The telephone has been one of humanity's greatest inventions, and ever since, it's been on the receiving end of a number of refinements. Most recently, it's been making the migration to running on the Internet, giving rise to a growth of session initiation protocol (SIP) devices, and one of the leaders in the field is Yealink (News - Alert). But no SIP phone line can operate for long without voice service, and Yealink has added a significant boost to its operations with the addition of Teliax (News - Alert)'s voice service to its roster, thanks to a recently completed interoperability certification process between the two firms.

Thanks to this new interoperability, the firms' partners will have a new tool in the toolbox when it comes to making sales: specifically, the combination of Yealink hardware and Teliax service. Considering that Yealink is a global Top 3 SIP phone provider, according to reports, that alone should mean plenty of interest in its offerings. But with Teliax IVY platform to drive the Yealink phones, now potential purchasers can get everything that's needed all at once.

Right now, Teliax's IVY platform will only work with the T4 series of SIP phones from Yealink, but reports suggest that other models will be added in the coming days. But when available, users will get access to a complete management platform that offers a host of tools ranging from hosted private branch exchange (PBX (News - Alert)) functions to invoicing and billing services, allowing users to offer tiered pricing and scalability for added versatility.

Those interested in getting a look at the IVY platform, meanwhile, will be able to do exactly that at ITEXPO, running through August 14 at the Rio in Las Vegas. Teliax will be on hand at booth 321, and will be showing off a line of products special for its 10th anniversary at the event.

Considering how many competitors there are in the IP communications space, versatility is always going to prove important in terms of attracting customers away from those various competitors. While no product offering can be all things to all users, the more that a product can do to appeal to a wide market, the better the chance it has of survival in the long term. While it's always possible to make a good showing as a niche player, having all of a small pie is about the same in the long term as a small piece of a very big pie. Plus, if the size of the big pie slice drops a bit, it's less noticeable; anything missing from the small pie is almost immediately felt. Teliax's IVY offers quite a bit of powerful options to it, and when it couples with several other options in hardware, the end result is a great combination that should be sufficient to draw customers in.

Only time, of course, will tell just how well the Teliax/Yealink combination works, or just how many of Yealink's IP phone models will work well with the Teliax package. But this is a case where the more will likely be the merrier, and the end result should be good news for both firms.