VOIP is just plumbing
More and more it has seemed to me that VOIP doesn’t matter. I don’t see this discussed on mainstream communications news sites, presumably it’s a question of who pays their bills through advertising.
I was contemplating on ways to express this properly, when I read this seasonal post by Ken Camp, looking back at the technological year . He did the job already, - see the extract below.
Voice over IP - VoIP as Plumbing
If there was a shaking revelation in 2007, I don’t think it shook enough people. Having written books and papers about VoIP from a number of different perspectives, my view is focused in a different way that the enterprise customer view. My history in VoIP goes back ten years or more. But the stark reality is in 2007 VoIP became plumbing.For many years, VoIP was viewed as a major disruptive technology. People expected it would completely change the face of telecommunications. I know I believed that. But I don’t believe that today. I’ve often, in the past, referred to circuit switching, for either voice or data, as nothing more than plumbing. It’s base infrastructure. It’s a foundation.
VoIP has proven that it’s really just another foundation element. The hot technology area is voice as a service. It’s how and where we can use voice services. How we deliver them is irrelevant to customers and users. VoIP truly is just another delivery mechanism. It’s a great delivery mechanism. It lets us maximize the value of IP networks. Cost savings and operational efficiencies can be huge, but at the root of things, VoIP is simply a service delivery mechanism for a service.
There is another element, in as much as voice calls are going to be less frequent, and therefore doesn’t matter as much as it used to. A trend I think will continue over 2008.
Incidentally, I should be careful with plumbing analogies, I am still very high up on uk google search for k.i.t.c.h.e.n.s after a rather overworked analogy back in April on how if you wanted to buy one (unified communications was the k.i.t.c.h.e.n), you shouldn’t be held to ransom by your plumbing provider (voip).
Anyhow, thanks Ken, I enjoyed the rest of your post.
Thanks for the kind words Matt. It’s something that’s been on my mind a lot the past couple of months. I do agree that the plumbing analogy is a tad overworked, but I think I like it because it really makes the traditional carriers bristle. The truth is that infrastructure, or architecture, is rapidly becoming a commoditized “pipe” all over again. And I think that’s the real point I wanted to make with VoIP. Rather than being the disruptor we once thought it might be, it’s become a staid and stable part of infrastructure technology.
I think the real innovation in 2008 is going to come from integration of services with enterprise business applications. That’s where the real innovation and action is.
Have a great holiday!
Comment by Ken Camp — December 17, 2007 @ 7:23 pm
[…] I thought it was worth revisiting this, especially after reading my friends at FierceVoip claiming VoIP crusader recants. (And a small ego note, it’s Ken Camp, not Champ). VOIP is just plumbing […]
Pingback by Digital Common Sense » More on VoIP as Plumbing — December 19, 2007 @ 1:50 am
I, for one, believe that VoIP does matter and will continue to reshape the world of communications for years to come. However, if by saying “VoIP doesn’t matter” you are saying “VoIP doesn’t matter to retail customers,” then I think you are on target. Early adopters were willing to buy products marketed with the VoIP label, or with VoIP-like names (think Vonage), but most folks just want real communications solutions that work and don’t care about the underlying technology.
VoIP’s finest days are still to come. More on my blog at http://ikeelliott.typepad.com/telecosm/2008/01/voip-is-dead-lo.html
Comment by Ike Elliott — January 3, 2008 @ 3:38 pm
Thanks matt for quoting this interesting article, even though I can’t agree that VOIP is not useful in these days. In our office all the casual communication to our international colleagues are done with the help of enterprise VOIP solutions. To discuss not-business-critical issues we use skype and saving thousands of Euros every year.
Comment by VOIP — April 15, 2008 @ 3:33 pm
I didn’t say it wasn’t useful, making calls has always been useful.
Voip in itself is just not important. I can install a bunch of stuff, and I can still only have one conversation at a time. There’s no real beneficial application other than cost, and those cost differentials are dropping and will be almost so small to make no difference.
From a business point of view, there are things I want to do that skype just can’t. For example, Unified Messaging with Exchange, Unified Communications, hold, transfer - and I don’t want to use more devices, but less.
But I can do these things with Voip or TDM
Comment by Matt Lambert — April 17, 2008 @ 9:45 am