VoIP for Your Nonprofit

While “VoIP” entered mainstream technology lexicon as meaning “free long distance” or being able to speak to your buddies online via your instant messaging client, on the most fundamental level, it just means how voice, a form of data, is carried over a data network, namely the Internet Protocol network that we have used mainly for Web browsing or email. Your phone company probably has been carrying your calls on a Voice over IP (VoIP) network for awhile, but it is entirely transparent to you using a regular phone. On a macro level, corporations have, for many years, adopted VoIP or IP telephony in their infrastructures — not to save money on their long distance bills, but to better manage customer service, make directory information more easily available, and to facilitate scaled growth and expansion. While you may be able to save money if you subscribe to a voice-calling service specifically marketed as “VoIP” with lower rates, it is often an afterthought. These benefits have long been out of reach for small-medium businesses, let alone nonprofits. However, telecom equipment manufacturers and providers are now keen to enter this new market. Cisco’s Unified Communications for Small Business is one line of VoIP equipment targeted at this market segment.

Currently available on a limited pilot basis at TechSoup Stock for eligible organizations, Cisco’s Unified Communications 500 Series (UC500) is a relatively new product set that is designed for small-medium businesses (SMBs). Even though they do not have as many employees or revenues as large corporations, SMBs are also eager to adopt such technology in their organizations for similar reasons. For example, a task as routine as adding a phone line for a new employee can be greatly simplified if you have a VoIP network. It also becomes less time-consuming on your support staff if employees need to be moved around that office, or even to a branch office. Although the underlying technology is based on their enterprise-level IOS, the UC500 platform can be administered without a legion of network administrators or years of IT experience. All these make the system an ideal one for small-medium nonprofits as well.

What VoIP Can Mean for Nonprofits and NGOs

For budget- and cost-conscious organizations, if free long distance may not necessarily be the main draw to a VoIP system, why should you consider it? The same reasons why companies and corporations would:

• Scalability:

  By and large, adding another user, voice mailbox or an IP phone or Ethernet phone (ephone) is just as simple as adding a computer to the network. For nonprofits that experience above-average turnover, by being able to set up and manage users in a timely fashion so they can perform their duties, the cost savings may be realized sooner than expected.

• Centralized administration:

  If phone service and voice support are integral parts of your operations — for instance, a client-oriented human services agency — having a reliable and flexible phone system would ensure that you will provide the best quality of service to your clients. In addition, you may be better able to track and collect call data for monitoring and evaluation purposes.

• Increased productivity:

  From a user’s perspective, having voice mailboxes that can be integrated with the rest of your messaging infrastructure will allow for better productivity. With software-based phones, or “softphones,” that are tied in with the rest of your communications system, users, too, can have greater control over their messages. Moreover, compared to a traditional phone network, you are more likely to be able to alter the phone network to match your processes and work styles. This can be particularly useful for organizations that have ad-hoc workgroups and arrangements based on seasonal campaigns or a combination of staff, volunteers and consultants.

Technology acquisition and implementation in nonprofits often undergo serious scrutiny, especially in economically uncertain environments. VoIP technology, though not yet as popular and easily understood as a database upgrade or a new Web site, deserves serious consideration for organizations with a determined growth strategy, and those needing to deliver a predictable and high level of voice service. By unifying various networking components into one chassis and allowing for modularization with minimal prerequisite knowledge, the UC500 system could be a great entry into high-level networking capabilities for the small-medium nonprofits as well.

Small Business Focus

Designed for small businesses with fewer than 48 users, the UC500 platform brings together basic networking components with enterprise-level features, along with voice management in a relatively user-friendly interface. Most setup functions can be done using Cisco Configuration Assistant, a Java-based program for Windows that is a front end to their operating system, which you can also access via a Web interface or on the command line. For nonprofit organizations that have been using retail-grade networking equipment, the UC500 might be a good chance to adopt technologies like virtual local area networks (VLANs), virtual private networks (VPNs) or advanced directory services using a reliable and secure system. The platform also has less of a learning curve than other Cisco appliances geared towards larger organizations. The ability to seamlessly integrate voice and data via WiFi also makes it easy for administrators to let users move around and about on the network. Although as a new product line, there may not be as rich of a knowledge base than with other ones, there is an active user community with a lot of content, as well as an official Cisco Support wiki.

Conclusion

Implementing a unified communications strategy, like any other major technological undertaking, requires careful planning and thorough understanding of your business processes in order for it to be worthwhile. Combining voice and data only makes sense when voice is a big part of your nonprofit operations and if you have the resources to keep the system sustainable. While cost savings in the form of long-distance bills may not be immediately realized, the time spent on routine tasks and your organization’s expansion could make a sizeable difference in efficiency and productivity. There are many benefits to moving towards a VoIP system, and Cisco’s UC500 series platform could be a solution that is suitable for your organization.