There has been much buzz of late about using IP telephony solutions in
place of the more common analog based solutions.

Traditional telephony has very high reliability (many years without loss
of dial tone for some companies). From what I have seen in this group
about networking, router behaviors, etc. it seems to me that the IP
networks that exist aren't yet ready for the prime time of IP telephony.
As we move buildings, my company is looking at installing an IP
telephony based solution (packet switched) instead of a traditional
analog based solution (circuit switched). I am worried that the
reliability will likely be lower than I am used to. However the cost
savings look quite compelling, so I am torn.

The more I read in here about threats and attacks against IP networks
and the amount of maintenance we need to have in place to keep our IP
networks hanging together, the more I am concerned about the viability
of an IP telephony solution.

Does anyone here have any thoughts, experiences, etc. about the use of
IP telephony in corporate environments?

Thanks in advance

Chris