A leading teaching hospital located in the US capital, Washington D.C., has announced that it is to replace its old internal network of business phone systems with a single state of the art internet protocol (IP) telephony network. Included as part of this will be the widespread deployment of business VoIP (voice over internet protocol) phone handsets for the organisation’s 1,700 staff.
The hospital – the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, which specialises in providing medical treatment to former US military personnel – says it has made the decision to implement the new business VoIP system as part of a much needed overhaul of its entire communications network.
The hospital says it also intends to integrate its new IP telephony system with tablet usage amongst medical and administrative staff to further extend the mobility integral in the new business VoIP system.
Among the benefits accruing from its new IP telephony solution, says the hospital, is that voice calls, telephone conferencing and instant messaging will all now become more easily accessible, regardless of where any of the organisation’s employees are located.
It is anticipated that the hospital’s proposed IP telephony system will be ready for use by the end of the year.
The adoption of a new IP telephony and business VoIP system by the Veterans Affairs medical Center is representative of a worldwide trend among many organisations that have found that switching to IP telephony not only overcomes the inefficiencies inherent in their ageing business phone systems, but also grants them access to vastly enhanced communications processes. In many cases, it can even lead to reduced annual phone costs.
The shift to IP telephony and business VoIP is also evident among smaller companies and organisations that, although not necessarily able to afford to invest in new capital equipment, can still access IP telephony via the services of a business VoIP provider or VoIP reseller.
