Logo Banner

More Details

Converged Nets
Hacked in 4 mins
Security Advice

Partners

Cisco Partner

Memberships

ACS (Comp Society)

Converged or Unified IP Networks

User acceptance of converged or unified IP networks based upon the IP (the Internet Protocol) network standard is growing. Migration is under way in enterprise, service provider and telecommunications carrier networks.

Australian Telco RevenuesAustralian telecommunications carriers already carry and earn more from data than voice. This is shown by the diagram on the right from Ovum which illustrates the trend towards IP data.

What is driving it?

Cost reduction in new technology as old technology has depreciated in value, making room for new network equipment in enterprise and service provider networks.The demand for access to information anywhere and at anytime is fuelling demand. Enabling technologies like Voice-over-IP (VoIP) and protocols like DiffServ and MPLS which support quality-of-service (QoS) have matured. The deregulation of the world's telephony markets has forced service providers to increase access through more points of presence and to offer managed network services.

Market Estimates

The Insight Research Corporation in the USA, estimates that voice-over-packet revenue in North America in 2001 was US$2.8 billion, or about 2 percent of total North American carrier revenue. Insight predicts that worldwide packet telephony will grow to about US$98 billion by 2004. Though this number is huge, it represents a relatively small portion of the total voice revenue in the public switched telephone networks (PSTN).

Applications are Driving Acceptance

While bypassing PSTN charges remains the initial attraction of VoIP services, it is innovation in converged data, voice, and video applications that is giving converged or unified networks their momentum.
Converged applications have been, at best, difficult and expensive to deploy in an environment in which packet data and circuit-switched voice run across separate networks and in incompatible formats. But with the multimedia-capable World Wide Web now playing an integral role in companies' core business and commerce strategies, enterprises are realizing that not running integrated communications is a competitive liability.

For these and other reasons, the initial applications driving VoIP acceptance include unified messaging, IP call or "contact" centres and content delivery networks.

Unified messaging

Studies by researchers such as the Radicati Group, Inc. and InfoTech Consulting indicate that the ability of users to access all forms of messages -- voice mail, e-mail, fax, and video mail (as it becomes more widely deployed) -- from a common mailbox delivers about a 25-minute per-day increase in productivity per employee.

IP call or "contact" centres

This application is particularly useful to organisations that are counting on flexible and rich customer service for competitive advantage. IP-based call centres allow users and customer service representatives to collaborate using live, integrated Web-based voice, video, and data "conversations." Call centre agents can push pertinent information and graphics to the user across the Web during the discussion. This application is likely to pick up even more impetus as VoIP over DSL, cable, and other broadband access services become available, because users will not require a separate PSTN line to talk to a call agent.
In addition, an enterprise's ability to retain call centre personnel is enhanced using IP-based equipment, which allows the agent to work at a different physical location from the call centre. IP-based automated call distributors can forward incoming user communication anywhere across a LAN or WAN, so agents no longer have to be situated in a centralized location.

Content Delivery Networks

Content delivery networks (CDNs) are experiencing a boom as enterprises conduct training and communication Webcasts over their intranets, and content providers deliver streaming-media events over the Internet.
 
A 2001 study by The HTRC Group LLC of 232 enterprise companies found that 54 percent planned to deploy content networks in 2002, primarily for streaming-media applications. The proliferation of CDNs is acquainting users with packet voice delivery and is validating the use of QoS technologies that have been designed to ensure that IP networks deliver high-quality audio and video services.

The Growth of IP Virtual Private Networks

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a network that is constructed by using public infrastructure to connect private nodes. There are a number of means by which you can create networks using the Internet as the medium for accessing data. These systems use encryption and other security mechanisms to ensure that only authorized users can access the network and that the data cannot be intercepted.

Although a VPN is not an application but rather a means of accessing information, VPNs are driving the demand for the converged IP network. This is because IP VPNs are growing exponentially. VPNs work most efficiently when they use the IP protocol to access information. Users typically access multimedia information and this in turn drives the QoS characteristics that are also needed for the converged IP network.

The Business Case for Network Integration

The growing business case for network integration is leading more organisations to combine their data, voice, and, increasingly, video traffic onto a common IP network.
The driving forces are: Obviously, it takes time for enterprises and service providers to migrate from the equipment and support systems in which they have heavily invested. But PSTN-based technologies will ultimately limit their future competitiveness. In the meantime, products and technologies that allow users and service providers to migrate in a flexible manner that protects existing technology investments will go a long way to spur growth in the Converged or Unified IP Network arena.

Where to Next?

WebNet Consultancy can advise you on industry best practice. Our network capabilities include: