Inter@ctive WeekMarch 4, 1998
3Com Reveals Voice, Data Integration
Strategy
By Joe McGarvey
10:30 AM EST
Following the lead of chief rival Cisco Systems Inc.,
networking equipment maker 3Com Corp. this week
delivered its long-term strategy for melding the discrete
networks that carry voice, video and data traffic into a
solitary, multiservice network.
The three-phase strategy, which will be implemented
over the next few years, calls for 3Com to continue to
add intelligence and guaranteed delivery features to its
networking gear. The ultimate goal, said Chris Lamb,
director of business development for the enterprise
business at 3Com, is to enhance traditional data
networks to the point where they can take on the
additional tasks of delivering time-sensitive fax, voice
and video traffic.
"In the past, the traditional LAN [local area network]
business has worked by throwing bandwidth at the
problem," Lamb said. "That no longer works. You
need to start prioritizing real-time traffic over
nonreal-time traffic."
The three phases of 3Com's strategy are connectivity,
intelligence and integration.
The first phase, which 3Com has already initiated with
the addition of voice-over-Internet Protocol capabilities
to its Total Control remote access equipment and
similar upgrades to its SuperStack and AccessBuilder
families of enterprise routers and switches, involves
providing simple gateways between the voice and data
worlds, Lamb said.
Data-to-voice connectivity options let corporations
reduce toll charges for voice traffic and provide a
relatively risk-free environment that allows network
managers to experiment with adding telephony features
to packet-based networks, Lamb said. If corporations
experience problems or are uncomfortable with moving
voice services to data networks, they can fall back to
the public switched telephone network, Lamb added.
Phase two of 3Com's strategy involves adding
intelligence to the data network, enabling it to absorb
more sophisticated telephony functions, such as those
performed by a private branch exchange (PBX) device,
Lamb said.
The final phase, which 3Com will kick into gear
sometime next year, calls for complete integration of a
corporation's voice, video and data networking chores.
According to Lamb, the ultimate goal of 3Com's
strategy is to create a multiservice network in which the
functions of discrete boxes, such as PBXes, voice-mail
systems and interactive voice-response systems, would
be integrated into data networking equipment. |
