Convergence One of the greatest advantages of the New World IP telephony system is the ease of intelligent integration with existing applications. In the New World, IP PBX voice mail and e-mail are all part of the same application running in a distributed fashion across the entire corporate network. A single mailbox can now hold a user's voice messages, e-mail, fax, and video clips.

Convergence is being driven by cost and by applications that demand voice/data integration, such as real-time distance learning, videoconferencing, integrated voice mail and e-mail messaging, and voice-enabled desktop applications.

Here is a list of some data/voice/video applications:

• Personal telephony services
• Unified messaging
• Collaborative data sharing
• Video streaming and conferencing
• Virtual call contact centers

Sample solutions

For an example system, we have a diagram showing a Scaleable system for 2 to 50 users. We provide the basic infrastructure equipment to your location. All services are maintained at optimal performance at our location.

How is Data/Voice/Video Integration Cost Effective? If you look at the overall bandwidth requirements of voice compared to the rest of the data network, then it is miniscule. On a per-packet or per-kilobit charge, voice is basically free. Therefore, adding voice to a data network is very cost effective.

How are Operations Simplified? One of the greatest advantages of the integrated voice and data system is the ease of intelligent integration with existing applications.

End users can use their Web browsers to define graphically a personal rules engine that can filter incoming calls, scan and organize voice mail, create personal phone configurations such as speed dial, and build a valet service that scans a personal calendar to intelligently route calls. A single mailbox can now hold voice messages, e-mail, fax, and video clips.

Another benefit is that expensive PBX equipment can be eliminated. Traditional PBX call routing and embedded features are based on proprietary applications that are specific to that particular system. Traditional PBXs are like an island, independent of all the other applications running on the corporate network. In the new system, IP PBX, voice mail, and e-mail are all part of the same application that runs in a distributed fashion across the entire corporate network.

How Does Integration Create Budget Leverage? People tell us, "We have to leverage our budget to converge data, voice, and video. We have exponential applications that demand growth and we don't know how to finance that."

We advise customers to look at their established budgets and see if there is any way to squeeze money out by putting in a more efficient infrastructure. The infrastructure should provide features such as compression and movement of all traffic over a single transport mechanism. On average, users can expect a 30 to 50% reduction in their IT budgets with convergence.

What is the Competitive Advantage? The Internet has created the capability for almost any computer system to communicate with any other. With Internet business solutions, companies can redefine how they share relevant information with the key constituents in their business, not just their internal functional groups, but also customers, partners, and suppliers.

This ubiquitous connectivity created by Internet business solutions creates tighter relationships across the company's extended enterprise, and can be as much of a competitive advantage for the company as its core products and services.

Summary

You'll find on our web site a variety of products and services fitting into this New World of convergence:

• Asterisk & Cisco: Unified Messaging, Virtual Call Centres
• Aironet: Wireless access points for data and phones
• Quicknet: Voice over IP Cards for the home and office
• NetVision: Wireless IP Telephony telephones and data terminals

Some portions of this page extracted from Cisco convergence materials