What Does IP Telephony Do For Businesses?

Recently I sat down with Wayne Andrews, leader of a new communication application developer called OnState Communications. You may remember him as the founder of network call-routing provider GeoTel, which was acquired by Cisco in 1999. As usual, I started with my key questions:

What do you see as the fundamental business communications benefit of IP telephony?

Enterprise TDM PBXs are basically "dumb switches" that only know the status of wired telephone devices, but nothing about the users owning the extensions. With standards-based IP telephony, SIP, and presence, coupled with networked application software architectures like Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB), all real-time communications are converging with automated business process applications to bring people more directly into the loop.

This brings the benefits of dynamic intelligence into all modalities of "dumb" communications in "Internet time", that is a place where we can use open, Internet-oriented, real-time tools like VoIP, SIP/SIMPLE, XML, Web Services (SOA), Instant Messaging, etc., in order to enable timely, flexible, and cost-effective contacts with the right people to resolve a variety of time-sensitive business problems.

Who benefits in the enterprise?It will include key decision-makers, "action" workers like field sales, field service, and subject matter "experts."

What's driving enterprise market interest in converged IP telecommunications?

The industry shift to VoIP, IP telephony, and perhaps most importantly wireless mobility is forcing the market to start planning their migration from legacy TDM telephony to converged, mobile, and multi-modal communications.

Most importantly, end-of-life cycles for TDM equipment will require replacement by "future-proof" IP-based application servers and, in many cases, with new IP communication end point devices. Finally, real-time text messaging, i.e., Instant Messaging, wireless email, SMS, etc., are becoming practical alternatives to voice calls for business users. However, specific business needs in vertical markets will require the capabilities of all forms of communication contacts to efficiently and flexibly exploit the role of people as part of any business process.

Enterprise business globalization based on the Internet and web sites is also a driver for "virtualizing" traditional business communications. Not only is this requiring 24x7 support, but also making individual within enterprise organizations part of "virtual" resource groups that cross both geographical and inter-company boundaries.What are the biggest barriers?

There are a number of obstacles facing the enterprise market. First and foremost is the evolutionary state of IP telephony and presence management technology. Open standards for interoperability across networks are still being developed, and product and service offerings for the enterprise are also works in progress. This, in turn, has resulted in making the enterprise market confused and uncertain about the future role of the desktop telephone, new communication technology capabilities, and their impact on the organization at all levels of the enterprise.

Most enterprise technology management staffs don't yet have the experience or skills to understand the changes that IP telecommunication convergence will bring, nor its impact on organizational requirements for new kinds of end user support. Coupled with the fact that legacy telephony systems are still very functional, the need for a strategic "graceful" migration becomes more critical.

We see the impact of a combination of IP multi-modal telecommunications and presence management being as "disruptive" as the 1968 Carterphone decision to the business communications industry.