NL International Briefs

U.S. business use of VoIP increases to 12% in 2004The use of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) by U.S. businesses increased to 12% in 2004 from 3% in 2003, according to research firm In-Stat/MDR. In-Stat/MDR is predicting that middle market penetration will be at 34% by year’s end, and at 43% in the large business segment. A recent study by In-Stat/MDR found that most firms will be using a mixture of voice communication services and technologies, not VoIP exclusively; vendors should not ignore small companies and develop tailored solutions for them; and businesses currently show a preference for VoIP deployment to have some LAN-based element, such as an IP PBX. Cisco, IBM preferred IP telephony solution providers: Yankee GroupCisco Systems and IBM are ranked number one and two as preferred Internet Protocol telephony solution providers, according to a new study by the Yankee Group. Buyers ranked the two companies as their preferred choices for deployment in the next two years. "To gain customer confidence and become a leader, IP telephony solutions providers need to focus more on proving to their customers that the IP telephony solutions work today and focus less on marketing the futuristic benefits of IP telephony," Yankee Group enterprise infrastructure VP Zeus Kerravla said in a media release. "Cisco has taken an early leadership position in both IP telephony awareness and adoption preference. However, the market is still in the early-adopter phase, and there are many other solutions providers nipping at their heels." The Yankee Group IP Telephony YankeeBrandMonitor indicated that attributes such as stability, reliability and quality outweighed "future" benefits, such as technology leader and innovator. The study included 567 respondents from U.S. companies ranging from organizations with less than 500 employees to enterprises with more than 10,000 employees. Avaya launches new integrated advertising, direct response and interactive campaignNew Jersey-based Avaya Inc. has launched a new integrated advertising, direct response and interactive campaign under the theme "Communications at the Heart of Business." Avaya’s advertising campaign focuses on a wide-range of benefits gained by customers who are using the company’s communications solutions in the "heart" of their businesses. The marketing campaign encompasses new print ads this month, and TV advertising early in 2005. "This campaign says Avaya understands that customers are buying bottom-line business value when they make a communication technology decision," Avaya senior VP of global sales and marketing Lou D’Ambrosio said in a media release. "The best evidence we have is in the actual experiences of our customers, and we’ve put them front and center." Fujitsu, Cisco partner on routers, switchesTokyo-based Fujitsu Ltd. and San Jose CA-based Cisco Systems have reached an agreement to enter into an alliance focusing on routers and switches that will enable service providers and enterprises to build advanced Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Under the deal, Fujitsu and Cisco will carry out joint development of high-end routers, plan future cooperation in routing and switching, and collaborate on continuous quality improvement, support and service. "Partnering is a strategic imperative for companies such as Cisco and Fujitsu to address service providers’ and enterprise customer requirements," said Mike Volpi, senior VP of Cisco’s routing technology group. "Forming a strategic alliance with Fujitsu enables us to combine resources so we can deliver on those requirements with value-added, industry-leading networking solutions." Aastra, Sayson, BroadSoft offer IP hosted key system applicationAastra Technologies Ltd. along with Sayson and BroadSoft have completed interoperability testing between BroadSoft’s BroadWorks platform and Aastra’s new 480i IP screenphones. By using BroadSoft’s enhanced SIP features, service providers will be able to offer Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) hosted key system service that eliminates the cost to business customers of owning and managing complex premises-based phone systems, state the companies. Aastra’s new 480i screenphone will be able to support shared line or call appearances with BroadSoft’s BroadWorks platform. Enhanced functionality will also be supported, including synchronized call control, allowing users to manage their communication services from either their phone display or their PC. "The BroadSoft enhancements to SIP, and their new XML API are making it possible for endpoints to provide a new level of functionality," said Sayson CEO David Sayson.

NL International Briefs

News | 12/08/2004 5:00 am EST

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