[Editor's note: This is the second part of Allan Sulkin's article summarizing his findings from the VoiceCon Orlando 2008 mock RFP. Part 1 can be found here.]
NEC UNIFIED
NEC proposed its Univerge SV7000 system solution in response to the RFP requirements. Unlike the other redundant server system solutions, the SV7000 does not support geographically distributed call processing servers, so NEC proposed networked systems housed in each of the headquarters facility equipment rooms. Each common control complex included a telephony server (redundant in only one of the equipment rooms) and a signaling server. It should be noted that NEC plans to integrate the two functions into a single server to simplify the design.
The main equipment room also housed a Port Interface Rack (PIR) for analog port interface requirements and to support conferencing requirements, a media gateway for digital trunk requirements, and several application servers for messaging, contact center and unified communications. E911 services are embedded in the software generic and do not require a dedicated server. The secondary equipment room housed, in addition to the telephony and signaling servers, an MPS media gateway for analog port interface requirements and conferencing requirements, and a media gateway for digital trunk requirements.
The two equipment room systems housing the SV7000 systems are networked using NEC’s Fusion Call Control Signaling (FCCS) solution to support a very high level of feature/function transparency and also network failover resiliency in case the common control elements in the main equipment are no longer operational or accessible. It should be noted that gateway-connected calls are lost during the failover process. NEC’s solution is not the cleanest or simplest of those proposed, but it does satisfy the fundamental requirements for single system image as specified in the RFP.
For each of the two remote office communications requirements, NEC proposed its Survivable Remote Media Gateway Controller solution. Although the option supports full feature/function capabilities in survivable mode, all gateway-connected calls at the local site are terminated during the switchover process. This is an issue NEC needs to address for future RFP responses.
NEC proposed its recently-introduced line of DT700 IP telephone instruments in response to the RFP requirements. The proposed NEC models satisfied virtually all of the RFP requirements, with the exception of DESI-less programmable line/feature keys for the DT730 models as proposed . The entry-level DT710 six-line model was proposed for Economy model requirements. The DT730 24-line model was proposed for Administrative model requirements and the DT730 12-line model was proposed for Professional model requirements. Executive model requirements were satisfied by the high end DT750 color display screen model. Although the DT730 and DT750 can support the RFP requirements for Bluetooth and Gigabit Ethernet, the options were not included in the pricing proposal. NEC currently does not support a teleworker instrument with embedded VPN capabilities.
The DT700 models are highly modular in design. A side panel 8-line key extension module is available for DT730 station users with changing line/feature key requirements. DT730 station users also have the option of physically swapping out the existing line key faceplate section of their instrument, changing the 12-line to a 24-line section or the 24-line to a 32-line DESI-less option. Note that the latter option could have been proposed to fully satisfy all voice terminal RFP requirements. All three DT700 models can also support one of three available dial pad/fixed key button layouts: Business (standard), ACD, or Retro.
NEC’s proposed generic software features satisfied virtually all RFP requirements, although the Call Conferencing and Paging station features require peripheral equipment, and Attendant features require the NEC OpenWorx solution. Systems management and security features were fully satisfied by the proposed solution. A unique security feature of the system is a security key integrated into each of the telephone models to protect sensitive information (personal or corporate data) or unauthorized use. Security levels are defined by the terminal configuration and controlled by password input. An embedded LED indicates when security mode is active. Although the SV7000 supports SIP telephone station equipment, the current release does not support SIP trunk services; NEC was the only vendor that failed to satisfy this RFP requirement.
The proposed SV7000 solution can support basic cellular extension capabilities using a peripheral cellular gateway server. Each server is limited, though, to only 12 lines. It connects to the system PIR digital port cards and uses 2-ports per cellular telephone. NEC does not currently have a software client to support advanced cellular extension requirements. The NEC Mobile Client option is currently limited to dual mode Windows Mobile 5.0 Pocket PC devices
operating in WiFi mode only.
NEC proposed its Unified UCB product suite in response to the RFP unified communications requirements. Unified UCB is a totally unified application suite that includes desktop telephony, advanced presence management, advanced presence awareness, mobility and unified messaging. One of the RFP requirements, voice portal speech capabilities, is still in development and not currently supported. Both Microsoft and IBM integration are supported by the NEC solution.
