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Business Review 2006 from
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Are free calls good for business?
Michael French
consultant, network solutions, Contract5 Limited
OVER the past few years there has been a great deal of interest in evolving internet voice technologies - VOIP - and applications.
Skype, which has been recently acquired by eBay for £1.4 billion, is the most commonly known internet voice service available, with over 100 million registered users. In just three years it has become a global phenomenon.
Originally developed for personal use, the adoption of Skype has been so rapid and successful that it has now appeared on the business radar as a possible option to reduce company telecommunication costs. For those businesses who are seriously considering adopting Skype, or similar voice options, a decision should be taken only once the implications have been assessed.
In broad terms, there are essentially two routes a company can take - Skype, or similar applications designed originally for personal use, or business dedicated platforms that can deliver bespoke voice functionality, such as Cisco Call Manager.
Business dedicated platforms offer wholly exclusive and customisable foundations for each client requiring internet telephony. They can easily converge both voice and data networks onto a single infrastructure and can integrate with legacy systems. Considerable investment is required for business platforms and the development of voice functionality. However, these do offer the optimum business solution.
The drawbacks of using mass market/public applications are self- evident when compared with these bespoke business platforms and applications. These revolve around security, bandwidth, monitoring and the varying communication options offered through these services.
With regards to Skype from a monitoring viewpoint, its use appears identical to normal web browser actions and can pass through, over and around most firewalls.
Attack
This means that anyone who is given authority to use the service has a free reign to view other websites - regardless of whether organisational policies are in place to restrict web access. Internet connections from computers also need to be quite free, potentially leaving computer software open to malicious attack.
Bandwidth requirements for Skype are relatively high. It is suitable for one or two home users, but voice degradation can occur if several users make calls, browse the web and download files. Skype relays other users' communications which can affect bandwidth still further.
Skype is an untappable medium, essentially meaning that organisations are unable to monitor any communication made through it. There are significant number of Jersey-based companies that require call recording facilities to maintain regulatory compliance.
This is difficult to achieve with Skype as the calls are encrypted from peer to peer: the call can be monitored only from the actual computer source.
Communication through Skype extends from voice options to the transfer of files and instant text messaging, leaving businesses open to breaches of data confidentiality and misuse.
Despite all of this, Skype or similar applications can still be considered by organisations. As a telephony alternative, it is certainly more secure than cell phones or landlines that are not encrypted.
Skype's user name/password combinations are validated by central servers which is an advantage over email, and it is claimed that communications are encrypted with a 256-bit advanced encryption standard, with keys being exchanged using the RSA encryption algorithm. Skype has rapidly created business partnerships with Creative, D-Link, Kodak and Polycom to work with numerous business applications. These points, together with the introduction of business rules that enable organisations to restrict users do provide justification for consideration.
Attention
Detailed and careful attention must be paid to the integration of any voice option. Without this, businesses will have little control over its use and how it will affect the company's policies, systems and infrastructure. A single voice and data network offers the most beneficial option through the convergence of separate networks.
If neither monitoring nor secrecy of voice communications is a legal or company requirement, it is perfectly reasonable to embrace Skype and its peer-to-peer communication technology. If, however, these are prerequisites, a dedicated platform that has the ability to deliver bespoke voice/communication functionality should be adopted. It is recommended that an initial cost benefit analysis is undertaken prior to implementation.
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