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What
Do Users Want from Converged Multimodal Communications? 
Migrations from legacy enterprise technologies are never fast,
and IP-based converged communications is no exception. We have
been talking conceptually about end user needs for Unified Messaging
(UM) and Unified Communications (UC) for several years, but the
technology has not yet made its way into the hearts and minds
of enterprise end users.
Convergence Applications
- Basics
The advantage of convergence are many. For example, businesses
can reduce their costs for voice systems management when they
shift to a Voice over IP (VoIP) based implementation. Multi-site
businesses can save on transmission and switching costs by converting
to VoIP. But while network cost savings are always welcome, applications
convergence saves labor costs and improves customer service -
offering an even bigger contribution to the bottom line.
VoIP:
Where It Works and Where It Does Not
The consensus is that VoIP, which describes many different
scenarios for running call control and digitized voice traffic
over enterprise IP data networks, works. "The early issues
of voice quality, quality of service, scalability, migration,
features, and functionality in enterprise IP phone systems have
pretty much been solved," says Jorge Blanco, VP of Marketing
at Avaya.
VoIP Implementation:
Who's Doing It and Why?
In the Spring and early Summer of 2002, Network World held
a series of eight full-day seminars on Voice over IP (VoIP). During
the course of the seminars, we distributed a questionnaire asking
the attendees about themselves, their opinions and their plans.
We received about 450 responses, and the composite view these
responses provided gives us a unique insight into the companies
that are planning to implement VoIP and why they are making these
plans.
Beyond Transport: What VoIP Really
Means to Enterprises
Voice and data convergence has finally achieved nearly universal
acceptance, and voice over packet technology is now being implemented
at an ever-increasing pace. For the most part, the lure of low
transmission and switching costs has caused both enterprises and
service providers to embrace convergence technologies such as
Voice over IP (VoIP).
VoIP? A Question
of Perspective
Moving to VoIP raises fundamental questions for both data and
voice sides of the 'net. There is an inherent dilemna when it
comes to building integrated voice/data networks-the problem of
perspective.
Get Your
Data Network Ready for Voice
Despite the economic blues and distress in the telecom industry,
interest in IP-based enterprise phone systems (IP-PBXs) is expanding
rapidly. Although there is no reason to question whether the complex
array of voice over IP (VoIP) technologies and products is fully
ready and whether these technologies and products offer a compelling
value proposition for the user community, all PBX vendors are
now delivering VoIP or IP telephony systems.
Voice-Data Convergence: SIP State
of Affairs
SIP has come a long way in eight years. But its disruption of
the enterprise voice market is just beginning.
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