VoIP tender tips

Enterprise VoIP 2008 Forum

Effective methods for evaluating and selecting an enterprise VoIP solution

23 September 2008

Richard [email protected] 835 027

mailto:[email protected]


Agenda

1.VoIP requirements

2.Short listing potential suppliers

3.Tender documentation

4.Solution evaluation and selection

Independent consultancy providing telecommunications advice for medium to large business.

VoIP projects include 10,000+ ends covering government, charities, medium and large enterprises.


Agenda

1.VoIP requirements:

Define the VoIP solutions options available to meet business

drivers now and into the future.





VoIP requirements

Business driver examples (not the focus of this presentation):

1.Increase customer satisfaction through first call resolution

2.Increase staff collaboration through remote working

3.Replace end of life system

4.Deliver new office location system

5.Etc…

Understanding VoIP features key to knowing what is possible…


VoIP requirements

Key considerations

1.VoIP user features

2.VoIP technology

3.Integration of VoIP to your existing IT environment

4.Availability – 99.999%

5.Redundancy – single points of failure, disaster recover

6.Capacity – maximum, concurrent use

7.Scalability - limits

8.System and user administration – operations, training, impact

9.Security – organisation specific


VoIP requirements

User features – Desktop client


VoIP requirements

User features – Mobile client


VoIP requirements

User features – Single number reach / Single voicemail


VoIP requirements

User features – Extension mobility and remote working


VoIP requirements

User features – Click to Dial

http://sipx-wiki.calivia.com/index.php/Image:Contact.png


VoIP requirements

User features – Unified Messaging


VoIP requirements

IT integration

Influenced by business requirements and existing environment including:

•Call Control

•Local Area and Wide Area Networks

•Directory services

•Email

•Instant Messaging and Presence

•Expansion to a new site, or of an existing site

Example roadmap - IT integration

UC element QTR3 08 QTR4 08 QTR1 09 QTR2 09 QTR3 09

IP Telephony Plan buildCUCM6.1

maintain upgradeCUCM7.1

maintain

IP Network Plan buildQoS / PoE

maintain maintain maintain

Directory maintainLotus/ Domino

plan buildExchange 2007

maintain maintain

Presence plan buildMicrosoft OCS

maintain

Messaging plan buildMicrosoft OCS

maintain

Mobile Telephony plan build plan buildBlackberry Ent Server

maintain

Unified Messaging plan buildExchange 2007

maintain maintain

1

2

3


VoIP requirements

VoIP technology

•Control protocols (SIP/ SIMPLE)

•Signaling and media separation

•Voice codec (G711, G729, RT Audio)

•VoIP ready IP network (Quality of Service, Power over Ethernet)

•Hardware versus Software implementations

… effects integration options and platform life


VoIP requirements

Checklist

Document your business drivers

Understand the VoIP features required now/ future including priorities and

document as your VoIP Solution Requirements

Have a technology roadmap that identifies support and constraints for

your VoIP Solution Requirements

IP network readiness may drive an additional need to document the IP

Network Solution requirements

Audit your existing environment (voice, data, cable, PC, comms rooms)

Have a budget … even if very high level


1.VoIP requirements

2.Short listing potential suppliers:

Target the suppliers most likely to provide to your VoIP solution

requirements




Short listing VoIP suppliers

Variety of vendor platforms

Source: Gartner (August 2008)



Variety of supplier partner levels



Checklist

Supplier products breath aligned to technology roadmap

Supplier support across existing environment

Supplier integration skills suitable now/ in the future

Relevant experience references (may be an existing supplier)

Operational and support model aligned (Hosted/ premise, site staff …)

Geographic reach

Financial strength

Suppliers business aspirations


1.VoIP requirements



Facilitate comparison between supplier responses. Provide

yourself options to allow flexibility in the final solution.



VoIP specific tender documentation

Checklist

Based on VoIP Solutions Requirements with references to Technology

Roadmap and existing environment as required

Specify Voice quality (using Mean Opinion Score)

Specify and define VoIP software upgrades – what/ when/ how

Specify and define lifecycle change and release management

Specify integration requirement for call control, presence, 3rd party

applications (CTI, SIP, SIMPLE, CSTA)

Align Service Levels to service credits (initial delivery and ongoing)

Keep the tender prescriptive (use tables)



A prescriptive tender aids comparison

Failure condition Impact to business

Immediate service unavailability

Immediate service restrictions

Lasting effects

A single call processing server fails

A single server directly supporting the call centre processing fails

A single ISDN gateway fails

A single voice recording server fails



A prescriptive tender aids comparison

Failure condition Impact to businessImmediate service unavailability

Immediate service restrictions

Lasting effects

A single call processing server fails

No affect No affect No affect

A single server directly supporting the call centre processing fails

Minimal affect – If the primary call centre server fails the “hot standby” server automatically resumes control

Minimal – service will be affected for a few seconds during failover from the main server to the standby server

None. When failed device becomes active it assumes control of contact centre services.

A single ISDN gateway fails No affect for outbound traffic. Inbound calls redirected.

No affect for outbound traffic. Inbound calls redirected.

None.

A single voice recording server fails

Major affect. The solution only supports a single server.

Major affect. The solution only supports a single server.

Some. No calls will be recorded whilst server is down.


1.VoIP requirements



4.Solution evaluation and selection:

Determine the best solution to meet immediate and future

business drivers


Key to solution evaluation

Checklist

Prescriptive tender should mean proposals are comparable

Conduct feature hands-on usability demonstrations with nominated senior

user and support representatives

Complete customer reference site visits

Request example design documentation and system test plans

Evaluate against “hard” tender requirements and the above “soft”

requirements


Final Solution

1.Meets business drivers

2.Consistent with technology roadmap

3.Within budget constraints

4.Provided by a carefully matched supplier

5.Compared against like industry solutions and suppliers

Independent consultancy providing telecommunications advice for medium to large business.

Contact Richard Tucker [email protected] 835 027

mailto:[email protected]