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[February 26, 2004] INTERACTIVE INTELLIGENCE LAUNCHES ADVANCED SIP PROXY Interactive Intelligence Inc. (Nasdaq: ININ), a global developer of software for IP telephony, contact center automation, unified communications, and customer self-service, today launched an advanced version of its session initiation protocol proxy server.The Windows-based product, called Interaction SIP Proxy, Advanced Version™, enables organizations to intelligently route SIP-based messages over IP networks, and includes fault-tolerant routing, load-balancing, and advanced security. Industry analyst firm, Gartner, Inc., expects SIP to be the preferred industry protocol because it is faster and easier to implement than the more-established H.323 standard (SIP Will Make Significant Inroads by the End of 2006, July 11, 2003). Interaction SIP Proxy, Advanced Version™ is designed to work with any vendor's SIP-compliant system or device, and is easily configured using a Web browser or standard XML files. Because it can be used with off-the-shelf servers, can be installed in minutes, and requires no telephony hardware, Interaction SIP Proxy is ideal for branch and small office deployments. The load balancing, fault tolerance, and high security of the advanced version also make it a good fit for large corporate deployments, according to Interactive Intelligence president and chief executive officer, Dr. Donald E. Brown. "There's very little on the market today for enterprises wanting to add intelligent routing capabilities to their IP deployments," Brown said. "We developed our Windows-based advanced SIP proxy server to help fill this gap, giving enterprises a way to more efficiently route calls without paying exorbitant amounts of money, or encountering the kind of vendor 'lock-in' required by other VoIP products." Interaction SIP Proxy, Advanced Version™ can be used with Interactive Intelligence's IP PBX to give organizations a complete SIP-based IP telephony system, including business user and contact center agent applications such as unified messaging, presence management, multimedia queuing, interactive voice response, and Web chat. Fault tolerant routing included in the Interaction SIP Proxy, Advanced Version™ allows for an unlimited number of routing entries, and enables organizations to monitor the status of servers in real-time so when a server is not available, calls are re-routed on-the-fly. The SIP proxy automatically brings servers back into use when they become available. The product's load-balancing feature, which can be used with Interactive Intelligence's IP PBX, standalone IVR product, and its unified communications software, adds additional fault-tolerance by distributing interactions more evenly across servers. New support for SIP digest authentication provides an extra level of security, which is critical in many corporate environments. Interaction SIP Proxy, Advanced Version™ also includes a unique "pattern-matcher" that enables organizations to route calls more flexibly. For instance, it can be used to route calls the same way based on phone numbers that are similar to other numbers, rather than an exact match. Organizations can even use it to deploy capabilities beyond routing, such as speed dialing, call blocking, and call forwarding. Interaction SIP Proxy, Advanced Version™ is offered in addition to Interactive Intelligence's free SIP proxy, called Interaction SIP Proxy, Basic Version™. The company first launched its basic SIP proxy in September 2003. The product has been downloaded via the Web by more than 2,500 organizations worldwide, including Fortune 500 companies and major telco equipment vendors. Interaction SIP Proxy, Advanced Version™ is priced at $5,000 per server and is available worldwide both directly and through a distribution channel of more than 140 Interactive Intelligence resellers. For more information about Interactive Intelligence's SIP proxy solutions, visit http://www.inin.com/sipproxy. |