Unified communications the talk of VoiceCon Fall

Convergence & VoIP This newsletter is sponsored by PlateSpin Where To Find Affordable Disaster Recovery Virtualization is expanding across the enterprise, allowing companies to get more out of their networks without busting their budget. Now you can leverage virtualization to provide affordable disaster recovery and safeguard the under-protected servers in your network. Click here to download and learn how. Network World's Convergence & VoIP Newsletter, 08/27/07 Unified communications the talk of VoiceCon Fall By Steve Taylor and Larry Hettick With so many announcements coming out last week from VoiceCon Fall 2007 in San Francisco, today we’ll share just some of the highlights, but we’ll pick up on more details over the next three newsletter editions. Re-capping the news: * ShoreTel and Black Box announced a strategic alliance in which Black Box will deliver ShoreTel's IP telephony systems. Under the terms of the agreement, Black Box will sell, install and provide support to large enterprise customers. ShoreTel also demonstrated its latest upgrade with the ShoreTel E911 Notification Application that goes beyond standard 911 compliance to provide increased control. * IBM launched the next phase of its unified communication and collaboration (UC2) strategy by expanding IBM Lotus Sametime software into a product family that will include new telephony integration software. In a related announcement, Siemens said that it had struck a deal with IBM to license elements of Siemens’ OpenScape Technology to IBM, “to enhance the IBM Lotus ‘Unified Telephony’ offering currently planned by IBM as part of the expanded Lotus Sametime product family.” In a separate announcement, IBM said is was acquiring WebDialogs to expand IBM’s conferencing capabilities. Network World VoIP and Convergence Buyer's Guide Find the right products for your enterprise - fast. Our extensive database of detailed product information will quickly help you pinpoint the hardware or software you need to build out a converged voice and data network. With the side-by-side comparison tool you can evaluate product features and make the best decision for your enterprise. Click here to go to the Buyer's Guide now. * Verizon Business rolled out its Integrated Communications Package to provide unified communications to the company’s Hosted IP Centrex customers (part of Verizon Business’ VoIP portfolio) so subscribers can “access voice mail, control incoming and outgoing calls, manage their online presence, send text messages, and synchronize contacts and calendars.” * Dialogic Corporation announced the “imminent availability” of new media gateways for unified communications designed to connect Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 to existing PBX systems and PSTN networks. * Microsoft announced a host of licensing agreements and partnerships when it outlined its approach to “voice communications using voice codec software, RT Audio Codec, which has been shown to deliver superior sound quality.” The company also announced that Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 will include a “Quality of Experience Monitoring Server, a comprehensive tool to monitor voice and video quality;” and that the planned launch date for its next generation of Unified Communications Software is set for Oct. 16. Next time, we’ll look at how the Microsoft announcements complicate the competitive environment, then we’ll follow up next week with analysis of how IBM’s strategy further strengthens its position, and wrap up with our observations on how VoIP and unified communications are evolving across the industry.   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 PlateSpin Where To Find Affordable Disaster Recovery Virtualization is expanding across the enterprise, allowing companies to get more out of their networks without busting their budget. Now you can leverage virtualization to provide affordable disaster recovery and safeguard the under-protected servers in your network. Click here to download and learn how. 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