The Next Big Step For UC In The Enterprise
Avaya, Motorola, and Proxim's Plan for Wi-Fi/Cellular Phones in 2003.
by Art Rosenberg, The Unified-View
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CommWeb.com
01/21/03, 4:06 p.m. ET
Unified communication is all about the evolutionary convergence of both media and modality at the user interface. Both communication media and modality have also exploited wired and wireless network connectivity, but as separate alternatives of personal contact access.
However, there has been a missing link between the cost efficiencies and security of wired/wireless enterprise LANs and the wide area accessibility of wireless carrier cellular services. A two-pronged approach would offer the best of both worlds to mobile users who are roaming wirelessly inside and outside of the enterprise.
There has been no capability to cost-effectively support seamless voice conversations while the user is moving between low-cost Wi-Fi networks and wireless carrier 2.5-3G networks.
Although person-to-person voice calls still represent the biggest driver for mobile communications, seamless wireless network switching would also support multi-modal UC across all forms of messaging and information delivery as well.
The Avaya-Motorola-Proxim Announcement
There have been various announcements about enterprise wireless communication in the last year or so from various technology providers, and some of them (Avaya, Cisco) were in connection with 802.11a for off-site control call management of office telephones.
Voice calls have always been able to be routed to cell-phones by enterprise PBXs, and, more recently, to exploit Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to make voice connections from voice-enabled PDAs, using Voice over IP protocol.
Last September, Siemens announced its HiPath "one-number" solution, CorporateConnect, which lets any or all personal contact phone numbers (office, residence, cell-phone), be used for a voice connection through the enterprise switch.
The remote or mobile user can exploit all the telephony functions provided by the enterprise PBX, including a common voice mailbox for caller messaging, and the user control interface can be either a visual GUI or DTMF. A Siemens customer in Europe has exploited this untethering of corporate users from wired desktops by providing their 2500 users only with cell phones.
Last December, Nortel Networks announced product offerings for wireless operators that would let them provide voice and data WLAN services to subscribers, using 3G technologies. They also talked about letting wireless operators offer Wi-Fi services, combined with 3G network services, to individual subscribers.
What is most exciting about these announcements is that all this industry movement is finally coming to a head. We're seeing a more practical and comprehensive approach for combined enterprise and carrier based convergence of user mobile communication at both the network and handheld device levels.
Supporting both standards-based Wi-Fi local access and multi-protocol cellular networks (CDMA, GSM, etc.), the Motorola "dual-mode" phone will offer users the ability to use the same device for voice (and data) across both types of networks. To switch the voice connection dynamically, via local Access Points and gateways, during the course of a real-time phone call (with no loss of quality) is a challenge that is being addressed by the technology being contributed by Proxim.
Avaya will support the enterprise through MultiVantage communications software that exploits SIP-based IP telephony and VoIP transport for its IP-enabled PBXs. While some of these technologies have been applied to wired phones at the desktop, personal handheld mobility is driving the need for flexible support from wireless carriers for both voice connections and data.
For more details on the announced capabilities and scheduled availabilities, go to the web sites of Avaya, Motorola, and Proxim.
Some Questions
The direction we see converged personal communications taking fits our vision and expectations for UC and multi-modal mobility. However, we still had some practical questions of how things will actually evolve, in particular, where the responsibilities will rest for supporting enterprise user needs.
I talked to Avaya Marketing VP, Jorge Blanco, for some of the answers. The starting point for the converged Wi-Fi and cellular capabilities will be within the enterprise. What this means is that Wi-Fi facilities within the enterprise premises, that can be more easily controlled, will be exploited first.
Call and message management for enterprise users will be controlled through enterprise communication servers. On the other hand, Blanco acknowledged that the multi-modal handheld devices would probably be supplied and supported primarily by the wireless carriers. This is especially appropriate when it is expected that similar capabilities will be eventually provided to consumers as well.
We should expect that this shared convergence will extend to include sharing the subscriber between the wireless carrier and the enterprise for separable service functions and billing.
The Payoffs
The interaction between Wi-Fi and cellular network technologies is expected to be a win-win-win benefit for individual users, the enterprise and the wireless carriers.
Users will have the benefit of manageable, multi-modal, "always-on" communication access at all times.
Enterprise organizations can migrate their PBXs to IP Telephony and VoIP to lower usage costs for their mobile employees, reduce responsibilities for supporting different handheld devices and provide more security and manageability for mobile and remote staff communications.
Wireless carriers will now be in a position to sell 3G access and other shared services to the enterprise markets on a demand basis.
The benefits to the enterprise will be realized through greater efficiencies and effectiveness in communications between people and applications.
Remaining Challenges
The announcement by Avaya, Motorola, and Proxim did not minimize the fact that there are many challenges that remain to be met and much to be learned from the real world of users during the initial trials later this year. These issues will include:
Consistent security management across networks
Bandwidth management for Wi-Fi Access Points
Power management for handheld devices
Simplifying user interfaces (using SALT and VXML) for multi-modal handheld devices
Privacy issues presence/location management
Convergence of wireless text messaging between SMS and IM
New business models for enterprise users and consumers and appropriate billing controls to separate personal from business usage from a single device.
Enabling configuration Wi-Fi compatibility for the user's device across public and in-house environments
Privacy concerns for user activity data
Role of wired desktop phones vs. handheld devices
Migrating the enterprise technology infrastructure to wireless communications management
Cost of services and multi-mode phones
Avaya and Motorola are leaders in the enterprise telecommunications and cellular industries respectively, with enough experience, resources, and commitment to make their objectives feasible and the challenges manageable. We will expect the rest of the telecommunication industry providers to announce similar plans, but they will all need time to do it right.
What do you think?
Do you think this next move by the industry is the key to future multi-modal mobility for personal communication? Will everyone in the enterprise use multi-mode wireless phones?
What impact will that ultimately have on wired office phones and existing enterprise telecommunications infrastructure? How will wireless text messaging evolve and converge between SMS and IM? How important do you think Wi-Fi will be for consumers and residences?
Give us your feedback by sending a message to comments@unified-view.com. |
