ENTERPRISE IP: Be Ready with a Roadmap

Enterprises today typically look at three communication links to the outside

world. These are: leased line voice traffic connections to all other branch

offices; voice gateway connecting the enterprise premises to the public network;

and leased-line for Internet access.

Technology Options

n IP-VPN: It

is an emulation of a private wide area network (WAN) facility using IP

facilities, including the public Internet or private IP backbone. IP VPN can be

either CPE-based or network-based. The primary advantage offered by IP VPN is

that it provides a connectionless service in contrast to the layer-2 ATM and

Frame Relay services and is a ubiquitous (any-to-any) service in contrast to

point-to-point inherent feature of the ATM/Frame Relay service.

IP over VPN is the cheapest solution for corporates who do not want committed

bandwidth. Service providers can commit only if the applications are mostly

off-line and not time sensitive. Also, the security requirements are not of the

highest order.

IP-VPN Services on Perception Scale
Advantages	Growth Drivers	Growth Inhibitors
Value-added services and applications	Total cost of ownership	Alternate services
Fully meshed topologies	Broadband access	Negative IP perceptions
Ease of adding/removing sites	Faster deployment	QoS and SLA concerns
Service Outsourcing	Expanding WAN market
Source: Frost & Sullivan

It also helps in effective utilization of bandwidth. One also has the

advantage of automatic routing if the network is down for a particular route,

which gives it an edge over other options. Since IP-VPN services can be

delivered via the public Internet, a carrier can easily connect to an enterprise

with its business partners anywhere across the globe.

n VoIP/Net

Telephony: With effect from April 2002, the government has allowed ISPs to

carry voice signals. The scope of the service includes PC-to-PC (within the

country as well as abroad), PC-to-Phones (PC in India and phone abroad, IP-based

H.323/SIP terminals in India to similar terminals both in India and abroad. Even

the corporates can avail of Net telephony service through PC, IP phone, and

analog phone, connected to an IP device. The cost of the IP device varies from

$30 to $2,000, depending on the number of phones the corporate plans to connect

to the IP device.

There are two ways in which one can deploy VoIP in enterprise. First, is to

deploy IP telephony gateways to existing PBXs, which enable them to interface

with IP phones and soft phones connected to local and remote LANs. This approach

helps enterprises to protect much of their investment in digital and analog

phones, and the corresponding line and trunk circuit cards. Second, is to deploy

pure IP products and solutions and throwing away all the existing products.

As far as voice and data networks for the contact centers are concerned, the

traditional circuit switch-based solutions are well proven in the market place

and provide robust features and quality voice. However, IP-based converged voice

and data platforms are better equipped to meet customer demands of consistency

across all communications channels as it can facilitate voice and data

interaction over a single network and a single platform. For instance, in a

traditional environment, while a multi-location contact center would need ACD at

every site, one ACD could suffice for all sites.

n IP-EPABX: IP-enabled

EPABX is basically a circuit switch with an IP interface, while a pure IP EPABX

is based on an IP platform. While both can enable VoIP, the former would permit

a limited number of communication channels over IP and would require an

intervening operator. Also, adding an IP line card into the EPABX shelf would

offer no real advantage since all the drawbacks of the existing TDM platform of

the EPABX, viz. limited scalability, high cost of integration and high

administration and management costs remain.

On the other hand, a pure IP-based platform would incorporate RAS

functionality and will allocate a unique IP address for each telephone, thereby

permitting free and transparent connectivity with the IP world, with the need

for an intervening operator. The key point here is that IP offers unlimited

functionality and applications that an enterprise would surely need for

achieving its business goals more efficiently and cost-effectively. For example,

an IP EPABX would allow companies to do such things as video-conferencing and

unified messaging from a single platform.

Buying Tips

n Get the

Right Integration Partner: Choosing integration partner for deploying an IP

network within an enterprise is not easy and one should be very careful while

looking for one. One should look at technical skills and the level of experience

the integrator possess in IP and any live case study which the company has

successfully implemented.

n Suite of

Services: While opting for IP, enterprise should look at the entire gamut of

offerings and the network should not be seen as just a voice solution.

VoIP and VPN Gain Acceptance
Technology	No of Corporates
VoIP	22
DSL	22
VPN	21
Gigabit Ethernet (1,000 Mbps)	14
Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps)	8
New technology adaptability among corporates is very good with 22 out of 58 companies going for VoIP and 21 opting for VPN.
Source: VOICE&DATA Networking Masters Survey 2002

n Service

Level Agreements: If one is deploying a high-end network, one should also

include in their respective SLAs. Some vendors offer graded services i.e.

different category of services. So ensure what suits you best.

n Existing

Infrastructure Support Solutions: Before you plan for an IP EPABX, make sure

that your existing infrastructure (like wiring) supports such a solution, and

also check out for interoperability of the new EPABX with the existing devices.

Also ensure that the IP-addressing system can handle the new voice over IP

application. Also remember that in India, voice and data integration over a

single network is still not allowed, so you would not be able to fully exploit

the benefits of IP.

n Technology

Roadmap: Enterprises should be aware about technology roadmap before opting

for a particular vendor. Most big vendors would give a definite roadmap for IP

enablement of their PBX by adding the gatekeeper, gateway functionalities and

some software upgrades. However, they do differ in the level of functionalities,

scalabilities and costs etc.

Also, few would have live sites demonstrating the same in India. Hence the

customer should ensure that the road map provided is scalable and without any

loss of feature functionalities and is not a fork lift upgrade to be cost

effective.

Market Information

Enterprises are still either in the wait-and-watch mode or have just not

given enough thought to IP. While regulations, prohibiting the use of integrated

voice and data network, have done their bit in holding enterprises from going

the IP way, the fact that businesses are content with circuit switches has an

equally important role to play.