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January 08, 2008
2008: A Turning Point for IP Communications
By Rich Tehrani, President and Editor-in-Chief
ABP Technology is a distributor of VoIP and IP Communications products operating through a network of Value Added Resellers and Service Providers. Located in Dallas Texas, ABP Technology spans the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America with sales, engineering consultation, training, product provisioning, configuration, fulfillment and tech support. ABP features a complete portfolio of VoIP solutions with endpoints, network products and software platforms and applications.
I spoke with Robert Messer (News - Alert), president of ABP, regarding his outlook on 2008 and some of the interesting trends that are driving the IP communications industry forward.
RT: What has been your company’s biggest achievement in 2007?
RM: We created a nationwide network of professional resellers
RT: What can we expect to see from your company in 2008?
RM:
- An ever stronger ABP Technology Partner Reseller Network that is trained and certified to provide high-end solutions.
- High-end plug and play solutions for IP Telephony and IP surveillance including specific vertical industry packages for resellers.
- A continued focus on our “Best of Breed” product portfolio.
RT: How do you see the communications market evolving?
RM: We see a continuous evolution both on the CPE and WAN side.
Microsoft’s (News - Alert) entrance into this space will accelerate data reseller’s interest and attention to IP communications. In practice many Microsoft partners will install non Microsoft solutions once they are interested and want to work with more mature solution in the telephony space.
On the WAN side SIP Trunking players and carriers combining WAN connectivity with SIP Trunks into one offering will give the conventional carriers a run for their money.
RT: How have presence, SIP and video changed your business?
RM: SIP truly is the standard for all IP communications and makes it possible to combine vendor independent solutions combining components to build a state-of-the-art phone system for business that supersedes anything that the legacy systems offer.
Businesses benefit from converging phone and data traffic on Ethernet cabling. On the IP PBX (News - Alert) side feature-rich IP phones solutions that surpass the most elaborate PBX systems enable businesses to get access to sophisticated IVR, ACD and other features that were unreachable for small and medium businesses.
Presence promises to increase productivity and enables people to work in a new mode of by saving caller and called time and streamlining collaboration.
Video over IP is a reality that is being implemented not only for triple play in high-end residential metro networks but is coming to corporate applications, especially in security, monitoring, collaboration and video conferencing.
RT: How do you think the future of the market looks?
RM: The decision to go IP has been made and now it’s only a matter of time for businesses to change over.
RT: Are hosted solutions changing your corporate strategy?
RM: The true value in hosted solutions is less the technology and more the fact that a user can “move in” immediately and that there is an existing infrastructure somewhere in an environment with economies of scale for management, connectivity, data and power backup and more.
RT: What do you think the communications market might look like in five years?
RM: Voice is an application so we predict that most business models based on per minute billing will disappear. The integration of IP PBX technology with ERP solutions with Web services and mash-ups like what Switchvox is offering will rule.
Data and data centric converged telecom resellers will be the partners of choice for most small and medium sized businesses however e-tailers, big box retailers and Service Providers focusing on SOHO and small business will be the preferred channel for that market offering standardized cookie cutter type business solutions.
RT: What will attendees see in your booth at ITEXPO this month?
RM: For us the show is a great meeting opportunity to personally greet many of our resellers and it’s also a venue to show new products. This year’s innovative products are IP Paging solutions, IP Door openers (from ITS Telecom (News - Alert)), ClearOne conference phones, the latest high-end Dual mode WiFi/GSM phones from Pirelli and Mobotix IP Surveillance systems and IP cameras. Intertex and Epygi will be showing their updated product lines.
RT: What sorts of companies should come to your exhibit?
RM: Data, Networking and Telecom Resellers as well as Service Providers, Managed Services, Systems Integrators and IP communications specialist will all enjoy ABP’s exhibit.
RT: Why should customers choose your company’s solutions?
RM: ABP is a specialist with more than seven years experience focusing on IP communications solutions and helping resellers and service provider channel partners alike offer best of breed products that ABP has interop tested and fully supports, offering a true one stop experience.
RT: Please make one surprising prediction for 2008.
RM: We see 2008 as the pivotal turning point where practically all new telephony will be IP-based and larger customers will expect their IP PBX to link to IP services applications and their ERP or CRM. Most people for the first time this year will know that their next phone system will be IP based. Today’s IP communications reseller will be in charge of IP connectivity for most smaller and medium sized businesses.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) | X | | A hardware- or software-based computer system that enables incoming callers to interact with voice prompts or verbal commands....more |
Voice over IP (VoIP) | X | | A real-time communications system that converts voice into digital packets containing media and signaling data that travel over networks using Internet Protocol....more |
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) | X | | SIP is the real-time communication protocol for VoIP. SIP is a signaling protocol for Internet conferencing, telephony, presence, events notification (emergency calling) and instant messaging.
SIP...more |
Private Branch Exchange (PBX) | X | | Originally, telephone features were provided by telephone central office switching systems, often called CENTREX.�PBX systems emerged as customers wanted to have more calling features and control over...more |
Global Standard for Mobile (GSM) | X | | ...more |
(source: http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/ip-phones/articles/17885-2008-turning-point-ip-communications.htm)
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