Global VoIP keeps Eaton connected

Acquire 35 companies in five years, and you will quickly see the need to reduce the cost of communication across your entire organization.

That's what diversified manufacturing firm Eaton came to realize in 2007, when it decided to leverage its AT&T MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) data network for VoIP -- a shift likely to be duplicated more frequently by enterprise-level companies in the years ahead.

Deployed at 220 of Eaton's 450 locations across the globe, the company's VoGAN (voice over global-area network) has saved Eaton nearly $3 million to date, allowing employees to make calls "on-net to on-net" anywhere in the world without charge, says William Blausey, senior vice president and CIO of Eaton.

"On-net to off-net" calls are billable, but the cost per minute goes way down, Blausey adds.

As anyone in IT might guess, integration proved to be the biggest challenge; Blausey and his team not only had to merge voice and data on the same AT&T network foundation, but also needed to integrate with myriad PBX and telephony infrastructures that the had company elected to continue using.

The result: a centralized infrastructure, with all voice and data streaming through two data centers in Cleveland. In other words, a setup for which data network reliability is critical -- a chief factor in Eaton's decision to go with AT&T, Blausey says.

"AT&T has Class of Service on the managed network," allowing Eaton to segment voice and data traffic on its network, Blausey says. VoGAN is designated Class of Service 1, followed by data, which Eaton designates Class of Service 2 through 4. Internet browsing is treated as a lower class of traffic.

By not completely recapitalizing Eaton's telephony environment, Blausey saved considerably on the project, which involved 12 IT staffers for engineering and deploying voice technologies. Eaton added two engineers with strong Avaya and network experience to help integrate its VoGAN with legacy Avaya, Siemens and Nortel systems, which took considerable work.

"We needed to figure out what the right cards were to put in the switches so they could talk to the AT&T network," Blausey says.

The project, which began in January 2007, prioritized sites that used long-distance calling the most in order to provide the quickest and largest return on investment. With nearly 230 offices yet to be transitioned, Blausey estimates that the company has already achieved about 75% of its anticipated cost savings.

Eaton is also now leveraging the VoGAN system as part of its move to unified communications -- a shift that includes voice-to-e-mail, e-mail-to-voice and the ability to talk to e-mail while on a cell phone.

Overall, Eaton's capital investment in communications capabilities has been reduced by 15% as a result of the project -- not bad, given the increased functionality its employees now enjoy.

Thanks to VoGAN, employees worldwide enjoy the same user experience wherever they travel, increasing productivity by reducing learning curves. Moreover, mobile workers now have a single phone number that can be used to contact them anywhere in the world.

Free Webinar: How Smaller Operators, ISPs Can Take Advantage of VoIP

Experts say that Internet telephony is poised to become a widely deployed technology among SMBs, highly profitable for vendors and service providers – yet the professionals behind VoIP systems must collaborate in order for their products to make money.

As TMCnet reported, officials from AudioCodes Ltd. – an Israel-based VoIP product provider with offices throughout the United States – say it’s time for Internet telephony to evolve from a visionary’s idea to a pragmatist’s business success.

More than half of what is now being sold on the market is Voice over IP, as larger cable and Internet service providers are embracing Internet telephony offerings as a way to bolster customer retention and increase revenues.

Bundled VoIP offerings are a large part of why AMI Partners Inc. predicts that SMB hosted VoIP spending will surpass $1.56 billion by 2010. As hosted VoIP companies themselves have told TMCnet, managed services are especially valuable in this slower economy, as they offer lower upfront and maintenance costs, and greater scalability.

As the quality of VoIP calls improves – such as with AudioCodes’ new “HD IP Phones for the Enterprise,” including the 350HD IP Phone Executive HD IP Phone, pictured right – as TMC Group Managing Editor Erik Linask describes in a video interview here, IP telephony solutions are becoming more and more prevalent across SMBs.

Yet in many ways, small and mid-tier operators, rural telecom companies and ISPs are being left out, put off the cost and technical complexity of creating a VoIP solution from scratch.

In two days, a panel of experts from IBM, Broadsoft and AudioCodes are delivering a free Webinar to help small and mid-tier operators learn how to offer VoIP services to customers.

Register here for “Small Operator, Are You Being Left Behind?” The Webinar will be held at 2 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, Nov. 19.

Moderated by Linask, the Webinar will feature a panel of experts that includes: Alan Percy, director of market development at AudioCodes; Mike Wilkinson, director of European marketing at Broadsoft, and Scott R. Firth, director of telecommunications solutions forIBM systems and technology group.

VoIP Managed Service from Bell provides advanced toolkits, 24/7 expertise

MONTREAL, Quebec, Nov 17, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Cisco and Nortel-based customers to unlock full benefits of IP

Bell, the Canadian leader in information and communication technology strategies for large organizations, today introduced VoIP Managed Services, a combination of advanced toolsets, resources and processes designed to improve the overall efficiency and performance of larger companies that use Cisco or Nortel IP systems.

The suite of services includes VoIP device surveillance, sophisticated incident diagnosis and problem solving, as well as access to the specialized bilingual expertise of Bell IP technical support staff around the clock.

"With the largest installed base of VoIP-enabled PBXs in Canada, we knew that our customers were looking for more help in getting the most out of their IP technology," said Stephane Boisvert, President, Bell Enterprise Group. "VoIP Managed Service meets that need, helping them be more productive by leveraging Bell's unmatched expertise."

"We ensure that customers' systems are performing at their peak with maximum uptime, and at a cost that is both predictable and, with no need to build their own support staff, less than if they manage it themselves. With access to Bell's industry-leading toolsets and experts, our customers can free up their time to be more responsive to their business and their customers."

VoIP Managed Service includes:

    - Advanced surveillance - proactively detects and prioritizes incidents
   - Incident management - detects and restores VoIP devices
   - Problem management - a more technically advanced investigation of
     recurring incidents
   - Change management - automatically submits all changes to the Service
     Desk
   - Release management - includes patch management deficiency analysis,
     implementation and monthly summary reporting
   - Configuration management - periodically verifies and backs up
     information about managed devices and application configurations
   - Reporting - electronically distributes an extensive array of management
     reports
   - 24/7 bilingual service desk - provides single point of contact and
     accountability to improve the customer experience.

Nortel is very excited to be working with Bell Canada on the launch of Bell's new VoIP Managed Service. Given the size and breadth of Bell Canada's Nortel base, we believe they are uniquely positioned to deliver these services to their Nortel customer base," said Ron McDougall, Vice-President, Sales, Nortel. "Customers are looking for ways to maximize the return on their capital investments while gaining the immediate benefits of new technologies, such as Unified Communications, for a competitive edge. Bell's new VMS services will provide customers with both, while lowering their overall total cost of ownership. Nortel is pleased to join forces with Bell Canada in taking this offer to market."

"As a leader in IP voice and Unified Communications in Canada and around the world, Cisco is pleased to collaborate with Bell as they launch this important managed service to their Cisco customers," said Olaf Krahmer, Vice-President, Service Provider, Cisco. "Bell has consistently demonstrated its commitment to delivering leading-edge managed services through the expansion of its national MPLS core network and its achievement of Cisco Master Unified Communications and Security Certifications. We are pleased to work with Bell to bring new and innovative solutions and services to our mutual customers looking to streamline IT while implementing advanced technologies to transform their business."

VoIP Managed Service is available to customers with Cisco or Nortel-enabled VoIP systems.

Fring Trials Ads On Free Mobile Chat/VoIP Application

Fring is trialing something it should have implemented long ago if it ever planned on making money: ads.

Fring is essentially a mobile VoIP / chat service provider that works on the iPhone and any device running Windows Mobile or Symbian, with technology that enables users to make free calls using the Fring service itself, Skype, Live Messenger, Google Talk, and other communication services.

Up until now, the chat functionality was completely ad-free, but now Fring will gradually start rolling out banner display ads, beginning with a small number of randomly selected users.

From the Fring blog:

We wanted to give you the heads-up, as you may soon see small clickable advertising banners in the fring chat window, beneath the chat itself. Clicking the ad will open your browser and take you to the advertiser’s site; you may even find extra special offers, cool promos & other nice surprises behind the click from time to time And, more clicks mean happy advertisers; and happy advertisers mean more resources for us to develop cool new stuff for you to play with in fring!

The beta version of Fring was made publicly available in January 2007, and is now being used by millions of users across the globe. With $10 million in venture funding, the company was bound to come up with a monetization effort for all those users soon. Unlike competitors such as Jajah and Truphone, Fring is committed to keeping the costs of calling as low as possible and will try to make up for that revenue by slapping ads on chat screens.

Ribbit Rolls Out VoIP Developer Platform

Web-based telephone software provider Ribbit on Monday opened up its platform to developers, enterprises, and carriers.

The company, which markets itself as Silicon Valley's first phone company, enables calls to be made and answered across multiple communication networks, devices, and protocols. Most importantly, Ribbit said, it lets developers create Web applications that use voice without having special knowledge of programming communication apps.

The telephony platform already has been integrated into Salesforce .com's CRM software, and Ribbit said developers can use the communications platform to design, test, provision, deploy, monitor, and bill voice-powered Web applications. Developers will be able to freely market and sell their applications, but they will have to pay Ribbit a fee depending on usage.

"Our vision from the start was 'programmable telephony' -- a platform that enables developers around the globe to design, deploy, and monetize the next generation of telecommunication services," Ribbit CEO Ted Griggs said in a statement. "Now, just four months after BT's acquisition of Ribbit, the platform is live, and we are open for business with developers, systems integrators, and yes, other carriers. ... The platform is now open to anyone -- small businesses, large businesses, telecommunications vendors -- that are looking for ways to innovate with next-generation, Web-based services."

The company said it has more than 7,500 developers working with the platform, which is based on the SmartSwitch software that enables voice to move across landlines, mobile phones, and IM applications. To spur further development, the company is launching a $100,000 contest for the best business productivity, media, social network, and next-generation applications.

The company also is implementing a "Bring Your Own Network" program, which enables other carriers to use the Ribbit software for applications on their own voice networks. This move is part of BT's larger strategy to evolve from a traditional telecom into more of a software-focused telecom, Ribbit said.

In addition to Ribbit, InformationWeek has evaluated three hosted IP PBX systems, which offer small and midsize businesses all the benefits of voice-over-IP services without the cost of buying and maintaining their own switches.