Data Center Trends: VoIP & Telephony

VoIP Has Rolled Out At Many SMEs, But The Technology Is Still Maturing As a strategy and technology, VoIP has gained a great deal of maturity in the past five years, going from a buzz-laden tech on the horizon to a concrete reality at enterprises, government offices, and universities. But it still has a way to go before every enterprise is fully VoIP-enabled, some experts have noted. Advancements in voice quality and reliability have allowed enterprises to adopt the technology without many of the early worries that cropped up, but in the next few years, look for VoIP to mature even further and overcome additional hurdles that still hinder certain types of adoption. Here are some trends worth watching. Immaturity In Managed Services & Advanced Features Not all facilities-based telecom service providers support the same IP PBX manufacturers, so choice is still limited for managed service providers, notes Forrester Research analyst Lisa Pierce. VoIP providers don’t have support or interoperability for the features seen in another VoIP system, making it difficult to bring a few systems together, she says. “When compared with any other type of voice system, the current capabilities of hosted VoIP are quite limited.” She adds that providers have also been slow to deploy new hosted VoIP features, such as cellular extensions. In the future, enterprises should be on the lookout for service-level agreements that aren’t as limited if outsourced desktop functionality is in a company’s long-term plans. Another area that needs to mature is WAN VoIP, says Pierce. SIP trunking services are very new, and many providers have yet to deploy standard backup and overflow capabilities. IP toll-free services are also a fresh concept, and although providers are looking into introducing capabilities such as IP automatic call distributors or IP interactive voice responses (also known as IVRs), advances are not quite ready for the market yet. Mobile VoIP In The Consumer Realm Although WAN VoIP has yet to reach full maturity in the enterprise market, there’s been a clear move in the consumer market for VoIP to move off of PCs and toward mobile devices, notes John Gordon, systems architect at Devicescape (www.devicescape.com). “Increasingly, consumers are going to want to use these features outside the home, taking advantage of muni networks and commercial hotspots to make cheap, or even free, phone calls,” he says. And, as has been seen in other types of technology, consumer demand often has an impact on enterprise implementations. In terms of products that are leading the way for this trend, Gordon points to dedicated VoWLAN handsets from companies such as Linksys (www.linksys.com), Belkin (www.belkin.com), and Skype (www.skype.com), as well as mobile Internet devices such as Nokia’s N800 (www.nokia.com) or Sony’s mylo (www.sony.com). One aim of Devicescape is to extend use of these devices beyond the home, so new generations of mobile VoIP devices can connect automatically to public hotspots. This could be good news for telecommuters and frequent business travelers because it would tap into the cost benefits of VoIP and sync up with company efforts. Long Migration Times As many SMEs have discovered, it isn’t a snap to migrate into VoIP, Pierce notes, and this trend is likely to continue. “It all starts with legacy products, services, and infrastructure already in place,” she says. “Each migration plan uses this as its foundation.” Many data center managers prefer incremental change, though, because it allows more time for upgrading products, services, and legacy infrastructure. But it’s possible that vendors offering a quick overhaul will prove to be more attractive as the time lags on during migration efforts. “These are such great challenges that those customers who are evaluating VoIP might be persuaded to undergo an affordable rip-and-replace approach that is brought up alongside their current network,” she says. “Compared with what companies often endure today, the pain won’t last as long.” Rise Of Converged Organizations Converged networks necessitate more changes than just a switch in policies and some user training. Increasingly, they demand transitions within an organization itself in subtle and sometimes profound ways. This trend toward creating converged organizations will continue to gather speed, Pierce believes. “VoIP suppliers aren’t the only inhibitors to adoption,” she says. “Companies also frequently stand in their own way.” Inside many enterprises, employees who have different types of network expertise, such as voice vs. data or LAN vs. WAN, often reside in different organizations. But the nature of VoIP deployments and convergence requires all these groups to work seamlessly together, not just for migration, but from implementation onward. “Often, companies find that the optimal way to accomplish this is to reorganize,” she says. “Given such significant change, it takes time to identify, appreciate, accomplish, and move forward with key VoIP and other convergence initiatives.” Increased Competition One trend that’s always a benefit to SMEs is competition among vendors, which tends to drive costs down and increase services. This quest for SME attention will continue, notes Yankee Group analyst Steve Hilton, who believes that vendors such as Cisco (www.cisco.com), Avaya (www.avaya.com), Nortel (www.nortel.com), and others will roll out even more offers to SMEs in particular in the near future. “From these vendors, the focus should be on integrating the SME’s application, infrastructure, and communications environments,” he says. “As such, the vendors must have integration and easy-to-use user interfaces in mind as they continue to develop solutions.” The competition should increase as SMEs also leave the brand-name vendor work and move to open-source products, he adds