-2-3, which makes that IP telephony conversion much easier. As IT and telecom staffs begin or continue their VoIP migrations, branch office connectivity can present challenges. If your organization already has Nortel TDM switches in branch locations, Nortel’s latest program makes it pretty simple to upgrade to IP. Customers answer three questions, and Nortel recommends one of several pre-configured solutions to quickly and easily upgrade the infrastructure. Non-Nortel organizations can buy from the same program, except that the solution would be an entirely new IP switch, rather than an upgrade.
The bottom line is simplicity. IT and telecom staffs don’t need to spend the time and resources engineering the VoIP system. Couple that with affordable high-speed access, and you have some nice, new ways to improve the communications capabilities at the branch office.
