Decisions, Decisions… Hosted vs. Premises-based VoIP Deployment Frank M. Grillo Executive Vice President - Enterprise Services, Cypress Communications

VoIP Options for Enterprises Voice over Broadband (It’s VoIP for pre-schoolers) Build Your Own (But is it VoIP?) VoIP Options Have Someone Build it for You (It’s still probably not VoIP) IP Centrex (It’s VoIP as long as you like vanilla) Voice and Multimedia as a Service (The real McCoy)

Voice over Broadband Benefits Low-cost telephony Uses the public Internet Adaptor connects traditional phone lines to IP telephony service Benefits Low-cost telephony Supports isolated home workers Supports residential use Drawbacks Uses the public Internet Unmanaged voice quality Not meant to support an Enterprise Not WAN integrated Potential low level of security No business continuity

Build Your Own Benefits Infrastructure is located at your site You purchase the switch and equipment You manage it or contract with a company to manage it for you You still connect it to the same old telephone network the same old way Benefits Highly customizable Complete control Drawbacks Capital intensive Resource intensive To maximize the advantages, you become a phone company Typically requires multiple vendors and custom integration No built-in continuity – you can create it – but it costs $$$

Have Someone Else Build it for You Infrastructure is located either at your site or at the vendor’s location You purchase everything and then pay someone else to do the work It’s still connected to the same old telephone network The people who build it may not be the people who support it Benefits Highly customizable Lower capital and operational costs Drawbacks Multiple providers to integrate and manage LAN/WAN management typically separated You get what you want – but it’s all at a price $$ Poor geographical redundancy – unless you’re paying $$ You’re still on the hook for upgrades and maintenance

IP Centrex Benefits You don’t have to buy and deploy a switch Infrastructure located at provider site Switch owned and managed by the provider Switch shared among multiple customers Benefits You don’t have to buy and deploy a switch Potential lower operational costs Drawbacks Immature service providers Very limited service set Limited geographic span Unmanaged LAN/WAN Lack of end-to-end solution Lack of national network limits business continuity protection

Voice and Multimedia as a Service Complete end-to-end solution, including phones, integrated with full LAN/WAN management Quality of service managed across LAN to handset PBX features, unified messaging & multi-media combined into one solution Off-premises hosting with full network and equipment redundancy Benefits Highly customizable Single vendor for everything No equipment capital outlay Inherent business continuity Nationwide coverage Drawbacks You don’t “own” anything You’re not “in control”

Voice and Multimedia as a Service IP Centrex vs. Voice and Multimedia as a Service Aggregate Router IP Centrex Unmanaged LAN PSTN Edge Router Aggregate Router Your Phones Vendor Managed Edge Router Aggregate Router Managed LAN Managed WAN Vendor Managed Voice and Multimedia as a Service IP Phones Enterprise Premises Provider Premises

What to Keep in Mind End-to-End Solution Quality of Service guaranteed from your desktop throughout the network Full LAN/WAN integration Advanced multimedia, collaboration and traditional calling features Vendor with a legacy of providing excellent products and support Superior Network Engineered for 99.999% availability Voice calls prioritized over data and no single point of failure Purpose-built to deliver VoIP services Proactive monitoring of the network in real time Supported by redundant devices at every point for maximum availability Designed to automatically detect potential faults and self correct Calls don’t touch the public Internet

What to Keep in Mind Minimize your total cost of ownership (continued) Minimize your total cost of ownership No capital expense Eliminate risk and obsolescence Flexibility—scale up or down as your business grows and changes Inherent business continuity Geographical and network redundancy Customer premises redundancy Make it Easy One vendor for voice, data, Internet and LAN integration Maximum service by fewest number of suppliers Turnkey solution

Questions?