Due to the current global recession, service providers are under more pressure than ever to reduce operating costs.

At the same time, they must grow revenues by delivering the next generation multimedia services their customers demand -- and by developing innovative new services that help differentiate themselves from their competitors.

So how do service providers boost the bottom line while at the same time developing new services and solutions that wow their customers and make them stand out from the crowd? More important, how do they accomplish this with fewer resources than they had before, as many companies have had no choice but to cut-back on precious engineering and application development staff?

For those providers still using legacy network technologies and systems, migrating to all-IP architecture and/or the inclusion of IP media servers in the service delivery layer can be the key to “doing more with less.”

In traditional circuit-based networks, the delivery of enhanced voice services such as conferencing, voicemail messaging and IVR require additional dedicated voice processing equipment on the network. That means lots of different servers and many times more network elements – resulting in much greater network complexity and a “patchwork quilt” of systems offered by different “best of breed” or “pure play” vendors.

This is an extremely expensive and cumbersome approach: Not only is there a lot more equipment to purchase, install, deploy and maintain, there are also challenges with system integration and future expandability. And then there is the more basic problem that such architectures are extremely inefficient to operate: More boxes not only means more points of failure, monitoring, troubleshooting and worrying, there’s the plain-and-simple fact that these systems consume (and waste) many times more electricity, with some of the dedicated servers sitting “near-idle” during off-peak periods when traffic volume is low.

While the call and signaling logic for each of these standalone, proprietary voice systems is unique, the underlying media processing is more or less the same – in other words, they share many of the same media processing characteristics. Thus there is an opportunity, in next generation networks, to have all media processing for these additional voice services handled as a separate standalone function in the network.

Enter the IP media server. In today’s next generation networks, these veritable workhorses handle common media packet processing functions for many telecommunication services: Whether it’s audio, video, voicemail messaging, IVR -- you name it -- the IP media server handles functions like playing media clips (such as menu prompts, announcements or ringback tones), collecting DTMF digits (for PIN codes), recording media streams (for messaging applications), or mixing media streams together (for audio or video conferencing), thus there is no need to have a separate server for each type. Because IP media servers can “share” responsibility for media processing for different services, server resources are more efficiently utilized. What’s more, service providers can reduce operating costs significantly by reducing the number of media processing elements needed in order to deliver an array of next generation services.

In addition, today’s IP media servers are increasingly based on open standards, such as SIP, meaning they are fully-interoperable with most other vendors’ SIP application servers. This helps reduce the amount of time it takes to carry out costly integration projects and also helps ensure system reliability. Other benefits include increased port density, multiservice reusability combined with the ability to quickly, easily and affordably roll out new services, as well as to add new features or capabilities to existing services.

In the upcoming Webinar, “Doing More with Less: How IP Media Servers Help Network Operators and Telecom Developers during Lean Economic Times,” scheduled for 10 a.m. (EST), Wednesday, June 17, Ray Adensamer (News - Alert), product marketing manager for RadiSys, will explain the economic and service benefits that IP media servers deliver. He will show how telecom service providers can consolidate all their disparate media processing requirements and equipment into a common IP media server platform, thus increasing their ability to rapidly introduce new services and generate new revenues -- while at the same time reducing costs.

In this informative webinar, service provider executives, product managers and network architects, as well as equipment manufacturers, VoIP application developers and system integrators, will learn how they can avoid the cost and hassle of specialized engineering for real-time IP voice, video and speech packet processing by integrating “off-the-shelf”’ IP media server products. Attendees will learn how IP media servers simplify network topology and reduce costs, as well as how they help providers bring innovative new services to market faster.

Adensamer has more than 20 years of experience in the data and telecommunications industries and has worked in the areas of product marketing and business development with companies including Convedia, Redback Networks and Nortel. He also gained considerable OSS consulting experience while working with Deloitte (News - Alert) Consulting and Accenture.

A Q&A session with the audience will follow Adensamer’s presentation.

 

To register for this upcoming free webinar sponsored by RadiSys (News - Alert) and TMCnet, click here.