The benefits that an IP-based infrastructure can bring
to the enterprise, such as solving network management headaches and
providing flexibility to react to changing business requirements,
are well understood.
But many IT directors are now realising that the most
significant advantage of an IP – or “packet-switched” – network is
its provision of a platform for advanced converged
communications.
The convergence of data, voice and video onto a single IP-based
network can help enterprises reduce the complexities and costs
associated with both fixed and mobile communications, and increase
employee productivity and business flexibility.
Ovum analyst Chris Lewis said, “CIOs have unanimously bought
into the general principle of an IP-based infrastructure. They
fully understand that these networks are solving a lot of headaches
and will allow them to react more flexibly to changing business
requirements.
“More importantly, CIOs recognise that IP networks are a means
to reduce their annual IT spend. As a result, many are keen to
migrate their communications to an IP-based infrastructure.”
IT decision-makers and CIOs are now looking at how to capitalise
on the opportunities presented by an IP network infrastructure for
both voice and data applications. The benefits are myriad, and IP
is not only changing the way that employees communicate with each
other, but also how and where they work.
Converged communications offer new ways of working. Steve
Jarvis, director at telecoms consultancy Improcom, said,
“Convergence provides the ability to offer consistent customer
service and client interaction across the organisation in a way
that was not possible before, such as for remote workers and
employees in satellite offices.”
One of the main drivers of converged communications is IP
tele¬phony – also known as voice over IP (VoIP). Although VoIP is a
technology for carrying phone calls over IP networks, such as the
internet or an IP-based corporate intranet, it also facilitates the
adoption of advanced voice and data applications. These include
videoconferencing, application sharing, multi-channel contact
handling, on-demand speech recording, unified messaging, voice
messaging and e-mail messaging.
VoIP reduces communications costs, simplifies internal
communications, supports flexible working, increases productivity
and improves the quality of customer service. VoIP can also make
home and remote working not only a possibility, but a success.
A survey by VoIP information provider Imago Communications shows
that of 50 UK-based IT directors who have deployed IP telephony,
65% are using IP telephony systems to facilitate voice service. But
41% are also using IP telephony for desktop video, 41% for
mobility, 35% for telecommuting, and 29% for web and on-demand
conferencing.
The VoIP for business market is set to grow from about £450m at
the end of 2005 to almost £1.8bn by 2010, according to research
firm Yankee Group.
Adam Malik, commercial director at IT event organiser Imago
Communications, which conducted a survey into VoIP adoption, said,
“The vast majority of VoIP users claim to have met 50% or more of
their targets for cost savings and performance improvements, and
over 50% of VoIP owners expect to increase their VoIP
investments.
“The survey also shows that not only is the IP telephony market
growing, but it is maturing as organisations look to their IP
networks to deliver an increasing variety of multi-channel
services.”
One of the simplest examples of the benefits of converged
communications is the softphone: software loaded onto a PC or
laptop that turns the device into an internet phone, allowing users
to make cheap voice calls over the internet or corporate intranet.
Many softphones offer advanced services, such as caller ID, call
forwarding and call barring, and can be downloaded free or for a
small licence fee.
Although Skype is the name on every¬one’s lips, there are plenty
of other companies offering this technology. Vonage is the pioneer
in the US, and suppliers such as Alcatel, Avaya, Ericsson
Enterprise, NEC, Nortel, Mitel, Siemens and Zultys (for Linux)
offer softphones for the enterprise.
While softphones can be bought cheaply and installed speedily,
call quality and network uptime can suffer. Users also complain
that it is not the same as picking up and using a traditional
phone.
A number of companies also offer fixed hard phones: IP-enabled
desktop telephones, similar to the traditional phone. While more
expensive than softphones, they offer a more permanent solution
with better call quality and reliability, as well as the
familiarity of a traditional phone.
VoIP desktop phones enable the traditional range of enterprise
telephony, such as voice messaging, caller ID, conference calls,
and so on, as well as more advanced functions, such as voice
message, e-mail or SMS alerts.
The choice of VoIP handsets is growing, but Cisco currently
dominates the market with a range of different styles and handset
functions. Other suppliers, including Aastra Telecoms, Avaya,
Motorola, Nortel, Polycom, Siemens, Sipura, Snom and Zultys, offer
IP-enabled desktop phones from £80 upwards.
One of the biggest impacts of IP communication is the
replacement of the traditional PBX (private branch exchange), which
provides telephony functions throughout the enterprise, with a new
generation of IP-based PBXs.
Ravi Rajagopalan, European director of technology and solutions
at communication systems supplier Lucent, said, “CIOs are
eliminating the traditional PBX in favour of IP-based machines.
Traditionally, enterprises would spend a lot of money wiring the
office for PBX services – and configuring it to offer services such
as voicemail, call diversion, and so on – which was a huge cost.
Then they had to maintain the PBX, put new users in and take old
ones out, constantly.”
IP PBXs are unrecognisable from the PBX of yesteryear. Rather
than a box that sits in each building to control the telephony
system, an IP PBX is essentially software that sits within the
network. It can be owned either by the enterprise, a telecom
company or a hosted service provider, and offers all the
functionality of a traditional PBX.
The main advantage is not just cheap VoIP calls, but
flexibility. Network capacity and phone stations can be added or
removed, and new services introduced at the flick of a switch.
Employees can hotdesk, taking their existing number, without any
need to rewire the office.
This centralisation of PBX functions onto the network also means
that multi-site organisations can eliminate and consolidate their
traditional PBXs, as well as their maintenance and repair.
“Organisations with multiple sites and multiple PBXs to manage
are taking that intelligence and centralising it into one IP PBX on
the network, which reduces costs,” said Roger Jones, business
development director at Avaya. “But as well as voice services, an
enterprise can centralise e-mail, conferencing, collaboration and
so on, and deploy these services to employees anywhere: at home,
when travelling, or in a different office.”
Suppliers offering IP PBXs include 3Com, Avaya, Cisco, Equant,
Intel, Lucent and Swyx Communications, and they are transforming
enterprise telephony.
Equant, for example, recently struck a five-year deal with
aircraft maker Airbus to supply an IP telephony system with 30,000
extensions across two sites in Toulouse, France, and 10,000
extensions at two sites in the UK. Cisco will provide the network
backbone and 40,000 IP telephone handsets.
One of the Toulouse campuses is 12 miles long, and the nature of
Airbus projects means that different teams need to come together
dynamically and disband on an almost daily basis. Transferring
phone extensions to wherever an individual was working on any
particular day would have been almost impossible with a traditional
telephony system. But with IP, staff can access their own phone
extension and features wherever they are on campus simply by keying
in a unique number into any nearby handset, which automatically
transfers their telephony identity to that phone.
The switch to IP is also changing conferencing and collaboration
applications. IP enables multi-¬modal communication, so users can
combine or move effortlessly between, for example, an instant
messaging conversation, voice call, and videoconference at the
click of a button.
Avaya has integrated its IP PBX into Microsoft’s Live
Communication Server to offer converged voice, instant messaging
and collaboration applications on the desktop. Users can see who is
available at any particular time and by which channel they want to
communicate. A mouse click can then initiate any combination of
voice call, video call, conference or instant messaging
conversation.
Videoconferencing is also benefiting from IP. Equant, Microsoft,
Global Crossing and Cisco offer high-bandwidth, conference room
standard videoconferencing equipment and services, while
desktop-based videoconferencing services are available from
providers such as Webex, Cobweb Solutions, BT, Avanquest and
Citrix.
A growing list of companies also offer combined conferencing and
collaboration tools, including 3Com, ACT Teleconferencing, Avaya,
Equant, GlowPoint, Interwise, MCI, Polycom and TeliNet.
Converged communication is reaching the mobile world, with
handset manufacturers – notably Cisco, Motorola, Nokia and Toshiba
– offering converged GSM/GPRS and Wi-Fi dual-mode phones.
Such handsets use the traditional cellular network outside the
office, but switch to the IP-based wireless local area network or
Wi-Fi network as users enter the office. Using IP to carry some or
all of the calls not only results in mobile cost savings, but also
brings the concept of a single handset, and therefore phone number,
regardless of location, a step closer.
Although dual-mode phones will be important in future, the
technologies are still immature. The challenges include the quality
and speed of switch-over, dual-mode device battery life and limited
bandwidth within the office.
The benefits of IP are clear. But whatever converged services
firms are looking to implement, making the right choice is the
biggest challenge. IT directors need to consider the circumstances
and needs of the business and its future strategic roadmap.