11th Annual Well-Connected Awards: Digital Convergence

Categories

Digital Printer

Winner: Xerox WorkCentre Pro C2636 Advanced Color Multifunction System. Xerox Corp., (800) ASK-XEROX. www.xerox.com/officeYou'll never hear the phrase "I would prefer not to" from the Xerox WorkCentre Pro C2636. Unlike Herman Melville's Bartleby, this digital scrivener will do it all. It's a combination laser printer, digital scanner and fax machine, complete with an on-board computer and hard drive. More than an adapted printer or scanner, the WorkCentre Pro was designed from scratch as a multifunction printer. As a result, it has the best set of features, with printing, scanning and faxing all part of a holistic unit and better integration between the parts. The device also includes native authentication using Kerberos, NDS and SMB. (Read the original review)

Finalists:

• Canon Color ImageRunner C3220. Canon U.S.A., (800) OK-CANON, (516) 328-5000. www.usa.canon.com

• Sharp Digital Imager AR-BC320. Sharp Electronics, (800) BE-SHARP, (201) 529-8200. www.sharpusa.com

WebcasterWinner: PresenterPro Enterprise Edition. Accordent Technologies, (310) 374-7491. www.accordent.com

Accordent Technologies' PresenterPro Enterprise Edition makes customizing presentations and creating interactive content, such as surveys, for Webcasting easier than any package we tested this year. We would have appreciated the package's excellent post-production editing capabilities and fine access control at any cost, but PresenterPro gives users all those features for a very reasonable price. (Read the original review)

Finalists:
• Mediasite Live (now known as Mediasite ML--mobile version). Sonic Foundry, (877) 783-7987, (608) 443-1600. www.sonicfoundry.com

• Communicast 3.0 (now known as Vcall/Communicast 3.4). WILink, (800) 446-2071, (703) 435-8033. www.vcall.com

VoIP Package

Winner: HiPath 3000 4.0 Real-Time IP System. Siemens Communications, (800) 765-6123, (561) 923-5000. www.usa.siemens.com/communications

Siemens not only surpassed Avaya and Mitel to win Best SMB IP PBX, it went on to take Best Product in Digital Convergence. A full-featured PBX at a reasonable price, Siemens' HiPath conferencing system, coupled with OpenScape, an excellent SIP-based presence application, makes it easy to set up multimedia conferencing in a few mouse clicks. (Read the original review)

Finalists:
• Communication Manager. Avaya, (800) G0-AVAYA, (866) GO-AVAYA. www.avaya.com

• Mitel Integrated Communications Platform Release 4.1, Mitel Networks Corp., (800) 267-6244, (613) 592-2122. www.mitel.com

Affordable SIP Phone

Winner: Snom 200. snom technology, (972) 831-1600. www.snom.com

At just $199 wholesale, the Snom 200 SIP phone comes loaded with features, such as a two-line LCD display with five lighted, programmable function keys that make tracking the status of multiple lines a breeze. A convenient Web interface, different levels of access for users and administrators, and handy troubleshooting features ensure that the phone is as easy to manage as it is to use. The Snom 200 outperformed the competition on interoperability and voice-quality testing in our labs. (Read the original review)

Finalists:
• SipTone II Ethernet Phone. ipDialog, (408) 830-0800. www.ipdialog.com• ZIP 2 IP Telephone. Zultys Technologies, (408) 328-0450. www.zultys.com

SIP-Capable IP PBX

Winner: Avaya S8300 Media Server, Avaya G700 Media Gateway and the Avaya Converged Communications Server. Avaya, (800) G0-AVAYA, (866) GO-AVAYA. www.avaya.com

Avaya's SIP Telephony package includes the S8500 Converged Communication Server, S8300 Media Server and G700 Media Gateway. The G700 combines with the S8300 to support TDM and IP call processing; the S8500 extends call processing to SIP endpoints. As befits a standard-bearer, this solution has excellent interoperability with third-party SIP phones as well as the Xten X-PRO softphone. Besides the hardware, Avaya supplies a PBX with features similar to those of a TDM-based PBX and a top-shelf UM application with presence management. The setup's Communications Manager made it a snap for us to manage the system and administer users and devices. (Read the original review)Finalists:
• Enterprise Interaction Center (EIC) 2.3. Vonexus, (888) 817-5904. www.vonexus.com

• MX250 Enterprise Media Exchange. Zultys Technologies, (408) 328-0450. www.zultys.com

Sean Doherty is a senior technology editor and lawyer based at our Syracuse University Real-World Labs®. A former project manager and IT engineer at Syracuse University, he helped develop centrally supported applications and storage systems. Write to him at [email protected].

Michael J. DeMaria is a technology editor based at our Syracuse University Real-World Labs®. Write to him at [email protected].

HiPath 3000 4.0 Real-Time IP System, Siemens Communications, (800) 765-6123, (561) 923-5000, www.usa.siemens.com/communications We can't say enough about Siemens' HiPath 3000 Real-Time IP System for small and midsize businesses. This IP PBX has everything you'd expect in a large-enterprise deployment, including top-shelf VoIP with ACD (automatic call distribution), UM (unified messaging), presence management and a solution for telecommuters.

Frills include hoteling (logging in and out of IP phones and endpoints), automatic camp-on to connect when a phone becomes available, group paging, group-call pickup and class of service.

With Microsoft's Real-Time Communication Server, the HiPath 3000's SIP-based presence-management application, OpenScape, provides keystroke presence within the system and lets users define and display their on- and offline availability. Furthermore, OpenScape allows for integration with third-party IM (instant-messaging) products and groupware. With OpenScape, setting up multimedia conferencing sessions takes little more than a mouse click. The UM features make it easy to listen to, delete and forward messages through a telephone user interface. The system integrates well with Domino and Exchange systems. The only thing missing is an IVR (integrated voice response) for hands-free messaging.