Taking Charge of Your VoIP Project

Product Author Bios

John Q. Walker, Ph.D, was a founder of Ganymede Software, heading the software development team there before it joined NetIQ Corporation in spring 2000. Currently, he is the president of Zenph Studios, Inc., makers of multimedia software. In earlier positions, he managed teams responsible for designing and developing high-speed networking at IBM. Dr. Walker holds a Ph.D. in software engineering; his master's degree focused on system testing.

Jeffrey T. Hicks is a Software Architect at NetQoS, Inc., the industry's fastest growing network performance management company.  For the last 8 years, he has been architecting and designing software products to help enterprises and managed service providers deploy, secure, and manage Voice over IP (VoIP) solutions. Jeffrey is a VoIP technology expert and has published numerous articles about VoIP. In past jobs, Jeffrey led the development of Ganymede Software's award-winning Chariot product and developed innovative network communications technology at IBM. Mr. Hicks holds a bachelor of science degree in computer engineering from Auburn University and a master of engineering degree from North Carolina State University.

Strategies and solutions for successful VoIP deployments

Justify your network investment

• The step-by-step approach to VoIP deployment and management enables you to plan early and properly for successful VoIP integration with your existing systems, networks, and applications.
• The detailed introduction offers a common grounding for members of both the telephony and data networking communities.
• IT managers and project leaders are armed with details on building a business case for VoIP, including details of return-on-investment (ROI) analysis and justification.
• A VoIP deployment is presented as a major IT project, enabling you to understand the steps involved and the required resources.
• The comprehensive look at quality of service and tuning describes when and where to use them in a VoIP deployment. These are often the most complex topics in VoIP; you'll get smart recommendations on which techniques to use in various circumstances.
• You learn how to plan for VoIP security, including prevention, detection, and reaction.

Voice over IP (VoIP) is the telephone system of the future. Problem is, VoIP is not yet widely deployed, so there are few skilled practitioners today. As you make your move to VoIP, how will you know how to make VoIP work and keep it working well? What changes will you need to make without disrupting your business? How can you show your return on this investment?

Many books contain technical details about VoIP, but few explain in plain language how to make it run successfully in an enterprise. Taking Charge of Your VoIP Project provides the detailed plans you need to be successful in your organization's deployment of VoIP. Through their years of work in the field, authors John Q. Walker and Jeffrey T. Hicks bring a project-oriented approach to VoIP, with much-needed clarity on getting VoIP to work well.

Taking Charge of Your VoIP Project starts with simple concepts, each chapter building on the knowledge from the last. Although not a technical manual, you learn about the standards, such as H.323, G.711, and Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP), and the implications they have on your VoIP system. Most importantly, you'll gain expert advice and a systematic guide on how to make VoIP work for your organization.

This volume is in the Network Business Series offered by Cisco Press. Books in this series provide IT executives, decision makers, and networking professionals with pertinent information on today's most important technologies and business strategies.

158720092903152004

Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful Taking Charege Of Your Voip Project, March 23, 2004 By  Neal Cooksey (Cedar Rapids, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews This review is from: Taking Charge of Your VoIP Project (Paperback) I currently work at a Global communications company that is on the cutting edge of worldwide VoIP communications. We are a VoIP provider to several of the Fortune 1000 company's. I am a Data Network Administrator with a background in in voice communications. I also assist in the Internal VoIP projects for the 6 sites I am in charge of. Having said this I have to say that this is one of the best technical reference books I have read concerning the components and software involved in VoIP. John Walker and Jeffery Hicks more than provide entry-level information regarding several very important aspects of VoIP Implementation. It is easy to see that both have a great deal of knowledge not only regarding VoIP but communications in general. It was very refreshing to see that two data guys would know so much about voice and the PSTN. I found that the majority of recommended/more information references that are listed at the end of the chapters are either on my desk or on my wish list... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you?  Permalink  Comment 6 of 6 people found the following review helpful VoIP From a Business Perspective, January 27, 2005 By  S. Chang - See all my reviews    This review is from: Taking Charge of Your VoIP Project (Paperback) John Walker and Jeffrey Hicks's "Taking Charge of Your VoIP Project" (ISBN: 1587200929, Cisco Press) is an installment in Cisco's Network Business Series line of books and covers the topic of voice over IP (VoIP) from a business strategy perspective. Although the book does cover some technical aspects of VoIP, its main purpose is to guide the reader in understanding the steps from beginning to end on how to develop a business case all the way to deploying a successful and secure VoIP deployment. The book covers eight major areas: * VoIP Basics * Building a Business Case for VoIP * Planning for VoIP * Do It Yourself or Outsource? * Quality of Service & Tuning * Ongoing VoIP Management * Establishing VoIP SLAs * VoIP Security This book's primary audience is meant to be at the managerial and above levels, although it does have value for senior technical staff, albeit from a different... Read more Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you?  Permalink  Comment 6 of 6 people found the following review helpful Must have if you are moving to VoIP, March 19, 2004 By A Customer This review is from: Taking Charge of Your VoIP Project (Paperback) Switching from a PBX system to VoIP involves numerous planning and implementation decisions, both business and technical. There are many new concepts you have to understand well enough to make the right trade-offs. This book is great for stepping you through all the issues, in order, and gives a clear understanding of how the technology really works. Easier to read cover to cover than most technical books. Well written! The authors clearly know their stuff. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  Was this review helpful to you?  Permalink  Comment

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Online Sample Chapter

Building a Business Case for VoIP

Table of Contents

(NOTE: Chapters 1-7 end with Chapter Summary and End Notes.)

Why We Wrote This Book.


1. VoIP Basics.

Downloadable Sample Chapter

Sample Chapter - 2.3 MB -- Chapter 2: Building a Business Case for VoIP

Index

Download - 181 KB -- Index