[May 31, 2013] Sonus, Juniper Networks Forge Alliance to Develop Software Defined Network Capabilities Tweet May 31, 2013 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- Sonus Networks, Inc., a provider of SIP communications, announced it is working with Juniper Networks, a provider of network solutions, as part of Juniper's Technology Alliance Program to jointly deliver integrated solutions designed to simplify the way service providers deliver differentiated Cloud-based Unified Communications (UC) and video experiences to enterprises. According to a release, use of video within UC is a key driver of increased communications traffic and a growing burden on service provider networks. For example, according to Gartner Inc., mobile data traffic will experience a 70 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2011 through 2016 and video is expected to account for over 50 percent of all mobile traffic over the coming five years (Source: Mobile Data and Video Traffic; August 28, 2012; Jessica Ekholm). To address this and other requirements of delivering UC services, the combined Sonus and Juniper solution will help service providers simplify network design, reduce costs and effectively monetize networks through delivery of new tiered service offers, the companies said. Through this integration, real-time interaction between Sonus Session Border Controllers (SBCs) and Juniper's routing and forwarding plane during the establishment of a UC session permits a level of quality of service (QoS) delivery that is not possible in isolation. Service providers that leverage this capability can operate their existing networks in a highly cost-effective manner carrying voice, video and UC traffic. It also ensures delivery of tiered levels of services by dynamically assigning network resources to a communication session based on predefined policies, improving service delivery, enhancing user experience and optimizing network utilization. The companies added that the ability to deliver differentiated, Cloud-based UC and video services to enterprises is increasingly important to service providers for reasons including: -End user spending for public Cloud-based services is predicted by Gartner Inc. to grow at a 16.8 percent CAGR from 2011 through 2017, to over $237B (Source: Forecast: Public Cloud Services, Worldwide, 2011-2017, 1Q13 Update, March 26,) -Use of video across enterprises is reaching mainstream portions as 71 percent of businesses are using, evaluating or planning to use extranet videoconferencing for B2B collaboration according to the Nemertes Research (Source: Oct. 2012, Benchmark Report) -In a shift from a 2011 Cloud study, Infonetics Research found in December 2012 that collaboration tools and security have overtaken email as the top Software as a Service (SaaS) application (Source: Press Release: SDN, OpenFlow, collaboration and security on the minds of operators planning Cloud services, January 2013) -Currently 65 percent of UC deployments are premises-based, though that is expected to drop to 31 percent as future deployments move more to the Cloud according to a survey by Webtorials (Source: Feb. 2013 Research Report) "Juniper and Sonus share a commitment to our global telecommunications service provider customers of providing seamlessly integrated network components that dynamically respond to network conditions to ensure particular levels of service," said Aruna Ravichandran, vice president, product and solutions marketing of Juniper Networks. "By partnering with Sonus to fully integrate and test these solutions, we believe we are simplifying the delivery of tiered services required by our service provider customers." "The industry is seeing unprecedented growth in the usage of video as mode of Unified Communications. This will place a huge CapEx burden on service providers as they scale their networks to handle this surge," said David Tipping, vice president and general manager, SBC Business, Sonus. "By working closely with Juniper, the integration of our products enables expansion of the types of Unified Communications and video services able to be offered to enterprises and dynamically optimizes use of network resources." More information: www.sonus.net ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]