Logic would dictate that as networks evolve, bandwidth would become more readily available and concerns about network performance would fade. Apparently this is not the case. According to a survey by network management firm Apparent Networks, IT managers still view latency and bandwidth restrictions as obstacles to Unified Communications adoption. In fact, IT professionals are so concerned about network performance that over one third of those surveyed have delayed a VoIP, video or UC project.

While better infrastructure and more advanced networks are certainly being deployed, it appears as if the allure of hosted services is causing many companies to rely on unmanaged networks for critical communications needs. The distributed nature and cost effectiveness of this approach makes it an attractive one, especially as workers and offices become more geographically distributed, and telecommuting becomes more popular. The approach is not without its drawbacks, however, as unmanaged networks tend to have greater packet loss and delay, as well as bandwidth restrictions. According to Jim Melvin, Network’s President and CMO, “If you think about it, the unique requirement of voice and live video is not just bandwidth but also latency. With video, latency can be buffered, but with VoIP only so much latency can be tolerated.”

More Lanes Might Not Help

Networks are of course going to continue to improve, offering more bandwidth in the short term and opening up a number of communications options that were not possible before. But this only means that bandwidth intensive applications like video conferencing will become more popular, again pushing networks to their limits. Think of any highway expansion project you have ever experienced. Additional lanes probably eased traffic congestion for a while, but in the end, expansion only encouraged more people to move to the area and drive more frequently, resulting in traffic reaching its previously congested equilibrium.

One way to break free of this vicious cycle is to deal with the effects of network degradation at the endpoint. By realizing that bandwidth restrictions and latency are facts of IP communication (at least for the foreseeable future), application developers can design products that offer high-quality voice and video regardless of network conditions. Now if only there were a company out there that developed software that overcame these obstacles.