October 2000

Beginning with Call Center CRM Solutions� and Internet Telephony�, TMC Labs has begun granting innovation awards to products whose market space falls within the scope of these publications. Now it's time for us to recognize products within this publication's communications space.

Although each publication has its own Product of the Year award, which is prestigious in its own right, TMC Labs recently decided that a new form of recognition was needed. The TMC Labs Innovation Awards would not be granted only to the "best" (or best-selling) products in each category, but instead to those demonstrating raw innovation, uniqueness, and representing a significant contribution to the communications industry. It is our intent that this will be TMC's most prestigious award.

We realize the difficulty in developing a first-class product that integrates several components into one unified product suite. With the convergence of voice, data, and various media types (fax, e-mail, chat) comes increasing complexity, often resulting in products that we consider to be engineering marvels. We tip our hats to the engineers and developers of the award winners.

The communications industry is quite broad -- covering topics such as telecom, call centers, DSL, CRM, wireless, and telecommuting, to name just a few. Combined, the 20 products below represent, in the opinion of TMC Labs, the most important contributions to the communications industry in the past 12 months. It is no small feat for us to choose only 20 winners out of thousands of possible choices within the communications space, so we hope the winners appreciate the prestige in achieving this award. Also, please note that although most of the awards are given to specific products, others are given to vendors for an entire product offering in cases where the contribution is a suite rather than a particular product.

The TMC Labs Innovation Award List

3Com
NBX 25 and 100 Communications Systems
800-638-3266
While there are many IP telephony systems on the market, none of them are better than 3Com's NBX 25 and 100 Communications Systems when it comes to installation, GUI, and convergence benefits for small to medium-sized companies. They both provide major telephony features such as VoIP, voice mail, auto-attendant, and caller-ID functionality.

TMC Labs was able to examine the NBX 100 system in detail and we were amazed by the results, especially the ease of installation. 3Com's Ethernet telephones automatically downloaded setup data from the NBX 100 unit, and within minutes, we had dial tones and were able to make extension-to-extension VoIP calls. In contrast, many traditional and PC-based PBXs require hours of configuration before a dial tone is even achieved. However, what impressed us most about the installation process was that it's very similar to configuring an auto-attendant on just about any other phone system we've ever used. An entire basic setup took less than an hour, but for a more complicated real-world setup, users should allow for at least a full day.

The NBX 100 system has been out for a while, but the NBX 25 is relatively new. Designed for smaller companies, it allows for similar functionality as the NBX 100 system in a single converged network. One might consider it a smaller version of the NBX 100, and that is good news for upstart companies who need a small but effective IP telephony system. As intimated by the name, the NBX 25 system supports up to 25 nodes. It also has a built-in eight port LAN infrastructure, Web-based administration, call detail reporting, and most of the current IP telephony features.

We expect 3Com to continue to thrive on these systems' sound architecture and to incorporate any new and worthwhile innovations that the communications industry has to offer. We also wouldn't be surprised if 3Com comes up with some more new innovations of their own.

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Active Voice
Unity Enterprise 2.4
206-441-4700
In today's increasingly fast-paced business world, staying ahead of the competition means staying in touch with your customers. To that end, unified messaging systems allow you to access your voice mail, e-mail, and faxes all from a single graphical user interface, such as Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, or a Web browser. Several vendors offer what they call "unified messaging" products, but often they are "integrated messaging" solutions, requiring that voice mail and faxes be stored in a database store separate from e-mail.

Active Voice was one of the first companies to offer a truly unified messaging solution on the Microsoft Exchange Server platform. Using Unity Enterprise 2.4, all messages, (e-mail, faxes, and voice messages) can be stored on the Exchange Server. As an added bonus, setting up and configuring voice mailboxes, e-mail boxes, and fax boxes on Unity can be done centrally from the Exchange Administrator program, negating the need for an IT technician to install a proprietary administration program as well learn a new interface.

Scaling from 4 to 64 ports, Unity runs on a Windows NT server and includes features such as voice mail, text-to-speech reading of e-mail, auto-attendant, TAPI-compliance, fax server, and the ability to manage your messages via a Web browser. Active Voice has "set the standard" with an excellent feature set that sets them apart and makes them a true innovator.

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Alliance Systems
I-Series 11000
800-977-1010
You'd be wise to "ally" yourself with Alliance Systems when looking to purchase a highly reliable, highly redundant, and highly scalable industrial server for telecom applications. TMC Labs was extremely impressed with the specifications for Alliance Systems' I-Series 11000. The I-Series 11000 features several redundancies, including redundant power supplies, hot plug drives, and redundant how-swap air filtered fans. Telco environments and other environments that require 24/7 uptime will appreciate the 11000's NEBS compliance.

Also, all of the critical components are front-accessible, including the hard drives, power supplies, and fans. All of these components call be done tool-free, which means no searching for a screwdriver! When the unit does need to be serviced by a technician, the unit has ESD grounding points to protect against static electricity. We should also point out that all of these components, even the three fans can all be removed without having to bring the system down. While we're on the topic of fans, we should point out that the 11000 has excellent cooling capabilities. The three CFM hot-swap fans dissipate up to 800 watts (2730 BTUs per hour) of generated heat. Operating temperature is maintained within 25 degrees of ambient peak load to prevent heat-related failures. If problems do occur, an advanced alarm board with thermal fan and power supply sensors provide notification of failure, including LEDs, sound, and contact closures to auxiliary alarm system, warning light, or paging system.

Another interesting feature is the 800 watt, load sharing, hot-swappable power supplies, which support a maximum current of 120A at +5V. Scalability is a non sequitur in the 11000 -- with eight 5.25" drive bays, all your hard disk storage needs should be met. Also, it supports a whopping 20 ISA/PCI slots that should meet all your slot requirements. Did we also mention that the chassis will fit on a 19" rack mount, so don't worry about space! TMC Labs can think of dozens of great applications for which to use the I-Series 11000, including call centers, PBXs, soft switches, VoIP, IVR systems, fax servers, and carrier class networks. With such excellent specifications, including drive space scalability, several redundant components, NEBS compliance, and plenty of slots to place up to 20 boards, we felt this product was very innovative and wholeheartedly merited this award.

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Astound Incorporated
Conference Center 3.0
877-ASTOUND
Most everyone is familiar with traditional conference calling and the problems and benefits associated with it. It isn't difficult to think of what the next generation of conferencing will be: Web conferencing. As a matter of fact, many Web conferencing services have already sprung up through the ASP model. TMC Labs looked at many of these and was most impressed with Astound's Conference Center 3.0.

We decided to look at a PowerPoint presentation conducted through Conference Center 3.0. We were able to log in very quickly and without any problems, and listened to the presentation through a VoIP call. During the hour-long presentation, we noticed the slick interface that the Conference Center offers. The presenter was able to show us key points using different graphics, such as a finger pointing to the appropriate segment being discussed. At no time did we lose track of what was being discussed even when the presenter lead us to other Web pages and pointed to specific areas. The presenter used animations to draw our attention and polled us to elicit our opinions on a subject. We were also able to chat with the presenter, allowing for an interactive discussion without interrupting the presentation. We were even able to collaborate with the presenter through application sharing. In addition, you can chat with other attendees and even use emoticons, so viewers can express their feelings through icons as the presentation proceeds. The presenter can also open the floor to the audience for more interaction or leave it as a one-to-many conference. Furthermore, video over IP could have been used.

Most of what we mentioned thus far highlights the features of Conference Center 3.0 during the conference, but there is also reporting and archiving functionality and event management through e-mail notification, pre/post surveys, and user demographic information. Astound also claims to be firewall transparent and to provide a high level of scalability -- several thousand concurrent users per server.

The implications of Web conferencing in general and the impressive functionality of Conference Center 3.0 should lead to further innovations in the field. Businesses and education facilities that could use Conference Center 3.0 for distance learning should appreciate Asound's service. As we write this piece, Astound is offering a free conference room for three or fewer people in order to promote their service. We think that presenters should take advantage of this and try it out. It is certainly a worthwhile endeavor.

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Brooktrout Technology
TRxStream series
781-449-4100
As the communications market continues to converge, hardware vendors are attempting to develop a complete line of voice, fax, and data equipment in order to satisfy the growing requirements of companies. Brooktrout Technology has risen to the occasion by offering the TRxStream Series, based on the Brooktrout Open System Telephony (BOSTON) architecture, which offers a universal API for easier programming. The TrxStream series incorporates Brooktrout's TR1000 Voice/Fax messaging platform and the TR2001 IP telephony platform. It is also a companion to the Netaccess series.

Brooktrout's voice processing products (including the Vantage, RTNI, and Ensemble series), and the popular TR114 series of fax cards form the architecture behind the TR1000 Voice/Fax messaging platform. With this platform, many advanced applications can be performed, including unified messaging, conferencing, digital recording, and creating IVR systems. The TR2001 platform allows for such functionality as VoIP and FoIP. It supports both Windows NT and the Unix operating systems, up to 60 channels per slot for 240 channels of voice and fax in a single gateway, the H.323 V.2 and MGCP protocols, and the G.711, G.723.1, and G.729a compression codecs. This shows Brooktrout's dedication for highly scaleable and interoperable products. The Netaccess series provides WAN access through T1/E1, PRI/BRI ISDN, and V.90 modems, among others. This series includes remote access functionality.

The TRxStream series shows Brooktrout's initiative to keep up with the ever-changing communications market. All of the boards in the series contain an open standard design, unified architecture, and common device drivers, facilitating interoperability with established protocols, hardware, and interfaces. Older equipment should work with this new series as well. Undoubtedly, Brooktrout will continue to offer complete development solutions and remain one of the forerunners of future communications equipment.

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COM2001.com
InternetPBX
858-314-2001
Many of this product's features -- including call "follow me," auto-attendant, remote message notification, and text-to-speech functionality -- are fast becoming PBX standards. Like the best of them, InternetPBX handles external calls with precision, forwarding them to the appropriate live person, voice mailbox, or e-mail inbox. Internal users receive a painless and even pleasant experience through "Alexis," the system's auto-attendant, who follows predetermined voice or DTMF prompts to play back voice messages or read users their e-mail through the system's text-to-speech features.

While impressive, these features are not wholly unique. COM2001.com's real innovation lies in this: an understanding of how managers can gain full ROI by making the system easy enough to operate so that employees will use it, both in and away from the office. Pretty much everything you might want to do with this system can be accomplished through drag and drop, using a simple toolbar that integrates with MS Outlook. Calls can be placed by dragging a person's name from the "contacts" folder into a "dial" field on this toolbar, and individuals can be summoned into a conference through the same method. This simplicity is also extended into the remote environment. Remote users have the same InternetPBX toolbar installed on their laptops, providing access to the same functionality through the system's Web-based access. While replicating their familiar desktop environment, the system will also forward calls made to the main office to the user's choice of remote phone (i.e. hotel or mobile) in a way that is completely transparent to the caller. Administration is also simple, allowing initial setup, adds, drops, and changes to be accomplished through a simple GUI. Overall, the system achieves innovation by keeping loftier goals of connectivity and productivity in mind while also ensuring that its operation is painless enough for employees to use.

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Congruency
201-712-5590
In this age of evolving technology, new products are constantly being presented with the intention of making our business lives more productive and efficient. But very often the most innovative ideas come from enhancing the performance of traditional products. A good example of this is the telephone. There was a time when a phone system had much smaller hurdles to clear in order to prove its worthiness to a company. Call waiting and call forwarding were among its more advanced features.

Today, communication solutions have become more complicated as more advanced business needs have led to higher standards. More than a few products have been introduced to the market as possible contenders that meet the requirements to be considered complete solution providers. One company that we feel deserves recognition is Congruency, a leading Communications Applications Service Provider (CASP), who has created a product which is considered to be the first of its kind in the technology revolution. Their product, i.Picasso, successfully blends the productivity of the phone system with the power of network connectivity and IP capabilities.

A true telephone appliance, i.Picasso goes one step beyond standard by allowing true IP telephony on the desktop. Retaining the look, feel, and functionality of a conventional phone enables it to offer the same dependability and usefulness that the average user has come to depend on and trust. While offering the features that have long since become a standard to most business users, it also provides advanced capabilities that set new standards. Voice mail, faxes, and e-mail are among the standard features that can be easily accessed and managed with i.Picasso. In addition, i.Picasso offers enhanced telephony services and access to Internet applications. It includes a VGA touch screen that offers users a more efficient method of call management. What we feel is unique about i.Picasso is that it uses Congruency's Communications Network, which is an Internet-based system that allows for direct access of IP services and Web content. It plugs directly into a company's Ethernet LAN and allows them to provide an extension of their IP network to remote locations. It also provides a direct link between the company, their customers, and the Internet. Information from Web sites that are associated with inbound or outbound calls can be instantly viewed on the screen.

In our opinion, the ability to link Web content with voice communications to make an impact is very exciting, and we are anxious to see how far this technology will take us. Just consider the possibilities! We can imagine some interesting applications for this product. Imagine coming home and as you check your messages on the i.Picasso, you see a coupon on the LCD display for a "2 for 1" pizza deal. Talk about an incentive! From this example, it is quite apparent that service providers can drive revenue. We feel that i.Picasso effectively optimizes the benefits of IP communication and Web content, and that Congruency has succeeded in becoming an innovative leader in the communications space.

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Conita
888-515-6200
Two significant advances in the world of business technology are the telephone and the personal computer. Conita believes that the key to a smooth interaction between these two devices is already our most powerful communication tool, the human voice. They have focused their efforts on the integration of voice recognition as a way to enhance business productivity. The merging of these technology platforms has led them to the innovative development of a personal virtual assistant (PVA) which puts the power of the telephone on the tip of your tongue. In our opinion, Conita is a leading manufacturer of virtual assistant software that provides a simple yet effective solution to more efficient communication.

The primary purpose of the PVA is to improve communications for mobile users and increase the efficiency of the tools available to them. It increases the power of the telephone as a communication tool by providing one point of contact. PVAExchange allows users to use the power of their own voice to enhance and improve business communication management. Through a series of simple conversational commands, users have the ability to access, control, and manage their own critical data. These features include voice mail, e-mail, fax, contact information, and scheduling. For example, a user can simply say, "Read my voice mail messages," or "Call John Smith at home," and the given command will be carried out. New applications can be developed to access virtually any information residing in customer databases, the Internet, or a company's intranet. PVAExchange works in conjunction with a server and does not require any advanced configuration. Because of this, it can easily be integrated into an already existing network structure. The interface is very intuitive and interacts productively with the user. Speech recognition software used within the software application is advanced enough to adapt to each user's unique voice and speech patterns making it a very user-friendly solution with a wide range of possibilities.

A technology solution that "speaks for itself," PVAExchange offers mobile users the power to access their information as easily as other users can. With this product, we believe that Conita has succeeded in their goal to integrate voice recognition technology with information management software. The fact that their product utilizes the human voice as the key to this integration is what enables PVAExchange to empower us as users of this technology. It allows us to use the most powerful communication tool we possess to access important information.

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CopperCom
CopperComplete Architecture
408-987-8500
Voice over DSL may be the next frontier in the drive for convergence, with a small group of companies representing the vanguard. Among them is CopperCom. These companies, aside from the delivery of actual DSL service, have accounted for almost every turn and straightaway along this newly redefined route from handset to handset.

A complete CopperCom experience starts at the customer's premises, where their integrated access device, CopperCom MXR, combines data and voice traffic from phones, PCs, faxes, and other devices into packets on a single DSL line. From there the CopperCom Gateway (located behind the DSLAM in the central office or regional switching center) converts that packet voice traffic back to circuit-switched voice before transporting it to a local exchange switch (DSLAMS by the way, or DSL Access Multiplexers, can be obtained through Lucent, Cisco, Copper Mountain, and others through a CopperCom partner program). Local exchange switch functionality can then in turn be performed by the CopperCom CSX 2100. Overall network provisioning and management are accomplished through the company's CopperCommander, which among other things accounts for service management changes brought about by voice and data convergence through its integration with typical voice and data network platforms. Transporting voice traffic is all well and good, but what can make or break service providers -- especially of the CLEC variety -- is the ability to offer custom services and features. That's where CopperController comes in. CopperController is an object-oriented, "feature creation environment" using the Web-like Call Policy Markup Language (CPML) to quickly create, test, and implement new types of service.

Offering a large number of products within a niche market is not necessarily impressive in itself; however, it is impressive in CopperCom's case, given the relative novelty of VoDSL. The company should be recognized for taking a risk on new technology, and for their pioneer status in mapping out a territory which may soon be filled with many players.

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Cygnion
CyberGenie
877-438-4364
If you want to be a big company or just look like one, Cygnion, the recent spin off from communications giant Ericcson, has an answer. CyberGenie is a small office/home office (SOHO) micro-PBX which brings big business features like auto-attendant, call routing, and voice mail to the SOHO environment. Scalable to two phone lines, 10 headsets, and 20 private mailboxes, the system not only creates the illusion of success but actually backs it up with a pretty sophisticated and programmable system configured and accessed through a speech interface. "CyberGenie" itself is the system's virtual personal assistant, who, through text-to-speech technology provided by Lernout & Hauspie, is able to call you at the remote phone of your choosing and read you your e-mail. As for automated speech recognition, the system can interpret a range of possible questions or commands while just as easily switching over to DTMF-activated functionality. Did we mention that it's cordless? The system uses 2.4 GHz Digital Spread technology to connect the sleek, Ericcson-branded handsets with the product's "base station" translator.

A note of warning: products can demonstrate innovation while still being in their infancy. We felt Cygnion deserved recognition for bringing large-scale PBX functionality to a needy small and home office market. At the same time, bear in mind the product has only been on the market for about a year, and as a result Cygnion has some further kinks to work out. The CyberGenie@Work software tended to use up a significant degree of system resources in our testing scenarios, for example, leaving room for improvement on how well the system integrates with a PC. But in terms of raw innovation Cygnion has made an impressive entry into the market, leaving us eager to see further releases of their product.

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eOn Communications
eNterprise 2000
800-866-8880
If you're looking for a way to consolidate mission-critical voice, data, and Web applications onto a single server, you'd better find one running a reliable OS. Both of these traits can be found in the eNterprise 2000, a private communications exchange (PCX) platform running that maverick yet undeniably robust operating system, Linux.

As a communications foundation, the eNterprise 2000 supports traditional circuit-switched and VoIP messages, with call routing capabilities for both types allowing up to 32,000, 64 step routing plans. Routing plans can be time-, date-, and skills-based. The system additionally supports TAPI, TSAPI, and CSTA. Regarding scalability, the product supports up to 62 T1s, starting with 48 ports and expanding to as many as 2,000 in a single installation. How does the system fit into your overall network? A 10/100 BaseT Ethernet connection links it to networked devices including IVRs, voice mail, and unified messaging systems. As for administration, key configurations such as initial system programming, changes, moves, adds, and call routing plans can be modified remotely via a Web-based GUI.

It's impossible to give anything but a cursory overview of such a feature-rich and systemically fundamental product in such a meager space. Suffice it to say that eOn has found a single, easily manageable way to account for the diverse communications resources and rules found within the average established or growing firm. Furthermore, through eNterprise 2000 eOn continues to tap into the notably reliable and open Linux OS, a habit they established long before it was a fashionable and relatively low-risk proposition.

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General DataComm
203-574-1118
If you consider that Internet traffic consumes half of all U.S. network resources, yet only contributes 6�7 percent of revenues, the message is clear: Promote data services, such as Internet access, but make money on voice. One of the major advantages of broadband-based packet voice gateways is to provide Internet offload, so classic voice tandem switches are burdened only with profit-making voice calls, with Internet traffic efficiently transported across broadband links to ISP remote access servers.

NexEra's is one such packet telephony switch that provides considerable cost savings and operational efficiencies. NexEra is designed as a WAN mediation point between the circuit-switched world of traditional telephony and new packet-based IP and Internet services. It consolidates and migrates voice traffic from the PSTN onto a broadband packet network.

All carriers have voice switches and core ATM switches. NexEra sits between the two. Because of this, NexEra has the capability to offload dialed-in Internet access from the voice network, saving carriers a lot of money.

Interestingly enough, General DataComm was the company that helped design and push the AAL2 voice over ATM standard through the standards bodies. AAL1, the most prevalent standard still used today is 64 Kbps voice over ATM, while AAL2 is 8 or 32 Kbps compression for voice over ATM. NexEra can take all long distance voice calls and perform 32 Kbps compression and then remove any silence (about 50 percent is silence), while still reproducing silence or delay at the other end. Thus, with the bandwidth savings of compression and silence suppression, what is left over is excess IP bandwidth that carriers can sell.

Because GDC knows the AAL2 specification quite well, they are one of the few to take advantage of it. If you look at the older standard (AAL1) and if you answer 100 calls from a voice switch (via AAL1) you have to create 1 connection for each call on the core ATM network. That results in hundreds of thousands of switched virtual circuits (SVCs), which certainly has some scalability and management issues. Utilizing AAL2, the NexEra product is able to take hundreds of calls all mapped to a single SVC!

It is estimated that carriers earn $5,000�$6,000 per year of revenue per port of long distance. For T1 Internet access for a year, the average revenue is about $580 per port or channel. Thus, it becomes obvious that voice is still a much better revenue source than data. The NexEra product leverages the carrier's existing ATM and voice switches, while offloading Internet access to free up ports to generate revenue from more lucrative voice applications.

Because NexEra can connect directly with Class 5 switches, it can take all the dialed Internet access off of the trunk ports. Then with NexEra's SS7 support, it can translate the numbering plan to an ATM SVC, transport the data to the destination city for the ISP and then offload all the T1 PRIs right to the ISP. By offering a means to offload Internet traffic (offering substantial savings), the ability to adapt frame relay services, replace tandem switches, and support for AAL2 and SS7, the NexEra product is in a class by itself and thus quite worthy of our TMC Labs Innovation Award.

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MCK Communications
EXTender 6000
617-454-6100
The most innovative technologies are often those that answer a specific case or problem raised by changing business models. One of the most significant changes within the past decade has been a question of geography. Noting that corporations are simply not as centralized as they were in the days of Henry Ford is no great revelation. This doesn't make the related problem any less significant though: How can a company lessen the ever-widening distance between branch offices and headquarters? Space and time cannot be compressed, but many tech companies have attempted to provide a virtual equivalent -- allowing far-flung employees to enjoy the same resources as the central offices, with enhanced productivity as the inevitable result. MCK is such a company. Through its product family MCK has successfully answered the need for consistent PBX capabilities to be available across any network.

Through the EXTender 6000 in particular, remote offices can access the same voice mail, unified messaging, ACD, and call accounting systems as their corporate headquarters -- receiving digital line extensions off the corporate PBX. Employees access these features through the digital phone sets also used in the corporate office, including the same 4-digit extensions, conference calling, auto-attendant and operator backup, intra-office transfer, etc. This is accomplished through what MCK calls Remote Voice Protocol (RVP), which essentially converts voice and phone signaling into packets that are sent and received through a remote access connection to the corporate voice network via T1, DSL, cable, and other connections. MCK deserves recognition for developing a product that supports consistency in the face of change over time and space, providing a uniform interface for customers, suppliers, and partners while ensuring that remote employees feel empowered and not alienated in spite of distance from the mothership.

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Netergy Networks
408-727-1885
The Netergy Advanced Telephony System (ATS) is a "hosted model" full function PBX system designed specifically to allow service providers to deliver iPBX hosted voice services. ATS utilizes carrier-class Sun Netra t1 servers and is completely packet network based. The Netergy iPBX allows service providers to support up to 100 discrete iPBXs -- each dedicated to an individual customer -- and up to 10,000 extensions. The Netergy iPBX delivers complete PBX functionality to customers through any broadband connection. For instance, the customer premise could be linked to the service provider through ISDN, T1, xDSL, or cable. The Netergy ATS connects to the PSTN and the long-distance IP backbone through a SIP softswitch combined with an MGCP gateway or an H.323 gateway and gatekeeper.

With the Netergy ATS, service providers can deliver to their customers all the voice service features of an in-house PBX without the large initial capital investment costs and without the maintenance requirements. In addition, Netergy claims that its end-user cost is similar to Centrex when there are fewer than 10 users, and they claim that their price is significantly less than Centrex for more than 10 users. TMC Labs was intrigued with Netergy's business model, as well as its interesting feature set. For example, their product is Java-based and they have tested the underlying state machine at more than 10,000 concurrent threads, thus ensuring scalability. In addition, each virtual PBX is protected in its own memory space, thus if a virtual PBX fails, it does not affect the other virtual PBXs.

In addition, because the server software was written entirely in Java, each instance of the software runs in its own Java virtual machine, or "sandbox." The use of separate virtual machines prevents any iPBX instance from affecting any other, providing a high degree of security. Second, the fact that each iPBX instance is separate allows each to be dedicated to individual customers, which allows for a high degree of customization. In addition, a faulty instance can be restarted or moved to another server without affecting other iPBX instances, thus insuring high-availability.

Additional features include, support for H.323, MGCP, and SIP, as well as PBX-type features such as call hold, call transfer, three-way conferencing, multi-line phone support, paging, hunt groups, voice mail, direct inbound dialing, and more. Each Netergy iPBX Server can be custom configured for each customer. Connecting legacy terminal devices (such as a digital or analog phone) can be done with Netergy's Media Hub, or one from Calista/Cisco.

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Nuance
Nuance 7.0
888-NUANCE-8
A leader in speech recognition, Nuance has created products and services that continue to dispel the common misconception that voice recognition is not quite ready for prime time. There are still kinks in the armor of voice recognition, but Nuance 7.0 has the tools to hammer the armor into shape. In fact, it even has the tools to efficiently replace an IVR system, or at least supplement one.

Designed for banking, traveling, and brokerage companies, Nuance 7.0 offers something more than just directory assistance. For example, it offers a method of navigating through a speech recognition auto attendant, distinctively inclined to satisfy the needs of the consumers of a specific business. TMC Labs decided to partake in the demos that Nuance offers: travel planning, banking, stock quotes, and voice authentication. We could plan airline reservations, check our savings account balance, see how well our stocks did on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, or verify our voice for personalized customer service. In fact, the Home Shopping Network uses a combination of caller-ID and Nuance 7.0 for this type of voice authentication. Four profiles can be loaded for each incoming caller-ID number. Nuance 7.0 extends the caller-ID in order to recognize which family member it is and then transfer to an agent that has had prior dealings with that customer.

Furthermore, Nuance offers Voyager, which is a voice browser that parallels your current desktop Web browser. People, applications, content, and voice-enabled Web sites via a standard voice interface can be accessed by phone. To deliver a network of voice portal services to their subscribers and employees, services providers and corporate enterprises can use Voyager and create a Voice Web that enhances the World Wide Web. For these purposes, Nuance offers a Voice Web Portal Program and Voice Web ASP Program to help members launch their services quickly.

There is an abundance of initiatives and innovations inherent in Nuance's products and services. They lead the way for voice recognition, and we honor their resourcefulness and accomplishments.

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Polycom
800-POLYCOM
Building successful business relationships today sometimes involves bridging geographical distance between the people that need to interact. For this reason video conferencing continues to play a crucial role in bringing people, businesses, and ideas together. As this technology rapidly develops, its impact becomes broader and more obvious. The evidence lies in the increasing number of products that offer features implementing this technology. It also lies in the number of companies that are successfully and creatively utilizing this emerging technology. We believe that Polycom is an innovative leader in this arena. One of the more prominent manufacturers of video conferencing tools, their product Viewstation MP offers an effective solution to improving the quality of business meetings everywhere.

Polycom's products are well known for being easy to configure and use. With Viewstation MP, users are provided with a complete video conferencing system that operates within a user-friendly graphical interface. We think that the Viewstation MP's features, which set the standard in technical excellence, make the product especially unique. The ViewStation MP unit offers embedded Web functionality for remote system management and diagnostics. It is the first system to include a dual port Ethernet hub that can also be used for remote management.

Most impressive is the fact that up to four sites can be connected at a time and all of these sites can be viewed on the Viewstation unit simultaneously. This provides a complete video representation of a conference call. Documents such as Powerpoint presentations can be easily uploaded via a browser and shared with other users via the Internet or a company intranet. This convenient accessibility dissolves the need for last minute color printouts or saving your work onto a network drive. Another important feature is the voice-tracking camera, which can automatically track the voice of the person that is speaking. This makes it easier to focus on what is being said without having to focus on filtering out background noises. This feature combined with the others improves the quality of each video conference call and increases the productivity of the meeting.

We feel that Polycom has successfully transformed leading edge technology into an effective and important business tool that is unique in a dynamic and competitive industry. It's obvious to us at TMC Labs that Viewstation MP is a product that will not only bridge the geographical distance between companies, but will also set a new standard for business communications.

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Santera
SanteraOne
800-733-7307
Santera's SanteraOne is a truly integrated, protocol-independent switch that is designed to enable services of all types (TDM, IP, ATM, DSL and frame relay) to be switched in their native modes or any mode to any mode. Deployable at the network edge as well as in the central office, co-location, CLEC PoP, or remote switching centers, SanteraOne unifies the circuit and packet worlds, which allows for enhanced services to be provided.

Santera likes to classify their product as a "SuperClass," since it encompasses many of the Class 4 and Class 5 features, as well as support for xDSL, IADs, and IP data services. SanteraOne can provide over 56,000 DS-0s per shelf -- more than 2,000 PRIs in one shelf; over 22,000 simultaneous VoIP calls in one shelf; and over 192,000 VoDSL subscribers in one frame. Despite the power and scalability of its technology, it is surprisingly compact. Based on a 100,000 port switch model, it is 1/90 the size of traditional systems, which certainly reduces co-location costs, HVAC requirements, and power usage. According to Santera, SanteraOne delivers up to a 70 percent reduction in capital costs and up to a 50 percent reduction in operating costs.

SanteraOne has an innovative approach to allowing service providers to offer enhanced services. First, we should mention that competing architectures to the SuperClass solution all center around the embedded Class 5 switch, whether from a next generation switch/gateway vendor or the embedded switch vendors themselves. In either case, there are gateway devices that attempt to surround the existing Class 5 switch and extend its capabilities and life cycle. While this extends the lifecycle of the Class 5 switch, Santera believes that this approach falls short, since it depends on the lowest capability set in the solution, which is the architecturally limited Class 5 switch. A SuperClass switch, such as SanteraOne offers the gateway functionality as well as the Class 5 switch function in a single platform. This creates a competitive advantage because it can fully integrate voice and data services at the first point of switching. Just this quick glimpse into Santera's work on merging the circuit-switched world with the packet-based world, allowing for enhanced services to be provided from a single platform proves that the company truly is an innovator.

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Sound Advantage
SANDi
949-476-1400
There's a new voice in town and it belongs to SANDi (Sound Advantage Natural Dialog Interface). No, she's not your Avon representative or the latest candidate for Congress. She's the voice behind the automated technology of Sound Advantage's innovative product suite. Sound Advantage believes that simplicity is the essential element in unlocking the power of technology. In support of this belief, they have focused their efforts on developing a product that optimizes that power. Their main goal is to provide users with a simpler and more convenient way to communicate. We believe that Sound Advantage deserves recognition for creating an innovative product that offers a unique solution to common business issues. SANDi takes a technology that we use everyday, the telephone, and transforms it into a complete processing system.

SANDi is a solution that is intended to make our lives easier and is quickly changing the way we communicate. It enables us to make better use of a technology that has always been at our disposal and eliminates the inconvenience of touch-tone menus. This inconvenience is replaced with voice-controlled technology. With features such as unified messaging and voice activated call processing, we now have multiple resources available to us. SANDi will act as your personal assistant and give you virtually hands free control of your e-mail and voice mail. By issuing simple commands, such as "Get new messages" or "Reply to message," SANDi will enable you to quickly accomplish what you need to get done all through the power of your voice. An efficient virtual assistant, SANDi can answer the phone, provide call screening, and transfer phone calls with the power of voice recognition technology. SANDi will even try to locate you at an alternate number if someone is trying to reach you.

The key to success in any business is effective communication. Companies follow technology trends and try to put their best foot forward in terms of having the best solution to optimize this technology. In our opinion, Sound Advantage has been successful in developing a more efficient and easier method of communication. Not only has SANDi provided users with a simpler method of communicating, but a more efficient way of doing business.

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Sprint
PCS technology
888-211-4727
Serving almost every metropolitan area, Sprint has developed an all-digital, wireless PCS network. Sprint PCS offers typical local area plans for their wireless phones, but they also offer a nationwide service plan so that there is no need to worry about where you are calling. This is a major relief. We in TMC Labs are sick of examining different schemes that explain complex calling plans, roaming charges, and odd reasons why certain numbers within an area code may or may not be long distance. With Sprint PCS, you can call anywhere within the 48 contiguous United States for a fixed rate (depending on the minute plan you choose), unless you happen to be in an area where service is lost or analog roaming is in effect (then, additional charges apply). Since any Sprint PCS compatible phones tells you when you must use an analog connection, this whole system is much easier than other plans.

About a year or so ago, Sprint PCS was the first to offer the Wireless Web. This revolutionary idea allows you to access the Internet through your wireless phone and connect to such sites as AOL, Yahoo!, Go2online, and Amazon.com. We looked at the functionality that Sprint PCS's Wireless Web has to offer. We could access our e-mail accounts from either Yahoo! or AOL, or our newly created account from Sprint PCS, which we could also access from our PCs. Setting up our Sprint PCS account was a breeze, and our password was sent to us via a text message on our phone. Other useful applications for the Wireless Web might be to find directions while traveling, look up a quick piece of information, or just to spend some time on the Web while on a train when you don't have a laptop or a good book available.

Until now, Sprint has focused on the consumer market for their Wireless Web applications, but they have recently announced plans for business features. These features will include access to Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes, corporate e-mail management, and sales and field service applications to respond to time-critical activities, corporate travel services, and directory services. To achieve all of this, they have partnered with Siebel Systems, Sabre, and Peoplesoft.

With the innovations inherent in Sprint PCS, it is easy to see that they are a step ahead of their competition and should pave the way for the boom in wireless communications.

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Vina Technologies
DSL eLink
888-774-VINA
DSL has become an important technology that interests small to mid-sized businesses, which now represent a significant and growing market for communications services. The reason is obvious: DSL can offer high speed Internet access at a fraction of the cost. Now voice over DSL promises to be as much -- if not more -- of a boon for competitive ISPs and CLECs, who can bundle revenue-generating voice services with their data offerings. As with all new developments in communication, VoDSL requires or demands a next generation of related equipment. Vina Technologies has stepped up to the plate with a crucial component in the new equation, an integrated access device (IAD) called DSL eLink.

DSL eLink satisfies customer premise requirements in a typical VoDSL scenario, removing the need for parallel equipment by integrating voice, data, and Internet access. In terms of data, eLink's integrated router supports Network Address Translation and DHCP as well as RIP-I and RIP-II. As for voice, eLink compresses voice signals via ADPCM to conserve bandwidth for data. It also offers 8-16 analog ports -- a perfect starting number for the SOHO environments in which VoDSL is most likely to take off. Another characteristic of SOHO environments is the lack of MIS staff; to account for this eLink supports remote management through Telnet and SNMP, allowing service providers to manage the system for appreciative customers who are already grateful for their cost savings. Vina deserves recognition not only for providing a needed component in the VoDSL equation, but for doing so in a cost-effective and easy-to-use way that respects the position of most small and mid-sized businesses. 

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