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VoIP telephony is dissolving from its present form, argues Thomas Howe, who has thirty years of experience in this arena. Cloud-based systems are already prevalent, but it is data that we should be looking at.
Key Takeaways:
- The purpose of VoIP technology is changing. It’s moving from communication to a data generation game.
- A lot of the newer services – based on cloud and mobile – will be appearing in the Emerging World first.
- Every conversation is full of valuable details and it is this that will bring totally new value to VoIP telephony.
About Thomas Howe
Thomas is the Chief Technology Officer at Strolid, a company that engages car buyers on behalf of dealers, making it easier to take care of the customers in the store. He is the co-author of vCon, a key component in data-centric artificial intelligence and machine learning, and a leader of teams that design and develop cutting-edge communication solutions.
With over 30 years of experience in the real time communications space, Thomas has been a noteworthy leader and a founder of several companies that have gone public or have been acquired. He has received multiple awards and 15 patents for his innovative work in VoIP, SIP, ADSL, and voice architecture. He is passionate about creating products that enhance customer experience, agent satisfaction, and productivity. He holds a degree from the University of Massachusetts and currently resides on Cape Cod.
VoIP: A Data Generation Game?
Q: Does the Customisation and Flexibility Offered by VoIP Telephony Need to Keep Evolving to Remain Relevant??
A: We’re about to go into a new chapter where the purpose of voice changes from communicating to understanding. Previously, the hard part was making the phone call itself. Today, much of the communications doesn’t involve a phone at all. Between Google Meet and gamers on discord, voice has escaped telephony.
“Tomorrow, it’s more about understanding and leveraging the conversation itself.? Every conversation is full of valuable details that bring totally new value to voice. In short, it’s becoming a data generation game.”
I know that there are some segments where voice systems will remain, including Government departments, but in general, VoIP telephony is starting to dissolve out in its present form. There is always evolution.
Ask yourself how many people still use premise based communication systems, for example? In 1987, a call from New York to Germany cost $7 for 10 minutes. Now, 50 years later, it costs two cents.
How AI is Changing VoIP
Q: What Will Enhance the Voip User Experience in the Coming Years – AI Customer Service? Merging With Webrtc? Smart VoIP Assistants??
A: Voice technologies have already transitioned from on-premise VoIP systems to Cloud-based services like Google Meet and RingCentral. With the uptake of a new generation of voice standards called “vCons”, voice conversations will become more like documents that can be analysed and used by AI.
Here’s a case study: I’m a tradesperson working in Detroit. I have three trucks and a partner that takes care of the invoicing. All of the conversations between the team members and clients are fed to the same robot. Then, you could ask AI if you have missed anything. You can save the time of tracking down the right person to talk to and just automatically get access to all of the searchable data that you need.
“AI will be able to scale what humans can’t. I can’t listen to 10,000 phone calls nor can I keep my attention on one thing for four hours because I’m a person and not a machine. However, I can have the robot pay attention on my behalf.”
Companies are just starting to use AI in their voice products, but are still taking an “older” approach – the next few years will see them transition to using voice data in new, more open and distributed ways. VoIP is perfect for use with AI because it is voice connected over a network.
Q: What Do You See for VoIP Beyond the Adoption of 5G?
A: Fifth Generation Wireless is obviously important to performance, and thus to VoIP and voice in general.? Outside of performance, and of course AI, I see a continued increase in cloud adoption and away from premise equipment, and in support of remote work scenarios.
Emerging Word Outpacing the West When it Comes to Technology
Q: The Global Mobile VoIP Market Was Valued at $49.2 Billion in 2021, and Is Projected to Reach $327.5 Billion by 2031, Growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (Cagr) of 21.1% From 2022 to 2031. In Which Region Do You Believe the Biggest Growth Will Be in the Next Five Years?
A: A lot of the newer services – based on cloud and mobile – will be appearing in the Emerging World first. There’s this false idea that developing countries have lesser technology. The fact is, sometimes they have no technology at all, which turns to their advantage.
If you go to some African countries and check their phone systems, they’re better than the ones that you might find in a city like Liverpool, because Liverpool’s were built 100 years ago. African countries at least can start with today’s technology.? I would expect to see large growth in emerging markets.
Q: Do You Think That Security Concerns Are Hampering VoIP Uptake??
I don’t think so. I think most companies feel that if it’s working well enough for them at the moment, they’re not going to change anything.
Q: Is VoIP necessary for all businesses?
A: Communication is necessary for all businesses. Does every business need a VoIP system? No. Google doesn’t. There are some businesses, like those related to Government, that need a phone system because of universal access. But this is where it stops.? Generally, people don’t think of businesses as being localities or a place that you’re trying to call.
Stick to Major Providers When Selecting a VoIP Package
Q: If you were to buy a VoIP package for a business right now, what would it be?
A: If I was sourcing a VoIP system for a business right now would choose a major Cloud provider like RingCentral – one that is in the top ten. There isn’t a lot of differences in pricing and functionality between the major contenders. It’s fairly vanilla. Reliability and support will most likely be the differentiators.
Q: Where do COOs start when they want to find a package that fits their business??
A: They should be looking at review sites; and unless they have got a specific company that they use, I would go to the majors. The market is getting smaller and smaller in terms of the people who can do installing. Look at Amazon Connect, Amazon’s contact centre, as an example.
Almost all the use case of people coming to Amazon Connect are because the employers can’t find people to run the phone systems. These sorts of companies will get bigger and bigger because they only need a small amount of people to do the configuring because configuration is only for new clients. They can have a 10 million phone system network, which only needs 1000 people to configure it.
Q: What questions do they need to be asking about their business to find the right solution?
I would start by asking “what sort of communications do we have with our customers” and “what will cause the least disruption to our staff?.? For most companies, a general purpose system that provides inbound and outbound calling, transfers between employees and integration with your business software will do just fine.
However, if you are a company with heavy inbound traffic, a system designed for the contact center might be more appropriate.? Another element is to take a look at any existing phone system you might have, and the training you might need for a future system, or the processes these systems support.? Picking a more modern, but essentially, similar could reduce your both timeline and your costs.
Q: Is it necessary to get a VoIP package that offers continued support??
A: Most VoIP packages, and all online offers, provide support.? You can use unsupported open source software if you wish, but it does require a fairly high level of technical expertise.
