Both Kumba and IPOfficeguy are right about VOIP being practical and usable on an Intranet. In certain applications it makes a lot of sense and is actually a rather slick application of resources.
I think the anger and bitterness that a lot of the folks here feel is because of their experiences with office managers/IT guys/corporate principals who don't have a clue - but want VOIP!
Come in to a guys office. It's already prewired with a CAT3 & a CAT 5E jack to each desk. He's got one floor in a building and no other space. He wants VOIP. Why? "Because it's better".
I started in this business before Interconnect was allowed. When you were finally allowed to put your own phones in you could have different colors! You could have MOH! You had more choices than just a monitor board, a plug board or a Stepper. You could OWN your own phones, pay them off, depreciate them and buy new technology when you wanted it. You could actually transfer outgoing calls! You didn't have to pay extra (and monthly!) for features that came free like wink-hold. And on and on and on.....
The folks on this board have built this industry up, sometimes fighting tooth and nail against a monolithic entity that pulled all kinds of dirty tricks trying to shut them down.
And they succeeded. They built an industry that is second to none. And now they see it starting to come unravelled by something that is arguably (at least for the moment) a niche product that is being touted as a "one size fits all" solution.
That's why they're pissed.
Sam
"Where are we going and why are we in this hand basket?"
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