Telephony data

Real-time business communications are no longer limited to voice calls provided by plain old telephone service (POTS); instead, voice, video, text messaging and web conferences are IP applications delivered over existing enterprise networks. Unlike traditional client-server or web applications, telephony and other communications applications have strict requirements on network quality of service, latency, and packet loss, making service quality and reliability much more sensitive to network conditions and server responsiveness. Traditional POTS has conditioned people to expect immediate dial tone when picking up the phone and be intolerant of noise, echo, or other problems that can plague IP telephony; as such, the systems and supporting infrastructure require careful monitoring and management to assure quality and reliability. 

Telephony logs provide an overview of system health, along with troubleshooting and usage data similar to that of other network applications. Details include source, destination, time, and duration of voice/video calls, web conferences and text messages; call-quality metrics; error conditions; and user attendance at web conferences. Organizations can also link call records to actual user IDs and IP addresses to physical locations; information that can assist in troubleshooting and billing. Finally, logs can reveal any network segments experiencing congestion or other performance problems that may indicate equipment problems or the need for an upgrade.