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" Applied Voice & Speech Technologies, Inc. (AVST) is a leading developer of communications solutions for businesses of all sizes. Through its world-class unified communications platform, CallXpress®, AVST offers the industry's most powerful suite of next generation communications solutions including call processing, voice messaging, unified messaging, fax, speech-enabled applications (including automated attendant and hands-free mobile worker access), and notification."
Source : AVST
Unified Communications Meets VoIP: A Marriage Made in Heaven
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is also known as :
Voice Communications ,
VoIP,
IP Telephony,
Internet Telephony,
Voice over Broadband (VoBB),
Broadband Telephony,
Broadband Phone,
IP Phone,
Integrated Services,
Voice VPN,
VoIP Recording,
Internet Telephony Solutions,
IP Telephony Solutions,
VoIP IP Telephony Systems ,
IP Telephony Resources,
By now we know that IP systems and networks are being implemented at record pace, as
enterprises of all sizes and in all types of industries recognize the value of IP. But contrary to
popular belief, the real value of IP and voice over IP (VoIP) is not in inexpensive transport,
cheap phone calls, and simpler management of a single network. Rather, the true value is in
the new applications IP enables.
Looking beyond network efficiency, VoIP enables a range of applications either not previously
available or requiring significant integration and customization, such as the multimedia contact
center, integrated Web and audio conferencing, and most notably, unified communications
(UC). Converged applications such as UC can take advantage of IP and enable companies to
not only increase revenues and decrease costs, but enhance productivity and improve
customer service.
But if you're not ready to take the plunge to IP technology, don't worry - you can implement a
UC system today on a legacy TDM system, benefit from the UC applications immediately, and
still reap the additional benefits when you migrate to an IP network. UC applications are
supported by both TDM and IP-based communications systems, and newer UC systems will
enable your organization to implement a UC system now, use it with your traditional phone
system, and then easily migrate to VoIP later, when you're ready.
UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS - BEYOND MESSAGING
You're probably asking yourself, isn't unified communications a fancy name for unified
messaging? Let's be clear - Unified Communications builds upon UM, but adds much, much
more.
Unified messaging delivers user access to voice, fax, and e-mail messages through a single
interface, typically via the telephone, desktop PC, or mobile device. Unified communications
adds real-time call control, collaboration, media handling, and further integration of voice and
data applications.
Additionally, UC systems provide real-time call control and call completion applications
including find-me/follow-me services, automated call return capabilities, missed call log with call
return capabilities, and outbound dialing from groupware contacts or personal address books.
With UC, users can access their groupware calendar to accept or reject meeting requests via a
speech interface over the telephone, set up new appointments or meetings, as well as check to
see what is on their schedule.
The latest generation of UC systems includes "personal assistants" with speech recognition
technology to help mobile employees manage their communication, including messaging, call
control, groupware, and other enterprise data.
The above UC applications are all available today for traditional circuit-switched PBX
environments, as well as for IP-PBX environments. However, additional capabilities will emerge
with the move to VoIP.
ADDING VOIP TO THE PICTURE
As enterprises implement IP voice and data networks, they are looking for applications that can
run on these converged networks, and UC is one of the key applications that can take
advantage of convergence.
When the voice server becomes a node on a network, there are more opportunities to integrate
voice communication and messaging with other network applications. VoIP and UC have a
natural synergy, and with the convergence of voice and data across one network, the barriers
to unifying the different communications are immediately lowered. By utilizing standards-based
UC and IP-based systems on a single voice and data network, there is little integration
required.
We can look at the benefits of uniting UC and IP in two different ways - in terms of the
features and functionality, and in terms of the system and network architecture.
The newest generation of IP-enabled UC systems provides opportunities to integrate instant
messaging (IM), presence awareness, features such as click-to-call, click-to-conference, Web
and voice conferencing, Web or multimedia chat, and document collaboration, all via a common
user interface. By integrating these various technologies, UC systems can do more intelligent
routing based on what's on the user's calendar, their presence status, and personal rules. UC
systems can send instant messages to users to notify them of received messages or other
communication events of interest.
When looking at the architectural benefits, IP-based UC systems are simpler to integrate,
easier to expand and scale, and less expensive to manage. As VoIP is very standards-driven,
the integration of converged applications such as UC is more straightforward and cost-effective
given the removal of proprietary interface software and hardware components. When
implementing new IP PBXs, it is relatively easy to add UC and it does not require some of the
integration efforts that were needed to integrate UC on TDM platforms. The time to deploy UC
solutions is greatly reduced in a standards-based, single-protocol environment.
SIP IS THE KEY
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) has emerged as the protocol of choice within the VoIP market,
especially within IP PBX solutions. Because SIP is a signaling protocol for Internet
conferencing, telephony, presence, events notification, and instant messaging, it is the ideal
protocol to be used by UC systems. Companies like Avaya, Nortel, Siemens, and even
Microsoft (with its Live Communication Server) are all embracing SIP as a standard of choice
for their VoIP solutions.
According to Blair Pleasant, President & Principal Analyst at COMMfusion, "UC is expected to
experience additional market adoption because of the addition of presence capabilities, made
possible in part by SIP. Presence will bring about a new set of applications that will further
enhance our ability to interact with one another."
When integrating UC and presence, UC systems can offer real-time, presence-based access to
people, calendars, and files. We will see "personal communication portals" that provide a
unified way to perform various communication tasks, such as handling voice calls, e-mails, and
instant messages, based on a personal rules engine. More advanced systems will allow the
presence engine to change a user's status based on their calendar (i.e., in a meeting, out of the
office, etc.). The UC system will be able to play the appropriate response to callers based on
the user's status. Expect to see presence-enabled UC become the real-time collaboration
component of enterprise application software.
A GRACEFUL MIGRATION
Migrating to an enterprise unified communications solution doesn't necessarily mean replacing
current phone systems or jumping headfirst into the world of IP telephony. Instead, an
enterprise can layer a UC solution across all existing office locations and phone switches -
both IP and legacy. This can reduce the management burden, provide all users with a
consistent set of productivity-enhancing services and present callers with a unified company
image while allowing the enterprise to transition its legacy telephony switching environment at
its own pace.
Even if customers aren't deploying IP-telephony today, they need to be asking questions about
compatibility, and be sure that their UC solutions can work with IP telephony for when they
eventually move to IP. In many cases, UC systems are the first step toward a company's
eventual migration to IP. Companies can start the migration process by implementing a UC
system on their TDM switches, and continue to use the same UC system with their new IPPBXs
when they're ready.
When deploying a UC solution, an enterprise should be able to upgrade its existing phone
switches, or migrate to IP telephony, with virtually no disruption to employees and the
organization, and no need for retraining. There should be no need to replace the UC solution
when a company changes its phone switch or migrates to an IP-based switching solution. The
UC solution should simply integrate with the new IP switch. This means that users don't have to
learn new interfaces and companies get to keep the same robust set of features and level of
reliability they have become accustomed to even as they move to an IP-based telephony
environment.
Unified communications systems provide a multitude of benefits to companies of all sizes and
across all industries by enhancing communications and productivity. For those companies that
are ready to dive into the world of VoIP, unified communications is the ideal convergence
application to get started with. For those companies that want to wait a little longer before
replacing their legacy PBXs, by upgrading from a legacy voice mail system to a UC system,
they can reap the benefits of this leading-edge enterprise communications technology while
gradually migrating to a full-blown converged network.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Applied Voice & Speech Technologies, Inc. ("AVST") is a leader in the unified communications
("UC") marketplace, uniquely combining the strengths of its world-class messaging platform,
CallXpress®, with its speech-enabled call management module, Seneca®, to create a powerful,
next-generation unified communications solution. The Company's products are designed to
scale and support organizations of all sizes. For more information please contact us at:
www.avstgroup.com or +1.949.699.2300.
© 2005 AVST. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in
any form by any means without the written permission of AVST. AVST products
CallXpress, XpressCare, SupportXpress and Seneca are trademarks of AVST. All
other company names, brand names, and product names are the property and/or
trademarks of their respective companies. September 2005.