Networks Converge
Besides being state-of-the-art technology, converged networks offer savings to customers because only one IT staff is needed to administer a network that handles both voice and data. IP phones, which can plug into the network at any location, also eliminate the need for an IT staff to reprogram the phone system when employees change offices.
Those unrefutable benefits mean traditional data or voice solution providers need to transition their businesses now to handle deployments of converged networks. In turn, that means a multimillion-dollar investment for most solution providers, dedicated to training their staffs and building labs for testing new
products. Choosing a vendor partner takes some consideration, too, as the networking field has a range of competitors. Cisco Systems has been a dominant player, but other vendors improving their hardware and software products for a converged network include Avaya, Enterasys Networks, Nortel Networks and 3Com. Other promising players in the router and switch market include Extreme Networks and Juniper Networks.
According to John Freres, president of N2N Solutions, a solution provider in Schaumburg, Ill., enterprise customers prefer to test out a converged network in a branch office, allowing them to experiment with applications such as IP telephony, before making a larger investment when the network at headquarters needs an upgrade.
"It's a big investment, and what you find today is people doing it in a kind of layered approach," says Freres, whose company has earned Cisco's IP telephony technology specialization.
Even if customers aren't rushing to convert to converged networks, they do want to learn about the technology and how it can help them save operating costs, solution providers say. One of the easier steps to prepare is to put in a converged network at your own business. Shawn Grady, president of Gee Communications, a solution provider in Lansing, Mich., is planning to deploy a converged network at his business with Avaya products. The project is one more step in training engineers on his staff who initially had experience in either voice or data technology.
"We're trying to be the best as the market grows," he says.
Web Bonus: Speech-Recognition Solutions