(The following is taken from Rich Tehrani’s (News - Alert) VoIP blog:)

I recently had the opportunity to ask Tim Saunders, vice president of Product Management at ADTRAN (News - Alert) Enterprise Networks, about the evolution of the IP communications space, networking and communications equipment, and the direction his company is taking.

ADTRAN is a global provider of networking and communications equipment with a portfolio of more than 1,600 solutions for use in telecommunications networks.  The company provides equipment for carriers, distributed enterprises, and SMBs, enabling enable voice, data, video, and Internet communications across copper, fiber, and wireless network infrastructures.

To learn more about the company, read this article published on TMCnet from earlier this year.

Please outline your new corporate initiatives.

We will continue to focus on the SMB and the distributed enterprise market to grow market share for our NetVanta products. We will do this by expanding our reseller initiatives, highlighting the benefits of ADTRAN products for both the end user and the solutions provider. We are also working to expand our presence into the carrier market as a CPE provider. In this arena, our NetVanta routers and switches along with our Integrated Access Devices are being used as a key piece of bundled service offerings.

 

How is IP communications changing your company’s strategy?
The acceptance of VoIP and other IP-based technologies has touched every product line we offer, from our wireless backhaul solutions to our largest carrier-class multi-service access products. The transition to Ethernet opens a new world of possibilities for higher bandwidth services for all classes of customers.

 

What pains does your company solve for customers?
ADTRAN simplifies the deployment and ongoing management of voice and data networking equipment. This is done through innovative integrated products that combine the functionality of up to six products into a single platform. These products also feature user-friendly Graphical User Interfaces and a series of “wizards” to aid in setup and ongoing operation, even for novice users. This also helps to speed Return on Investment (ROI) and lower Total Cost of Ownership.

 

SIP has changed the technology upon which all phone systems are built from the handset to the way the equipment communicates with the service provider. SIP has enabled the industry to move from proprietary to standards-based protocols, enabling interoperability among equipment providers while driving costs down. In addition, SIP has enabled new applications aimed at improving employee efficiency such as presence and find-me, follow-me, helping to increase the flow of communication and increase productivity.

 

How do you think the future of the market looks?
The future of the market is very bright, driven by the need for more information faster than ever before. This is creating a world of opportunities for hardware providers and applications developers alike. This “information everywhere” adoption not only is being seen at large businesses, but will impact even the smallest of businesses due to the many advantages VoIP provides.

 

How does the growth rate in the U.S. compare to the rest of the world?
Although VoIP has taken hold quicker in the U.S. than abroad, the adoption rate overseas is projected to grow quickly. In the U.S. alone, researchers are predicting that VoIP adoption will triple by 2011, placing the adoption rate above 50 percent by small, medium and large businesses. Internationally, research has shown that VoIP adoption lags 12 to 18 months behind that of the U.S.

 

What do you think of Google and Apple (News - Alert) entering the telecom market?
This is further validation that the union of voice and data is a reality. Applications such as mobile Internet are driving the need for cost-effective higher bandwidth services. The popularity of converged mobile devices will likely push the deployment of these services at a much faster pace than originally anticipated.

 

How about Microsoft?
Microsoft has the opportunity to drive the customer experience and help spur the acceptance by the masses of using the computer for more and more types of communication. While no one expects the telephone handset to disappear, Microsoft certainly is well positioned to enable the PC as an efficient alternative to serve business telecommunications needs.

 

While open source solutions have the advantage of a large number of developers, ultimately businesses still require a stable product that meets their needs that is supported by the supplier. In the area of feature development, open source has the benefit of having a global development team contributing functionality. In the areas of software reliability and ongoing support, the nature of open source development may make it more of a challenge compared with traditional, vendor-developed software.

 

What are your thoughts regarding hosted solutions?
Hosted solutions are going to grow in popularity, but are still just beginning to mature. The premise is solid, because when you think about it, a lot of users don’t know and don’t care where the PBX is located. Businesses, then, are evaluating the choice of hosted or premises-based solutions primarily on the feature sets, and TCO. As the VoIP market matures, so, too, will the market for hosted services.

 

How will communications evolve over the next five years?
As voice and data continue to merge, bandwidth will be a factor driving the market. The bandwidth-intensive nature of applications coupled with competition from cable companies is driving the telcos to deliver higher bandwidth, cost-effective services such as Metro Ethernet and Fiber to the Home.

 

 

 

 

What’s next for communications?
One technology on the horizon is fixed/mobile convergence for the enterprise. This would allow businesses to incorporate wired and wireless voice and data communications into a single device or service. While this is in the early stages of deployment and adoption, it has the ability to further transform the enterprise into a place of limitless communication.

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