May 2000

ARTICLES
VoIP -- Simple Math, Or Long Division?
Ray Riopel, Edgewater Technology
Will VoIP really save you money?

In Search Of The Golden Telecom API
Tony Roug, Dialogic, an Intel Company
Finding the API that lets developers write once and run anywhere seems more difficult than finding the legendary Golden Fleece. What progress has been made?

Golden Potential (sidebar)

For IP-Based LAN Telephony, Don't Forget PSTN Needs
Alan Brind, Performance Technologies
All IP, all the time? What about integration with the SS7 networks of over 100 countries? Best to keep this challenge in mind

Extend Your Corporate Office -- Next-Gen Telecommuting
Al Brisard, MCK Communications
In a tight labor market, telecommuting offers real benefits beyond just employee convenience. And it may not be as tough as you think to implement.

DEPARTMENTS
Analytical Views: Faint Heart, Fair Prospect
Brian Strachman, Cahners In-Stat Group
Convergence might seem the quintessential suitor: admirable prospects, a promising future. So why does success still seem so far away?

Compass:  Battle Of The Infrastructures
Jeff Lawrence, Trillium Digital Systems
IP and ATM -- will one all but the other obviate the other? Or will they coexist?

Inside Networking: The Sensei's Guide To Multiservice IP
Tony Rybczynski, Nortel Networks'
Enterprise Solutions
Seven exercises that will make you a multiservice IP networking black belt.

TOM KEATING'S CC:
Well, You ASPed For It!
Tom Keating, Executive Technology Editor
ASPs are all the rage, but how will they impact the traditional CTI market? Tom looks at some possibilities and some players in this new space.

REVIEWS
Intersis Technologies' VoiXX 2.5

SoftBase Systems' NetLert 2.0

Netpliance's i-opener IPAD

NEWS AND VIEWS
Breaking News

Enabling Technologies
Chris Donner, Managing Editor
As networks converge, bandwidth increases, and applications propagate, it is more important than ever that each element of your communications infrastructure pass the test to insure that your business not only survives but thrives.

Customer Contact
Carol Drzewianowski, Associate Editor
Telecommuting doesn't just mean you can wear your bunny slippers and get work done at the same time. It also means specific technological needs beyond those required by employees in traditional offices.

Corporate Solutions
Carol Drzewianowski, Associate Editor
After Palm's big spin-off, 3Com has started to realign it's business strategy. This includes a focus on networking products -- including LAN telephony.

Next-Gen Networks
Kevin Mayer, Editorial Director
As ghastly as it may sound, decomposition ultimately nourishes life, supporting new syntheses. Such is the case with decomposed networks, where discrete functions are migrating from traditional network elements, finding their own place in the sun, stimulating further development of packet-based telephony, resulting in an ever denser convergence of voice and data.