Network managers should check whether their existing IT
infrastructures are able to run new converged services before
adopting BT's 21st
Century Network (21CN), the
Communications Management Association (CMA) has
advised.
As well as checking the compatibility of older systems, CMA
networked services forum leader David Brunnen said that users
thinking of signing up to BT's next-generation
unified communications services should also clarify what
services will be available on the 21CN, and whether they might be
better off managing services such as voice over IP in-house.
"Network managers should consider how many of their applications
they run in-house under their own private
IP networks, and which ones might be better managed by
providers such as BT. Technical and strategic planning should begin
now so that firms are prepared when BT's network launches," he
said.
Brunnen said that businesses considering the move to BT's 21CN
must be aware of the potential problems of using an IP network for
converged services.
Brunnen said that IP networks can suffer delays in transferring
packets of data between applications. This can cause significant
problems when it affects critical applications. Businesses
considering IP networks must ensure that such problems can be
accommodated by their business.
Despite these problems, research from the CMA's Communications
in Business survey found that businesses are moving towards
converged IP networks, with 47% of respondents reporting that they
use a
converged IP network.
VoIP applications provided the main motivation for the uptake,
with collaboration, mobility and unified communications cited as
other reasons.
Brunnen says that those adopting IP networks face the challenge
of achieving interoperability between the products and services of
different suppliers.
"If deploying a converged network or using a managed service,
enterprises should ensure that the partners they work with, such as
suppliers, can still exchange information if they are using
alternative providers," said Brunnen.
The introduction of BT's 21CN will be the largest ever upheaval
in telephony systems. BT said it expected a large part of the
migration to be complete by 2010, although remote areas would take
longer to reach. The firm said it would offer advice to enterprises
about how to prepare for the change nearer the time, and that it
envisaged minimal disruption to customers.
"At the moment we are focusing on the migration process of our
core network to ensure the minimum levels of disruption when we
switch over to our 21CN," said a BT spokesman.
BT's 21st Century
Network (21CN) >>
Cardiff chosen to test 21CN >>
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