For large enterprises, switching to an effective VoIP system could require an investment of $20 to $40 million or more. One reason to make the move to VoIP is that traditional networks are aging and suppliers like Nortel, Lucent and Alcatel have yet to introduce their next-generation circuit switching technology. VoIP technology has hurdles to overcome, as well, but its strategic potential is compelling and with companies like
With Boeing placing big bets on the technology, other companies may feel obligated to follow suit. Retail banks, for example, may consider VoIP as a means of providing customers with access to a wider range of interactive financial data from the direct demand deposit system and other data sources than they ever could through a conversation with a customer service representative.
Boeing is teaming with Cisco IP Communications for its global IP telephony rollout. That has the traditional telecom industry players concerned, said Mark Keeley, who leads DiamondCluster's telecom industry practice in North America.
"The traditional carriers we work with are all creating strategic responses to the threat from Internet service providers, mobile operators and other technology firms," Keeley said. "They want to avoid cannibalizing their existing voice telephony business. And they want to design their own voice over IP offers."
"That innovation," Keeley said, "is good news for companies in virtually every industry because competition in the voice over IP space will provide them with a greater variety of communications options."
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