As we begin 2013, many, if not most, companies are finding themselves in a quandary when it comes to technology. Budgets have been tight (or non-existent) for years, and while few organizations are likely to be keen to lay out money for new investments this year, most simply can’t limp through another year on ageing technology, particularly when it comes to phone systems, enterprise software solutions and networking technology.

While 2013 has been pronounced by many economics as likely to be “a year of holding steady” with no real economic jump forward yet little to no backsliding into recession, many companies are finding that simply can’t squeeze another year out of aging infrastructure. As they loosen the purse strings a little, companies will need to choose very wisely when it comes to new technology purchases.

After all, while the economy may not be booming, technology trends haven’t halted, and most enterprises have found that their needs are changing rapidly, particularly with regards to their network security.

For many companies, the changes are happening in the areas of IP (Internet protocol) communications, mobile technologies and cloud-based application delivery. For all these reasons, companies are finding their networks simply aren’t robust enough to cope, particularly when it comes to added security challenges.

“As more applications and services are delivered from the cloud, the need for secure and managed connectivity continues to grow,” said Jeff Dworkin, Director of Marketing for Sangoma Technologies, and IP communications company, in an interview with TMCnet. “This also caused an increase in the number of connections that any network administrator has to manage. As with any connection between networks, there is an ever increasing need to efficiently and seamlessly ensure secure network access and efficient interoperation.”

According to Dworkin, Sangoma continues to develop and deliver solutions that help address the challenges facing enterprises and service providers in bridging disparate networks, protocols, technologies, service and clouds. Addressing the seemingly endless variety of technologies, Sangoma’s goal is to deliver flexibility and “future proof” solutions that leverage single platforms that can address session border control (SBC), transcoding, TDM-to-IP conversion, and many other services commonly required in today’s fragmented technology landscape.

As more firms turn to cloud-based solutions for the delivery of their critical enterprise solutions, they’re correspondingly becoming more concerned about security. There’s a perception that proprietary data is simply more secure when it sits on a server inside the physical premises of a company.

As a result, security questions have been something of a barrier to cloud-based installations.

According to Dworkin, Sangoma has addressed these concerns.

“Security is not just a matter of locking down data-at-rest on a cloud server,” he said. “Security has to encompass the dynamic connections between the cloud and the enterprise network. Session border controllers play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of any IP network that carries voice and video.”

Sangoma solutions for securing this mission-critical interconnection have been developed to serve the specific needs of small businesses, enterprises and service providers. The company’s Vega Series and the NetBorder Series of products include appliance-based solutions, virtual machine-based solutions and what it calls “one-of-kind” hybrid solutions that allow the SBC to be maintained on the VM, while media functions such as transcoding are off-loaded to a shared hardware resource.

This unique hybrid solution allows Sangoma to deliver maximum functionality and scalability at a very cost-effective price, said Dworkin.

Mobile apps have presented another significant security challenge as well, as more employees are engaging in “bring your own device,” using personal smartphones and tablets in a business context. As a result, proprietary company information today may be spread out all across the state, the country or even the world. So how do you keep a grip on security under those circumstances?

“Along with all of the capabilities enabled through mobile devices, extension of the workday and the worksite through advanced collaboration tools including Microsoft’s (News - Alert) Lync, and the rapid growth of SIP trunking, there is also an even greater need for security and control at the network borders,” noted Dworkin. “Session border controllers are becoming table-stakes in many enterprise and service provider networks, and will continue to evolve to address the rapidly expanding IP universe of connections.”

The company has also been addressing IP voice quality with its advancing technologies. Sangoma says its new SBC line goes beyond the traditional quality of service (QoS) features and includes a number of QoE (Quality of Experience) metrics to help customers further insure the quality of the voice traffic carried by their networks.

Dworkin calls Sangoma “a technology-driven company,” and it seems clear that it’s well positioned to address the marketplace’s greater push into unified communications, mobile communications, cloud-based delivery models and the robust network security and quality required to tie all these concepts together into a cohesive whole that is prepared for the realities of 21st-century communications.

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