Unified Communications to dominate VoiceCon

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.