VoIP Monitoring tools, a big part of convergence..

Robin Gareiss, via Network World, writes to explain about how VoIP monitoring tools are a key part in modern day convergence.
She goes on to say Of the dozen or so triggers that cause companies to implement VoIP, branch communications is high on the list. IT leaders recognize the number of remote workers and the number of branch locations continues to rise. And having dozens of un-interoperable PBXs at these sites doesn’t do anything to unite the company.

Recognizing this many IT decision-makers decide VoIP is the right way to streamline their communications among branch-office employees talking to one another or to those at headquarters.

But what they often overlook is how they plan to monitor and manage the communications capabilities at the branch. On average, only 18% of branch locations have IT personnel working there, leaving 82% of branch offices without on-site IT expertise.

Enter the monitoring and remote management...

Read the rest of the great article at Network World

Tags: VoIP, convergence, PBX, IPPBX

Convergence spending to reach 30B this year by SMB's

Although SMB's (Small and Medium Business) in USA have been slow in adopting unified communication, it looks like they are beginning to change, according to a market demand study by AMI-Partners. The industry analysts estimate the total SMB U.S. IP communications and managed services opportunity to be over $30 billion in 2007 and growing at a CAGR of 15.6 percent through 2010.

Some of the key findings from the report include:

IP Telephony

• US SMB IP-PBX shipments now exceed traditional TDM-PBX (including key systems) systems.
• IP-PBX penetration among US MBs rose from 20% in 2005 to 25% in 2006.
• Hosted VoIP penetration, currently under 5% of US SMBs, is now entering a high-growth phase that will drive SMB productivity well into the next decade.
• Collaborative communications such as webcasting, calendaring and scheduling are now being used by over 15% of US SMBs.
• Skype has become a convenient communication tool for quick long-distance chats and is being used by over 5% of US SMBs.

Managed Services

• With in-house IT staff busy addressing basic break-fix issues, both SBs and MBs are looking to outsource non-core IT services.
• Key functions outsourced to managed service providers are security, backup/business continuity, network management, e-mail services, web-hosting, applications and database hosting, and IT Infrastructure management.
• Over 10% of U.S. SMBs now use a managed firewall service and over 15% are using managed VPNs.
• The opportunity for online/off-site data storage and backup is also increasing, driven by business continuity and disaster recovery needs, and has risen to 11% among SBs and 15% among MBs.

You can read more and find out about the study at Tekrati.

Tags: convergence, IP Telephony, unified communication, TDM-PBX, IP-PBX, SMB

To converge or not to converge, with my VoIP?

VoIP IP Telephony @ http://snapvoip.blogspot.com
With VoIP ringing in almost every ear, (By the way today is ears day! June 6th, 6-6)!! Many business and their IT staff is presented with the questions of convergence.
Shall we run voice and data on the same network? or shall we not.
Shall we outsource the VoIP all together or shall we handle our own IPPBX, connected to our traditional PBX during the transition?
Well all those are valid thoughts and questions. But today I am going to lead you to an article that attempt to answer some of the questions. It was published by ZDNet UK. Here is the summery but follow the link for the complete article.

"To converge or not to converge — that is the question. But the answer isn't as clear-cut as we'd like. There are many advantages to convergence, and it appears to be the way of the future, especially in budget-conscious environments.

However, separating voice and data transmissions can provide better security for both. In addition, it may be a more cost-effective alternative — at least in the short run — if the existing network would require a complete redesign to support VoIP.

A single network can make management and troubleshooting easier if IT personnel have the proper training to deal with VoIP technology. But it also makes the network more complex, and there may be a learning curve before the company can realize the full benefits.

As with so many issues in IT, then, the answer to the question is: "It depends." It depends on the network infrastructure you're starting with, your security requirements, budgetary considerations, personnel considerations, and many other factors. It's essential to perform an assessment — not just of the network but of your company's particular needs in regard to both data and voice, and a projection of future needs — before you make the decision."

Tags: hosted VoIP, VoIP business, voip, convergence, pbx, ippbx