Talk to any owner of a Managed Service Provider business about Voice over IP (VoIP) and you’ll hear a horror story or two. We’ve certainly heard our share.
They range from the cold shoulder to screaming clients in the middle of the night. In one form or fashion, VoIP has frustrated MSPs to the point where many have now shared that they’ve removed it from their service offering, or aren’t considering adding it.
When we boiled it down, it was always the same core issue(s). MSPs were abandoning VoIP because of quality of service (QoS) issues based around the user experience.
Why all the Problems?
As we’ve discussed in past articles, the QoS issues exist in large part because most VoIP calls traverse the public internet. There is no “controlling body” managing internet traffic. Once a call leaves the clients network, MSPs and providers have no control and little hope of managing an outcome! That call can hop around a dozen times or more before reaching its destination. Clients would report issues and MSPs would be left frustrated trying to fix an issue with which they were unfamiliar, and candidly they have little to no control over. This forces them to rely on service providers and their support team who would all too often tell them:
“We don’t support the call once it leaves our network and everything on our network looks good.”
Then when the MSP would shop different providers for their client, they were discovering the same thing over and over. VoIP providers were forcing clients to use their customer’s local internet connections with their own service provider. It was the same thing regardless if the client was with Ring Central, 8X8, Fonality, or any other big name HPBX provider; calls were supported to the edge of the network, but not beyond.
Without control over both ends of the connection and the pathway in the middle, and it’s no wonder why MSPs have been jumping ship when it comes to VoIP the last several years. The sheer lack of control meant no call could ever be guaranteed, so the door would always be open to quality of service issues.
Why PDIA is a Godsend for MSPs
PDIA is an acronym for, “Private Dedicated Internet Access.” It’s the missing link or “key” piece of the puzzle when it comes to QoS with VoIP.
PDIA solutions most commonly include T1 and Metro Ethernet. Back in the day, T1 would have been part of the conversation, but with pricing/ bandwidth so competitive these days, T1’s are becoming rarer requests.
PDIA connections offer clients guaranteed direct connections to the VoIP provider. Calls originate at the client’s facility, traverse a private line, connect to the provider’s soft switch, and then move on to the receiver via the traditional public telephone network, or peer-linked Internet backbone.
MSPs love PDI connections because it gives them (and the VoIP provider) control over the entire connection where the QoS issues happen. They can use protocols at the router or rules at the firewall or edge device to prioritize voice traffic so the call never hits the public internet, and subsequently call quality can be guaranteed.
The big problem is that most VoIP providers don’t offer PDIA options for partners or end users. In many cases, they’re just travelling over someone else’s best effort internet service.
The Right Partner Can Make or Break an MSP with VoIP
From the very early days of VoIP, N2Net has known the value and importance PDIA plays in the voice space. We originally only sold used to only sell solutions with dedicated internet access because it was the only way to guarantee quality of service. We were able to craft these solutions because we were born out as an ISP.
Now, N2Net is leveraging our carrier relationships for our MSP clients. MSP partners are able to offer private dedicated internet access with QoS to their end users as well as HPBX and SIP service through a single partner.
If you’re an MSP who has been struggling with VoIP offerings or QoS issues with your clients, contact a voice expert at N2Net today and add our “Private Dedicated Internet Access.” (PDIA) options to your service offerings.