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.That latest announcement is of an upgrade to Mitel's Communications Director software. The new release, dubbed Series X, is a software load embedded in Communications Director that can be used to deliver some IP telephony features--most notably mobility--to non-IP phones, saving the enterprise from making new investments in endpoints at a time when such endpoints still represent nearly half the cost of a new telephony system, yet the future of the endpoint is up in the air.
"We're saying to the customers, don't replace any phones," Stephen said.
Series X lets the system simultaneously ring up to eight numbers in a user's "personal ring group," treating each endpoint as an extension on the system.
Mobile extension features aren't particularly new capabilities for IP systems in general, but the Series X function goes beyond mobile extension, because it doesn't just forward calls coming into the PBX; it connects the user's device--whether a mobile phone, home phone, or any other device--directly into the PBX, so the remote user has inbound as well as outbound connectivity directly into the system. Furthermore, the Mobile Extension capability ran off a separate server, while the Series X functionality is embedded directly into the Communications Director software.
Series X is more practical than a basic call-forwarding function, says Stephen Beamish, not only because it provides on-net mobility, but it also effectively expands the functionality of devices such as cell phones. He noted that most cell phone services have very limited conferencing capabilities, but once a cell phone becomes part of the Series X system, it can signal directly into the IP-PBX to set up a multi-user conference, meaning that mobile users don't have to get others to set up such conferences for them when they're off site.
Similarly, using the IP-PBX to set up on-network calls to cell phones saves international roaming charges incurred when the user initiates the call out of his or her mobile device, Stephen pointed out.
Whether you need a "legacy rescue" strategy for your desktop endpoints may depend less on your migration strategy than on how long it ends up taking. We've seen that the migration to UC--and even to basic IP telephony--is taking longer than many people anticipated, because product lifecycles are long and investment dollars are short these days. Eventually those investment dollars will be freed up, but the question is, do you need an interim IP solution, or is your interim solution simply to sit tight?
