Avaya targets IP at SMBs; Nortel unveils hosted IP telephony services

Convergence & VoIP This newsletter is sponsored by ShoreTel eBook: IP Telephony from A to Z Get the book on VoIP, from vendor evaluation and selection to ensuring reliability and security. Whether you're considering a rollout or you've already deployed, you'll quickly get up to speed on the most important IP telephony issues and factors. Network World's Convergence & VoIP Newsletter, 05/28/07 Avaya targets IP at SMBs; Nortel unveils hosted IP telephony services By Steve Taylor and Larry Hettick Enterprise infrastructure suppliers timed several announcements last week to coincide with Interop 2007 held in Las Vegas. Today, we’d like to highlight news from Avaya and Nortel. Avaya announced a new IP telephony system called Avaya Distributed Office, extending its portfolio to serve small and midsize businesses that must meet the challenges of multiple locations. The SIP-based system can come preconfigured from the factory to make branch locations easier to provision, be centrally managed, and support flexible media and trunking architectures. Avaya is offering two alternative hardware and software packages to support the 40-person office with the Avaya Distributed Office i40, and 120 users with the Avaya Distributed Office i120. The system comes with built-in voicemail, automated attendant, wireless support and it can support IP, digital, wireless, and soft phones. It will be generally available from Avaya sales channels on May 29. Executive Guide - VoIP: No Turning Back Discover how real-work enterprises are deploying VoIP via several case studies Click here for more information. Nortel announced a portfolio of hosted communication products called Nortel Hosted Solutions, which include IP telephony, unified communications, automatic call distribution (ACD), contact centers and other network application services. Specifically, the packaged applications are based on Nortel’s Communication Server 2000, Unified Messaging 2000, and Multimedia Communication Server 5200. Nortel, which has a solid track record of remotely managing networks and network equipment, will host and manage these applications from centers in Research Triangle Park, N.C., and Istanbul, Turkey; another center is scheduled to open later this year in Frankfurt, Germany. The centers support both enterprise customers directly and supplement network operations centers in support of Tier 1 service providers. Next time: More news from Interop 2007.   What do you think? Post a comment on this newsletter

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Contact the author: Steve Taylor is president of Distributed Networking Associates and publisher/editor-in-chief of Webtorials. For more detailed information on most of the topics discussed in this newsletter, connect to Webtorials, the premier site for Web-based educational presentations, white papers, and market research. Taylor can be reached at taylor@webtorials.com Larry Hettick is an industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience in voice and data. He is Vice President for Telecom Services and Infrastructure at Current Analysis, the leading competitive response solutions company. He can be reached at lhettick@currentanalysis.com This newsletter is sponsored by ShoreTel eBook: IP Telephony from A to Z Get the book on VoIP, from vendor evaluation and selection to ensuring reliability and security. Whether you're considering a rollout or you've already deployed, you'll quickly get up to speed on the most important IP telephony issues and factors. ARCHIVE Archive of the Convergence & VoIP Newsletter. BONUS FEATURE IT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details. PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered to your inbox each day. Extend your knowledge with a print subscription to the Network World newsweekly, Apply here today. International subscribers, click here. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here. This message was sent to: networking.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription. Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007