With the widespread proliferation of VoIP communications across networks around the world, SIP trunking is gaining momentum in the corporate telephony world because of its cost among other reasons. Consequently, SIP technology is becoming a foundation for deploying and implementing unified communications, mobility, collaboration and telepresence. Furthermore, SIP trunks are often justified based on expected cost-savings for enterprises. As a result, effectively testing and managing SIP trunks is imperative to ensure quality service and the expected financial ROI.
TMC (News - Alert) Executive Editor Paula Bernier recently wrote in the May 2011 issue of INTERNET TELEPHONY thatcompanies are now delivering tools that enable network operators to get an end-to-end view into their networks and look at traffic at a more granular level so they can better manage the user experience. In the feature article, the executive editor identifies Tone Software (News - Alert) as a solutions provider with VoIP quality of service (QoS) and converged infrastructure management software. Called ReliaTel, the voice management software facilitates SIP deployment while enabling enterprises to monitor the QoS of their VoIP call traffic as it enters their corporate WAN/LAN, as well as the physical health and performance of the SIP connected devices and links.
“VoIP quality problems are not always isolated within the corporate network,” Amit Kapoor, director of strategic technology advancement for Tone, says in the article. “Quality issues frequently originate at the SIP trunks, prior to the voice packets ever reaching the corporate gateways or switch. Using ReliaTel SIP management, MSPs and enterprises have the visibility necessary to differentiate where these issues occur and the nature of the quality impairment – which significantly increases their ability to rapidly resolve quality issues and control VoIP quality and service levels.”
According to the supplier, ReliaTel’s ability to monitor and analyze VoIP QoS in real-time provides immediate awareness of quality degradation occurring at the SIP trunk, and the specific metrics and facts related to the quality or service issue. Armed with this critical data, voice teams can engage SIP providers earlier and work directly with their carrier or Internet Telephony (News - Alert) Service Provider (ITSP) to resolve the correct quality problems, rather than wasting time chasing the wrong root cause of quality issues they assume are originating within their own network.
To give readers some perspective on interest in SIP trunking, Bernier interviewed Nemertes Research’s Irin Lazar, vice president of communications and collaboration research. Lazar told Bernier that last year about 55 percent of companies were either deploying or evaluating SIP trunking because the service is far less expensive than buying PRI lines for voice traffic.
“There hasn’t been a compelling business case for SIP in the enterprise for anything other than interconnection of PBXs,” said Lazar. “Most of the companies we talk to who are doing trunking internally are doing it to save long-distance costs.”
Further commenting on SIP trunking, Lazar told Bernier that SIP trunking can produce 20 to 60 percent in savings for a company. Another key feature highlighted by Lazar was that companies can leverage the technology to route calls based on time of day or on load. Plus, with SIP, one can set up virtual numbers in remote parts of the world.
Ashok Bindra is a veteran writer and editor with more than 25 years of editorial experience covering RF/wireless technologies, semiconductors and power electronics. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Carrie Schmelkin