The primary question in migrating from PBX Systems to IP Telephony (IPT) has shifted from "Is VoIP ready?" to "How do we deploy IP?" and "How do we select the right professional services firm to help us?" According to industry expert Nick Lippis, "IP's technical robustness and huge investments in bandwidth, including Local Area Networking or LANs, broadband, wireless and service provider core, make voice over IP or VoIP a technically sound and an economically viable reality today."1 But often in PBX to IP migration, we face a shortfall in skills and personnel including: - Communications technology specialists with business acumen
- Network designer
- Applications designer
- Program and project managers
- Implementation specialists
To address this shortfall, we have to look for help outside of our organizations and look to professional service firms to supplement staff or to manage IP migration. "A professional services organization can add value independent of where a company is on its transition to a converged IP network," 2 Lippis writes. What are the criteria to consider when selecting a professional service organization to help you with IP migration and take full advantage of IP Telephony? 1, 2 "Strategies For Managing Complex Convergence Migration: The Role of Professional Services," Nicholas John Lippis III, March 6, 2005 | 
