Downgrading the Telephony System Forecast
Posted by Allan Sulkin, TEQConsult Group | Jul 5, 2009
I earlier forecasted that this year's North America Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) shipments would be about 10.5 million line stations, a multimillion decline compared to 2008, but based on the latest unemployment figures and projected forecasts it appears that even that forecast may be too optimistic. I have personally been tracking the CPE market for close to three decades and have determined that there is a strong elasticity factor between line station shipments and the overall economy, especially unemployment data. With unemployment rates expected to top 10% later this year I have revised my North America CPE line station forecast downward to about 10 million, almost a 30% decrease from last year. These are the worst times for the telephony industry since the beginning of the Open Interconnect era 40 years ago.
Got MPLS, No Monitoring Required?
Posted by Matt Brunk, Telecomworx | Jul 5, 2009
We recently pushed out some firmware upgrades to one of our customer networks. Their MPLS service is working fine. Should we turn on monitoring of voice calls?
Managing LAN Switch Power
Posted by Gary Audin, Delphi, Inc. | Jun 28, 2009
Enterprises are finally realizing that their ICT energy bill is rapidly growing to the point where the IT management has to pay attention. The cost of power as an expense is now closing in on the cost of the ICT staff. You can always fire, retire or furlough staff, but not power.
More SIP Trunking than I Thought
Posted by Eric Krapf, Editor | Jun 24, 2009
We just finished another big SIP trunking webinar--almost 1,200 registered, more than 600 attended--and it's not a desire to do a little crowing that causes me to cite those numbers. The big crowd gave us a reasonable sample size for our audience polls, at least one of which yielded a result I found pretty surprising:
VMware & Telephony
Posted by Sorell Slaymaker, Unified IT Systems | Jun 19, 2009
Every technology has its place and time. Every technology has its place and time. What are the current best practices around using VMware with telephony applications? These are my thoughts:
ADTRAN's VQM Delivers
Posted by Matt Brunk, Telecomworx | Jun 17, 2009
Our internal project of implementing and testing ADTRAN's VQM (Voice Quality Monitoring) had been on my list a long time. After replacing our hybrid IP-PBX, I purchased and implemented a new ADTRAN router equipped with VQM. VQM makes real-time quality measurements on all SIP-signaled RTP VoIP calls and captures MOS, jitter, delay and packet loss. Live and historical performance data is provided on a per-call basis.
IPT Lessons Learned
Posted by Sorell Slaymaker, Unified IT Systems | Jun 16, 2009
After architecting a 50,000+ seat IP Telephony system and seeing it through rollout, this is what I would recommend to do different.
IPT Calling on a Bad WAN
Posted by Gary Audin, Delphi, Inc. | Jun 12, 2009
There is no argument that the data WAN produces problems for IP Telephony when it does not work properly. So what happens when there is poor WAN QoS or the WAN has failed?
Un-Secure IP/SIP Voice Calls
Posted by Matt Brunk, Telecomworx | Jun 11, 2009
Of course I'd be the one troubleshooting our latest SIP trunk issue. Previously, I had hopes that I could point to the carrier since I have my trusty VQM (Voice Quality Monitoring) in place. A few weeks prior, we experienced our first disconnect during a call with a customer, then a few days later call quality seemed to come and go. VQM helped me isolate the call in this case, but oddly enough, the call sounded like a satellite call with lots of background white noise as in the days of old. So I questioned why the call quality showed up as "excellent." This led us down the path to first check the router configuration (last year for 4 months we did not have QoS turned on). Even after testing again and again, call quality didn't return to the same consistency.
Siemens Announces Enhancements for HiPath 4000
Posted by Allan Sulkin, TEQConsult Group | Jun 8, 2009
Siemens Enterprise Communications Group has anounced availability of HiPath 4000 V5, its IP Telephony System (IPTS) offering designed for medium- to large-sized enterprises. Although Siemens last year introduced OpenScape UC Server, an IPTS based on a carrier-class SIP platform that converged HiPath Voice 8000 and OpenScape UC capabilites into one system, the supplier still markets and sells the the earlier generation HiPath 4000 for new customer installations.
ADTRAN's Port Scheduler GREENS the Network
Posted by Matt Brunk, Telecomworx | Jun 8, 2009
Before purchasing our new ADTRAN 1335 router, I asked ADTRAN pre-sales whether or not I would get the feature for automatically turning on/off PoE ports. Forgetting about this project, I was recently reading about ADTRAN's new 1534/1544 switches with the new feature –Port Scheduler--that is used for this capability. It was one of those rare moments that I didn’t mess around with our new router settings under "Port Scheduler" until I read the new switch brochure. ADTRAN uses a wizard to setup Port Scheduler and it takes 10 minutes--9 to think about it and then one to implement.
Is the IPT RFP Dead?
Posted by Gary Audin, Delphi, Inc. | Jun 5, 2009
Is the PBX RFP disappearing? Some say yes, we don't need it. That is an observation that has been surfacing in the last few years. When an enterprise decides to replace the legacy TDM based PBX, the enterprise will wonder if the RFP effort is worthwhile. There have been many occasions that enterprises have solicited proposals from their incumbent PBX vendor and infrastructure vendor, which is usually Cisco. If one of these vendors looks acceptable, then no RFP is issued.
A Look Behind the CPE Market Shares
Posted by Allan Sulkin, TEQConsult Group | Jun 2, 2009
My recent No Jitter enterprise communications system market share and line station shipment article revealed little in the way of surprises, because the ranking of the suppliers did not change from last year and the double digit shipment decline was expected due to the recessionary economy. I thought it would be interesting, however, to discuss some of the results from a historic perspective and show how competitive market dynamics change over time.
Broadvox Teams With Panasonic
Posted by Matt Brunk, Telecomworx | Jun 1, 2009
Broadvox, a SIP Trunking and VoIP communications provider announced the formation of a strategic relationship with Panasonic Communications Company that has agreed to resell the Broadvox GO! SIP Trunking products through its extensive dealer network.
Energy Star Comes to IPT/UC Servers
Posted by Gary Audin, Delphi, Inc. | May 29, 2009
In a recent assignment, I discovered that implementing UC and IPT could require 8 to 14 servers and associated storage depending on the vendors involved. Those implementing UC must consider the server and storage power consumption when selecting the IPT/UC solution.
Access Points As Lightning Rods
Posted by Matt Brunk, Telecomworx | May 26, 2009
Recently, I had a call from a customer trying to figure out why just one section of one building in the campus was down--only the phones were down, not the LAN.
Results from Frost & Sullivan’s IPT Market Study
Posted by Melanie Turek, Frost & Sullivan | May 25, 2009
Frost & Sullivan has released its latest study of the world enterprise IP telephony endpoint market. Although the market is expected to be hurt by the current economic downturn, an increasing number of enterprises are recognizing the benefits granted by both IP desktop phones and enterprise soft clients.
Cisco & Pancho
Posted by Matt Brunk, Telecomworx | May 21, 2009
Everyone always talks about Cisco but they almost always forget to talk about his sidekick Pancho. You can't have one without the other and in contrasting worlds of voice and data the same is true today--you can't have one without the other.
SIP Trunks: More Coming
Posted by Matt Brunk, Telecomworx | May 18, 2009
Reading an excellent presentation forwarded to me from Darryl Sladden, Product Manager for Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE) that he gave at the 2008 Cisco Networks presentation, I want to share a couple of key points Darryl made:
Panasonic's NCP: An Easy Migration
Posted by Matt Brunk, Telecomworx | May 11, 2009
Last year I placed the Panasonic NCP 1000 online in our test bed. Timing is pretty crucial when you're migrating a new office over to a new phone system. Having only been in our new offices a few months and just getting over construction to take on installing a new phone box wasn't exactly an item at the top of my list. To obtain new advanced features, must we give up old must-have/iron-horse features?
Pandemic Preparations
Posted by Eric Krapf, Editor | May 7, 2009
I've resisted writing about the swine flu (sorry, H1N1 flu) and its possible benefits to the telepresence/Unified Communications industry. I just thought it was sort of, I don't know, unseemly to speculate on how your industry could benefit from a worldwide panic that appeared to be at least somewhat media-driven. Now that some of the news seems to be getting a little bit more encouraging, or at least less dire, maybe we can take a slightly more measured look at this issue.
It's A Numbers Game
Posted by Matt Brunk, Telecomworx | May 4, 2009
I'm not fond of marketing guys that like to push out numbers to dealers and VARs when the numbers are based on quotas. Quotas tend to distort reasonable thinking and perpetuate bad behavior through no fault of the customers. Customers must ultimately decide on whether or not they are going to buy, lease, hold and negotiate, wait or do nothing at all.
Doubling-Down on CaaS Pays Off
Posted by Sheila McGee-Smith, McGee-Smith Analytics | May 1, 2009
On the company's January 2009 earnings call, CEO Don Brown commented that Interactive Intelligence had "really doubled down" on Communications-as-a-Service (CaaS). By leveraging advancements in both their own and other technology, virtualization in particular, the company has been able to decrease the cost model of its CaaS offering and improve pricing while actually increasing the profitability. Brown went on to say that, "we are going after CaaS in a more vigorous way and seeing a fair amount of interest in the market."
SIP Trunking: Bundled or BYOBB?
Posted by Alan Percy, Audiocodes | Apr 30, 2009
While at VoiceCon Orlando this spring I had a number of very active conversations with our partners and customers about the delivery mechanisms, services and bundling of SIP Trunking here in the US. It seem there are some patterns that I thought would be useful to share.
When is a New Product/Service Ready?
Posted by Sorell Slaymaker, Unified IT Systems | Apr 29, 2009
Every product, service, and/or technology has its place and time. While Gartner has its "Hypecycle" on technology maturity, here are a couple "rules of thumb" in helping to determine if something is ready for a business while the salesperson gives their pitch.
Reducing the Softphone Energy Bill
Posted by Gary Audin, Delphi, Inc. | Apr 29, 2009
From an electrical energy viewpoint, the softphone is the greatest consumer of energy in VoIP/IP Telephony networks, far greater than the hard phone and especially compared to the legacy phone. This was explained in a previous blog, "That Softphone is an Energy Hog."
Big Blue Back in Networking
Posted by Zeus Kerravala, The Yankee Group | Apr 28, 2009
Today, computing giant IBM announced that it would be entering an OEM agreement with network performance specialist Brocade. Under the terms of the agreement, IBM will sell network equipment from Foundry (which was acquired by Brocade) under IBM's own brand. This is more than just a simple reseller agreement that IBM has with many of the network vendors, as the products will actually bear the IBM logo, a significant move for IBM, who has maintained a neutral approach to networking since it got out of networking many years ago. This announcement includes metro, wiring closet and data center switches as well as Ethernet routers, instantly giving IBM an end to end portfolio of networking products to go to market with.
That Softphone is an Energy Hog
Posted by Gary Audin, Delphi, Inc. | Apr 27, 2009
If you are considering the elimination of the hard phone for the softphone, you may not be saving as much money as you thought. If you want the softphone to be always-on, as is true of hard phones, then your electrical energy bill will suffer. I have posted nojitter.com blogs on VoIP power issues in the past that cover associated considerations: "Saving 25% on Your VoIP Energy Bill," "Who Pays the Power Bill?"
Hosted Health Care Services: Redemption
Posted by Matt Brunk, Telecomworx | Apr 27, 2009
I want to follow up the original Hosted Health Care Services: Turning Over Stones with news from my adventures. I stated before that I was and am excited about hosted services because I do believe that leveraged the right way, hosted services can impact the business bottom line positively while improving processes along the way. It won't be plug-n-play and for those thinking this, get your checkbooks ready.
Green Is Good--Because It Saves Money
Posted by Melanie Turek, Frost & Sullivan | Apr 27, 2009
For most US companies, going green is a matter of public relations, not government regulation. Yeah, some CEOs might also really, truly want to clean up the environment...but most are more focused on the bottom line.
Check Out Pin Drop Soup
Posted by Eric Krapf, Editor | Apr 23, 2009
I added a new site to the Blogroll below, "Pin Drop Soup," which is written by Dave Michels. Dave's an analyst/consultant who's worked in enterprises and in the Mitel channel over the course of his career. I had the pleasure of meeting Dave in Orlando at VoiceCon, and I think if you check out his stuff you'll find he's one of the best voices out there on enterprise communications--super-savvy and knowledgeable. Funny, too, and a great name for the blog, which I know from experience ain't an easy thing to come up with.
ADTRAN Aligns IPT Forces
Posted by Matt Brunk, Telecomworx | Apr 23, 2009
ADTRAN announced the ADTRAN Alliance Program last week with best-in-breed technology and service providers that complement the NetVanta 7000 converged IP PBX Series. This will enable solutions providers to deliver fully interoperable enterprise-class IP communications solutions to meet the needs of small- and medium-sized businesses in a number of vertical markets.
SIP Trunking
Posted by Eric Krapf, Editor | Apr 22, 2009
The most-attended breakout session at VoiceCon was the one on SIP Trunking, which surprised the heck out of me. SIP Trunking has become one of the most popular topics at the show, but the biggest? I wouldn't have expected that.
Mitel Announces 'Legacy Rescue' for Phones
Posted by Eric Krapf, Editor | Apr 21, 2009
We talk a lot about the future of the phone, and at VoiceCon Orlando 2009, some vendors (notably Microsoft) and some end users (notably Wells Fargo) called that future into question, saying that enterprises will likely move a significant portion of their users off of desk phones. So when Mitel's Stephen Beamish told me that the vendor's latest announcement represents "legacy rescue" for phones, it's a significant assertion.
Global IP Solutions and HD Voice
Posted by Eric Krapf, Editor | Apr 17, 2009
The term "HD voice" popped up in a few conversations I had at VoiceCon Orlando, and one of the companies that's most associated with the effort to produce high-quality IP voice is Global IP Solutions. GIPS first gained attention as the maker of the codec that Skype used to deliver much better voice quality over the Internet than anyone had seen to that point.
Broken Links
Posted by Matt Brunk, Telecomworx | Apr 13, 2009
Installing and maintaining IP networks is challenging enough and with installation snafus and pre-existing conditions, getting the network right isn't always as complicated as is getting the right help. In telecom, color codes and sticking to them are important and when you don't follow them, expect trouble.
Saving Money Through Providers' Shortsightedness
Posted by Eric Krapf, Editor | Apr 13, 2009
John Bartlett's blog post below reminded me of an exchange that took place in one of our VoiceCon Orlando 2009 plenaries, about the relative costs of different WAN solutions for conferencing.
Verizon: Show Me the Money!
Posted by Matt Brunk, Telecomworx | Apr 7, 2009
Our IT contractor met me on a customer site to discuss a migration plan. After our meeting, I took my buddy around and gave him a tour of the facilities. Afterwards we went to lunch.
VoiceCon: Troubleshooting Converged Networks Session
Posted by Matt Brunk, Telecomworx | Apr 1, 2009
Again, VoiceCon had a Doctor in the house and this was Dr. Mike Hollier, CTO of Psytechnics along with John Dunne of Prognosis and Brian Gollaher of Empirix presenting the need for network management and monitoring for the forgotten about--VOICE.
ADTRAN's Road Show
Posted by Matt Brunk, Telecomworx | Mar 26, 2009
ADTRAN launched their road show across the U.S. early this year and held one in Baltimore that I attended. Here's a report.
Skype Expands into Business Market
Posted by Allan Sulkin, TEQConsult Group | Mar 25, 2009
Skype is now initiating plans to enter the commercial market for business customers. The VoIP service innovator announced the beta version of Skype For SIP for Business users. According to the Skype press release, the new service will allow SIP-based PBX station users to place calls to fixed desktop telephone instruments and mobile devices around the world, and to receive calls from Skype users directly into their PBX system. Calls will be received through their existing communications system at no cost to the customer. Customers can purchase online Skype numbers available in over 20 countries to receive calls from business contacts and customers who are using traditional fixed lines or mobile phones.
You Need More Than an RFP for IPT/UC
Posted by Gary Audin, Delphi, Inc. | Mar 25, 2009
Producing a good RFP is not enough for a successful IPT/UC implementation. Enterprises need to do their homework. There are 7 phases in the procurement cycle followed by 4 phases for implementation. Proceeding from requirements to implementation is an evolution not just a task.
Keeping TDM PBXs & Using SIP Trunks
Posted by Eric Krapf, Editor | Mar 24, 2009
Here's an interesting case study that I received from a reader and VoiceCon attendee, Todd Vinciguerra, telecommunications analyst at Florida-based Riverside Bank:
More Productive Meetings
Posted by Sorell Slaymaker, Unified IT Systems | Mar 24, 2009
Most one hour business meetings could be cut in half with the help of some constructive feedback.
Some VoiceCon Reminiscences
Posted by Allan Sulkin, TEQConsult Group | Mar 22, 2009
It's that time of year when thoughts of VoiceCon fill the heads of industry players and communications managers alike. Next week will be the 19th Spring edition of VoiceCon, an industry conference/exhibition that has changed significantly in size and scope from the first edition held in 1991 when it was originally called PBX in the 90s (a descriptive name with a knowingly limited useful life).
VoIP/IPT Financial Decisions
Posted by Gary Audin, Delphi, Inc. | Mar 20, 2009
IT technologies turn over, are refreshed about every 3 to 4 years. The same is happening to communications technologies. Is it worth buying or leasing the communications technologies?
Reducing Audio Conferencing Costs
Posted by Sorell Slaymaker, Unified IT Systems | Mar 17, 2009
By moving from an 800, toll free, to a standard long distance number, a business can reduce its audio conferencing costs by 25+%.
I Can See Clearly Now?
Posted by Matt Brunk, Telecomworx | Mar 15, 2009
Timing is everything, especially when it comes to rolling out products that companies will buy (especially buyers that are myopic or tend to be narrowly focused and not willing to spend money--yes, they are thrifty). Remember the promises of saving up to 80% on costs, and yet what about the sales of P2P solutions? Remember Avaya's One-X, Aastra's former Venture IP?
One Beer Too Many
Posted by Sorell Slaymaker, Unified IT Systems | Mar 9, 2009
One challenge to centralized IP Telephony system availability is recovering from network outages.
Avaya and Phones
Posted by Eric Krapf, Editor | Mar 6, 2009
I had a chance to follow up with Avaya on their recent announcements of some new phone models, which I'd written a newsletter/blog post on earlier in the week.
VoIP/SIP Trunking Architecture
Posted by Sorell Slaymaker, Unified IT Systems | Mar 3, 2009
Enterprises should consider centralizing all their voice trunks into their data centers as they move to VoIP/SIP.
Training Investments in Troubled Times
Posted by Eric Krapf, Editor | Feb 26, 2009
This item came to me from Zachary Cohen of Briarwood Associates. Zak is a longtime trainer from the BCR days, and is working with the Telecom+UC Training group. Here are some of his thoughts on challenges that IT departments face these days:
VoiceCon Tutorial: Terry's Troubleshooting
Posted by Eric Krapf, Editor | Feb 25, 2009
One of the things that dawned on me as I was reviewing the crush of presentations coming for VoiceCon is that we need to do a better job of making this great content part of the ongoing dialogue in the industry. Even if you attend the conference, you have to pick between four sessions.
Bargain VoIP/IPT Training
Posted by Gary Audin, Delphi, Inc. | Feb 24, 2009
Next month I will be delivering a seminar on IPT implementation and management. Two of the areas on which I will focus have to do with network assessment and management tools.
A la Carte Telecom Market Share
Posted by Matt Brunk, Telecomworx | Feb 17, 2009
The past and present methods for measuring market share may not leave statisticians mesmerized, but they certainly don't portray a clear picture. There will be winners and losers but it seems that some of the winners keep winning.
