Voip Networks - Is It Right For You? Word Count: 554 Summary: You are the network administrator at your organization and the company has just decided to switch to a VOIP network. Based on your knowledge of this from other network administrators, you know that it is very possible that the VOIP network will have major problems within a short period of time after installation. It was fairly easy to maintain your networks in the past because it did not need very much attention based on its usage. Employees were surfing the internet, st... Keywords: voip, voip networks Article Body: You are the network administrator at your organization and the company has just decided to switch to a VOIP network. Based on your knowledge of this from other network administrators, you know that it is very possible that the VOIP network will have major problems within a short period of time after installation. It was fairly easy to maintain your networks in the past because it did not need very much attention based on its usage. Employees were surfing the internet, storing files, checking emails and this was highlights in the system. There was rarely a major problem with the network considering the type of work being done. You considered it a bad day if there was a virus that got through your firewall. Now, you are dealing with a whole new problem since the company decided to have VOIP network installed. The people in the company are now reporting that they are having problems that include hearing echoes, garbled conversations and even dropped calls. All of these problems can cause major problems, including hard feeling by the customers and lost business and revenue. You do not want your customers going to your competition just because your telephones are not working well. The company did not consider how the VOIP system would interact with the currently network you have. Because of this, there is the potential for problems to come up while the systems are being merged and probably immediately afterwards. You and your staff will be working a lot of overtime to resolve the problems. No one wants to tell the boss that the VOIP network he wanted is causing major disruptions. Problems with the overall system are your problem and not his-he just wants everything to work and to work well. So how do you make everything work correctly? You can work with your internet company to resolve the problems, but if the problems are in your network, you have to isolate and correct them. How do you know where to find the problems? You can check with other network administrators-you probably have a few of them as friends-even if they work for the competition. They are still your friends and they will probably give you some very important advice on what to look for and how to find it. There is also the option of purchasing a software tool that will help you find the problem and to find it fast. But, where do you get this. Start by checking on the internet-just do a search and you will find companies that are selling what you might need. You already know that new technology can be tricky in the beginning and that there will be the potential for problems. As soon as you know that your company is considering the use of VOIP, get yourself appointed to the committee that is working on this project. You will be in the forefront of learning the technology and will also be in a great position to make suggestions about the product. You may find that you are overruled when it comes down to the purchase, but you also have the knowledge and background on what is good and bad in the VOIP technology arena. This will be put you one step ahead of the curve when it comes to fixing any potential problems.