Unified Communications (UC) will again dominate the show floor
and the bulk of announcements coming out of VoiceCon Spring, which
kicks off today at the Gaylord Palms resort in Kissimmee, Fla.
Fred Knight, VoiceCon general manager, said the show will build
on two key themes: building the new platform to support a converged
network and satisfy VoIP needs, and leveraging that platform for
business process and collaboration.
As with past shows, Knight said, UC will headline, with many
major announcements from key vendors.
"A lot of focus will be on new ways of architecting an IP
telephony platform," he said. "There is no narrow single path
anymore."
According to Knight, many enterprises are now on a transition
path. Many have deployed VoIP but are still looking for ways to
leverage it to meet all of their business needs. In addition, he
said, as VoIP deployments continue to grow, admins are faced with
an "awful lot of choices."
Along with burgeoning technologies like UC, users should still
keep on the lookout for those "nagging things that never go away,"
like VoIP security and interoperability, Knight said.
VoiceCon, he said, gives organizations the ability to gauge how
far they've come and where they need to go in terms of voice
deployments. With case studies from massive corporations such as
Shell Oil and Merrill Lynch, and how-to sessions hosted by
knowledgeable VoIP experts, corporations can set a baseline for
where they'd like to be. Companies can get a read from their peers
about VoIP deployments, Knight said, and try to get a handle on
"what's worked, what hasn't and why."
"The big enterprises have some Internet telephony going on," he
said, noting that a rash of new products and technologies may seem
intimidating on some level because they can often illustrate how
far companies still need to go. "Just when I learned what I thought
were the new rules, someone changed the game," Knight said, adding
that VoIP "is not a sprint, it's a marathon."
Here are just a handful of the announcements coming out of
VoiceCon:
- 4What Interactive will announce a Spanish language version of
VoIPTrainer for Cisco IP phones now available for the 7940/60
series, a new annual subscription with unlimited training, and
additional VoIP training on various Cisco phone models.
- 911 Enable will debut the Authorized Agent Program, designed to
help VARs, system integrators, resellers and IP-PBX vendors provide
their customers with 911 services and solutions.
- Adomo will announce Adomo 6.0, which delivers core UC
capabilities and introduces new features that make enterprise
mobile messaging more effective and efficient.
- Alcatel-Lucent will introduce OmniPCX Enterprise Rels 7.1, a
new IP Touch 4008 low-cost IP phone, including OmniTouch Unified
Communications Rels 4.1 with increased user capacity to 10,000 for
My Messaging and more.
- Avaya and AGN Networks will announce H323 trunking compliance
for Avaya Communication Manager. AGN is the first to achieve 100%
compliance with both SIP and H.323 trunking for Avaya systems.
- Calabrio Software will introduce new products and enhancements
to Calabrio Unified Interaction suite, including Calabrio Vision, a
reporting/analytics platform that provides contact centers with the
business intelligence to align performance with business
strategy.
- Clarus Systems is launching the new Clarus Certification
Services and Flexible Engagement Model to help customers achieve
maximum performance and ROI from their IP telephony systems.
- Global IP Solutions (GIPS) will announce complete off-the-shelf
applications that deliver the highest-quality user experience with
their Remote Extension (RE) and Click-to-Talk applications for
enterprises and service providers.
- Grandstream Networks will announce GXP2020, the next-generation
GXP model offering more advanced features, a large graphical LCD
display, six lines, four XML programmable soft-keys, seven
programmable hard-keys and a streamlined look and design.
- Integrated Research will announce PROGNOSIS IP Telephony
Manager 9.0, the company's first management solution for the Avaya
IPT environment and for multi-vendor environments where Avaya and
Cisco systems co-exist.
- iscoord will debut SIP-based video capabilities for is-phone.
This new feature enables video-calls with all is-phone
products.
- Mediatrix will announce the 3500 Series, a multi-function
device combining VoIP IAD and Gateway in a secure platform, while
applying SIP and PBX Trunking, and PSTN access for local VoIP
equipments solutions.
- Microsemi will be publicly displaying for the first time the
PowerDsine 3500 Midspan Series, a new PoE solution for delivering
safe power to existing 10/100 Mbps network devices, including VoIP
phones.
- NEC will debut products within the UC portfolio, including a
mobile client, open API, and new GUI for user and single interface
for administration and management support.
- Scannex will announce its new IP buffer range. Single- and
multi-port versions are available with many updated features and
functionalities at a minimal cost.
- Siemens Communications will debut Siemens Managed Services for
Wireless Networks, a single contact point for around-the-clock
remote monitoring, management and service desk support of Wi-Fi
networks, WLAN, and municipal mesh environments.
- Sipera will debut the new IPCS 210, enabling SMBs and branch
offices to protect UC -- including VoIP, IM, video and multimedia
-- and securely deploy SIP trunks and VoIP remote users.
- Valcom will announce the new IP paging horn/line length
extender and IP Paging servers, supporting up to 65,000 speakers
that interface with Cisco, Avaya, Nortel and Iwatsu IP telephone
systems.