When Investing on Audio/Video Desktop Application, Understand the TCO
When asked about audio/video desktop apps, what might quickly pop out in our minds is the communication tool Skype. By using Skype, you can initiate video calls, voice calls, instant messaging, screen sharing and file sharing free of charge. Skype is one of the mostly downloaded desktop apps both by business and home users simply because it is easy to install and use.
But is Skype really free? Let’s find out.
Skype is a software application dependent on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. Speaking of VoIP technology, what most of consumers are probably unaware of is that there are other technologies running behind commercial audio/video desktop apps. These are the technologies that make distant communication, two-way or one-way, point-to-point or multi-point, possible to businesses, private groups, and ordinary consumers.
Relative to cost, an important consideration before launching an investment on any software application is to understand its Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). The three cost components of TCO for software applications are the acquisition costs, monthly recurring costs, and annual maintenance costs. TCO can range from single-digit up to six-figure amount depending usually on the number of users and model of deployment.
In this post, we are going to briefly tackle three communication technologies running behind the audio/video desktop applications available in the market today. The main objective is to guide consumers like you on your next software investment.
VoIP
VoIP apps use the internet for transmitting voice communications and multimedia sessions. As mentioned earlier, Skype is a VoIP application. When someone initiates a voice call, the voice will be converted into digital information and transmitted over packet-switched network using Internet Protocol.
Google+ Hangouts, Yahoo Messenger, Mumble and Viber are examples of audio/video desktop apps running on VoIP technology. VoIP apps are popular to ordinary consumers.
VTC Network
Communication via Video Teleconferencing (VTC) commonly uses the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and relies on Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) for video and audio transmission. Unlike VoIP, VTC systems require setup and configuration of several network components before they can be utilized for communication. These components are the Call Server, Video Endpoint, Multipoint Conference Unit, Gateways and Ethernet Switch.
Examples of video conferencing desktop apps are Citrix GoToMeeting, Adobe Connect, Cisco WebEx Meetings and Microsoft Lync. SMEs are the typical users of VTC.
Unified Communications
Unified Communications (UC) is a set of products that provide unified user-interface across multiple devices. UC is mostly used by enterprises as this communication technology is often integrated with business software solutions like CRM and Salesforce Automation. UC desktop applications are capable of delivering services such as instant messaging, document-based collaboration, e-mail, social media, video conferencing, data sharing, unified messaging and voice calling in real-time.
Companies that offer UC desktop apps and services are Cisco, SimpleSignal, Actiance, Logitech, Polycom and HP.
Now if we will say that Skype is totally free of any cost, think again. While Skype for Desktop can be downloaded for free, the cost of maintaining this software can be attached to the monthly cost we are paying to the Internet Service Provider (ISP).
