VoIP Version 2 Arrives
By Chuck Moozakis, InternetWeek
Apr 7, 2000 (6:37 AM)
URL: techweb.com
Second-generation voice over IP has arrived. Enterprises are moving beyond VoIP's heralded toll-callsavings and using the technology to reduce administrative and personnel costs, and to create strategic voice/data apps that make employees more productive.
Case in point: Software next week will disclose plans to install a VoIP network linking more than 60 offices and 2,500 employees worldwide. While toll bypass was a driving force behind Software's plans, the company also expects to streamline administration by unifying communications on a single network, said Software vice president Jerry Murphy, who is overseeing U.S. deployment of the network.
"We're ready to leap into VoIP," Murphy said. "This will provide us with unified, worldwide access to our phone system," he added, allowing Software workers to tap collaborative applications -- such as unified messaging and dial by name from PCs -- regardless of where they are located.
Similarly, Getronics, the international systems integrator that acquired Wang Global last year, has slashed operational costs by 30 percent in the six months since cutting over its Windows NT-based voice/data network, said John Williams, a vice president at Getronics.
"You no longer need two separate departments to oversee your data and voice traffic," he said. "Voice is now an NT technology, and we use an NT tech to administer both systems."
For Getronics, its current success is a stark contrast to earlier experiences in which the company found VoIP "left a lot to be desired," Williams said.
These companies are not alone in embracing the technology; VoIP product sales are skyrocketing. Revenue from VoIP gateway will grow, from $209 million in 1999 to $3.6 billion in 2006, according to Frost & Sullivan. The fact that VoIP installations are being driven by more than reduced long distance bills is no surprise to Frost & Sullivan analyst Pete Dailey, who said ease of administering a unified network and integrated voice-data apps have major appeal to large enterprises.
Enterprise adoption of VoIP "is not hype," Dailey said.
"We're seeing a lot of efficiencies being driven to the desktop -- something as simple as being able to fax from your desktop," he said. "Workers can use these systems to work from home or from the office and not lose functionality."
IT managers' increasing acceptance of VoIP is also being fueled by enhancements in the technology supporting voice-data convergence. The Alcatel OmniPCX 4400 communications system being deployed by Software, for example, supports up to 50,000 users and combines voice packetization and call processing within a single device. In the past, enterprises had to deploy separate devices for each function and products could only serve a few hundred users at a time. Cisco's Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data products being used by Getronics can support up to 100,000 users and offer tight integration with the Cisco routers and switches that are so prevalent in enterprise networks. |
