EXPERT RESPONSE
The same way you know if the weather man is right -- check it out (the advantage is that you don't have to stick your head out the window to do it!), but checking it out is really your answer. When you evaluate your voice needs, there are several factors that come into play:
*The amount of money to be saved on long distance.
*The health of your network.
*Number of offices and locations (this is a big one!)
*The age of your switch and whether you can add IPT/VoIP to it or if it will require a forklift upgrade.
*What you expect your ROI to be and your TCO for the gear.
*Your locale will play into your gear selection in a large way. Some VoIP products and services are out there for a variety of locations which is especially nice for telecommuters. But in general, you should do an end-to-end evaluation of your voice traffic to help decide. Bear in mind that EVERY voice gear manufacturer recommends an infrastructure audit PRIOR to implementing VoIP. A Certified Infrastructure Auditor can help you determine if your network can support voice or what will need to be done so that it will.
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