Managing IT-Related Costs in a Downturn – Part 2

In last month’s issue we explored cloud computing and virtualization and the roles they each play in reducing expenses as the slower economy hits Service Providers and Enterprises. This month we will turn our attention towards the Enterprise. Both small and large enterprises can reduce their IT related expenses significantly in 2009 while at the same time improving performance and overall customer satisfaction.

AudioCodes (News - Alert), a leader in the IP communications space, has several initiatives in the enterprise space that offer great cost cutting possibilities. Companies that strategically implement their Mediant Series can improve their return on investment for IT expenses. Alan Percy (News - Alert), Director of Marketing at AudioCodes, presented six key ideas that can dramatically reduce IT expenses in the enterprise. 1) SIP Trunking, 2) Software Migration Solution, 3) Open Source, 4) Fax aggregation using VoIP, 5) Software as a Service (SaaS (News - Alert)), 6) Enterprise networking (branch office connectivity).

While SIP trunking is not new, many enterprises are still hanging on to their old TDM PBX (News - Alert) and T1 interfaces. The AudioCodes Mediant 1000 gateway can be implemented with an existing TDM PBX and allow the enterprise to immediately discontinue paying for the T1 lines, while not incurring the capital expense of replacing the trusty old PBX. Fax machines are still a very real fixture in the enterprise and continue to drive unnecessary costs such as toner, paper, and maintenance. Throw in any inter-office long distance expense and you have a real cost savings opportunity. Companies can implement a Mediant 1000 as a VoIP gateway to aggregate faxes and eliminate most of the costs incurred by these traditional fax machines. Another application for the AudioCodes Mediant Series is in a hosted services implementation. Here an ISV can adapt their software using a Mediant 3000 and offer a hosted call center service. The enterprise can rent the application and avoid expensive capital investments. This also creates a “pay-as-you-grow” scenario using a per seat basis pricing model.

To listen to an on-demand webinar on this topic, visit: www.tmcnet.com/webinar/audiocodes10

Final Score. While we don’t really know how long the recession will last in 2009 and beyond, the AudioCodes Mediant Series can offer real cost savings that will improve any enterprise’s bottom-line in 2009. IT

Jeff Hudgins is VP of Product Management at NEI, Inc. (www.NEI.com).

» Internet Telephony Magazine Table of Contents