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The transition to all-IP networks is a foregone conclusion, and a
technological certainty. Less certain, however, is how service
providers
will make their profits in the all-IP universe, and avoid being
relegated to the packet pipe. At NXTcomm08 (June 15-19), exhibitors
will
be very much focused on answering this all-important question by
showing
how to deliver profitable IP-based services to both the business and
consumer markets.
“The biggest thing we have seen as a change, is that service
providers
are seeing their ARPU [average revenue per user] is dropping,” said
Michael Rothschild, solutions manager in managed services for Juniper
Networks. “The value proposition and the way customers have moved is
based on price. They are price shopping. The services are
undifferentiated.”
On the business side, the biggest push to combat that falling ARPU is
in
developing more network-based, managed services that combine
communications with IT – information technology – to aid enterprise
customers looking to outsource network complexity.
Business customers are asking their network service providers to
deliver
IT functionality as a service, said Al Safarikas, Cisco Systems’
senior director of managed services marketing.
That’s why companies such as Juniper, Cisco and Microsoft are
focusing
segments of their NXTcomm exhibits on showing how service providers can
meet that demand.
“We can connect all those dots,” said Alex Danyluk, industry
director, global telecom business, of Microsoft’s Communications
Sector. “Our software, which can be distributed through service
providers, including Microsoft Office and new applications like
Communicator, can help deliver communications services like hosted
email, hosted unified communications that work with applications
services like customer relationship management, like SharePoint for
documents management and really help service providers create an
end-to-end solution from software through communications
services.”
Delivering the applications or managed services on top of
communications
services can not only drive revenue but also improve retention, Danyluk
said. Microsoft will be showing how service providers “can start with
what is just plain old email and evolve it to a broad set of
communications services and we will show how that plugs into
applications,” he said.
Juniper is using NXTcomm to demonstrate how it provides the technology
that enables service providers to deliver managed services, Rothschild
said. “It’s more than commoditized service, and more than point
solutions,” he said. “Service providers need to start looking at a
solutions-based focus. If you start selling solutions, you have that
stickier customer, you are able to now influence not only the IT line
of
business but line items on the business side challenges that you can
hit. So what we are showing at NXTcomm, through a bunch of different
demos, is how different pieces of a solution come together,”
Rothschild said. “We will be showing also what we mean by a security
solution – versus a lot of separate security services – and also
branch optimization.”
Two new NXTcomm exhibitors are also exhibiting technology that is aimed
at helping service providers move up the value chain.
Phybridge will be showing its UnPhyer, a gateway that connects an IP
network to legacy telephone cabling. “This is an all-IP solution that
runs Ethernet and power over Ethernet over the existing telephone
cabling,” said Will Harris, vice president of sales. “When the
customer wants to go to IP telephony and Unified communications
solution, this represents a very easy way for the mid market to get
benefits of IP Telephony.”
Since launching the product in March, Phybridge has been getting strong
industry response. The company plans to sell through partners,
especially service providers, Harris said, as they seek to aid business
customers move to all IP in a way that is cost-effective.
McObject, an embedded database vendor, also is coming to NXTcomm for
the
first time, exhibiting technology that is enabling new IP services.
“Everybody knows about Oracle -- we provide the same sort of data
management services that Oracle does but at the other end of computing
spectrum,” said Steve Graves, CEO. “What we generally call embedded
database systems are databases that mostly runs in memory, and don’t
have to reside on a hard disk. Instead of being part of a client-server
architecture, this is a library that gets linked into the application
and is accessed by the applications, which can give it blazingly fast
speed. Also it can run in routers that don’t have any hard
disks.”
McObject technology facilitates IP services such as VoIP and WiMAX, and
is also the database inside F5 Networks, which specializes in
application delivery networking.
“Our customers all have a lot of data they need to manage and need to
manage it very quickly,” Graves said. “They all provide different
types of IP services.”
NXTcomm veteran Metaswitch, maker of softswitch and
applications/services platforms, will use NXTcomm to show off the
MetaSphere CommAssistant toolbar it launched earlier this year, said
Martin Taylor, vice president, Product Management and Technology
Strategy. The new toolbar is one of several ways in which MetaSwitch is
extending the usefulness of business VoIP and making it easier to use.
“It installs on a PC, sits on the Windows taskbar, and it has a
search
box that will search for contacts, so all you have to do is click on a
match and you get the option to dial that person’s number,” Taylor
said. “Users can get shortcut access to setting on the phone like
forwarding and do not disturb, that they can change as they need to.
And
there is a popup that alerts you when someone leaves you a new voice
message. The user can see who it is and click and go to message
playback
on the PC. This gives you a way of screening calls, and is quite an
appealing feature.”
Businesses want to use the functionality of VoIP to improve
productivity, but need to have quick and easy ways to access the new
functions, Taylor added, particularly small businesses that don’t
have
in-house technical know-how.
Redback Networks, now part of Ericsson, is exhibiting its SmartEdge
Multi-Service Edge Router at NXTcomm, showing how it can manage VoIP
streams and provide a higher level of service, said Doug Wills,
director
of marketing.
“On the business side, there is traditional voice, voice with data
and
voice with video – all these types of upgrades on business side that
are carrier managed are starting to evolve rapidly,” Wills said.
“Industry consolidation is driving network consolidation, and
carriers
are looking to take the cost out of networks using IP infrastructures
and to take the cost out of the delivery of certain applications like
voice. The challenge going forward is bundling voice in a way that
makes
sense for enterprises, and lets service providers move into higher
value
services, like video conferencing and telepresence.”
The SmartEdge is enabling that transition by allow service providers to
priorities IP flows at the edge of the network, Wills said.
AcuLab also is demonstrating enabling technology at NXTcomm, announcing
new technology to adapt SS7 signaling to run over an IP network to
enable IP Centrex technology, call centers, mass calling technology and
more, said Simon Millard, vice president of sales for Europe the Middle
East and Asia. “We are seeing the technology going into larger scale,
hosted applications which are deployed remotely, but managed
centrally,” he said.
E-mail me at cwilson3@telephonyonline.com.
Have you registered for NXTcomm08
yet?
|
The latest results from a multi-year Ovum study, commissioned by
Cisco Systems, confirm the telecom market’s move to managed services,
a strategy that Cisco has embraced for its service provider customers.
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Microsoft this week released a beta version of its Microsoft
Mediaroom Presentation Framework to the 150 software developers that
are
part of the Microsoft program, allowing them to now directly import Web
Services content into IPTV applications.
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Verizon Business announced a major new push into professional
services, making products out of things the telecom giant is already
doing for many of its enterprise customers.
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With energy prices on the rise and global warming accelerating at
an
alarming rate, “going green” is no longer a fad. The telecom
industry is serious about making changes, which is why conference
producer iHollywood Forum opted to host the first-ever Communications
Goes Green forum in conjunction with NXTcomm08.
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MagicJack founder, and inventor of its technology, Dan Borislow,
doesn’t like the term voice-over IP (VoIP). He thinks it has a
negative connotation in an industry prone to struggles. Why not call it
what it is – really, really cheap phone service?
Read more of this story
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Have you registered for NXTcomm08
yet?
When NXTcomm opens in Las Vegas on June 16, the desert sun won't be
the only thing that's hot. In its second year, NXTcomm has assembled a
selection of keynote speakers that lives up to the show's ambition of
being more than just a telecom industry event. Based on Telephony staff
reports, here's a look at the best of what attendees can expect to see.
Read more of this story
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The telecom industry has gone through a period of incredible
innovation in the last 10 years, resulting in mass proliferation of
wireless, broadband and the rise of the Internet. Will that innovation
continue? And will the next 10 years be productive as the last? Bell
Labs vice president and head of research Gee Rittenhouse discusses the
telecom network of 2018 with Telephony senior editor Kevin
Fitchard.
Read more of this story
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June 16 at NXTcomm
At this one-day educational conference at NXTcomm in Las Vegas, Tier 2, Tier 3
and rural service providers will get the insights and perspective they
need to keep their business thriving! Every attendee attendee will get
complimentary comprehensive research on the independent market, free
entry to NXTcomm08 keynotes and exhibits, plus ample networking
opportunities with your peers. It's the only event of its kind! View
the
speaker
list, the full
agenda or REGISTER
NOW!
Read more of this story
|
This paper looks at the challenges faced by network-based operators
in today's rapidly evolving communication market place. It outlines the
key considerations for operators to effectively compete in this market,
and it introduces the Alcatel-Lucent Transformation Advantage Framework
for business, services and network transformation to guide operators
through vital, large-scale changes. Sponsored by Alcatel-Lucent. Find out
more.
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In a VoIP environment, voice quality is still a paramount concern.
New technologies make management of it even simpler for service
providers. This paper reviews some of the issues that impact voice
quality in packet-based carrier networks, and considers potential
solutions. Find
out
more.
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As the world moves to IP, more and more service providers are
moving
from their legacy ATM DSLAMs to new IP/Ethernet DSLAMs. At the same
time, the Internet explosion and new bandwidth intensive applications
are driving higher consumer bandwidth requirements. Find
out more.
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As telecom service providers enter the infotainment world, they
need
to adapt their business model and transform their networks to stay
competitive. The combination of IPTV and Internet video creates a
powerful mix with complementary value that generates customer loyalty.
Find
out more.
Read more of this story
|
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yet?
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