Convergence gets green light at last
Tony Savvas looks at how the drive into IP networking is helping telcos and service providers out of the mire
The convergence of data and voice network traffic seems to have been on theagenda for network managers for years.
It is one of the main staples for enterprises to ponder, and new applications and services are finally making it happen.
Last week saw the IDC European Telecoms Forum in Rome, an analyst/supplier event primarily aimed at telcos and service providers that need to know how to survive in a recession-hit market.
But it seems like network managers are doing some of the work for them, by their continued drive into IP networking and increased adoption of technologies such as VoIP, IP VPNs (virtual private networks) and broadband connectivity like DSL (digital subscriber line).
These, and other voice and data options like wireless connectivity via PDAs, phones and laptops, are starting to deliver the converged network world that was being seriously touted at trade shows in the mid-1990s.
IDC analysts presented research which showed that only 11 per cent of companies in Europe have fully converged their voice and data in their Wan, but another 11 per cent planned to do so in the next 12 months. A further 37 per cent plan to make the leap at a later date, but 41 per cent said they would not.
These figures are not exactly startling, but that is probably because for most companies a tidy conversion from various infrastructures into one is not an option.
Instead, says IDC, companies are throwing everything they have into the pot - including X.25, ATM and Frame Relay - to enable as many users as possible to enjoy "pervasive" computing and connectivity from any location.
The gradual approach taken by companies can be seen by the take-up of IP VPNs, said IDC. When a company adopts an IP VPN it does not immediately connect every employee to it but does it in stages, dependent on what existing network infrastructure it currently has.
In 2000, only 14 per cent of European companies had an IP VPN, said IDC. By the end of this year there will be a leap to 42 per cent. These corporate IP VPNs are being used by companies to create an extranet for trading partners, to connect remote workers to the corporate network, provide basic internet access to employees, connect mobile workers, and build an intranet for employees.
Mark Winther, IDC group vice president, worldwide telecommunications, said there was an enterprise buying climate because telecoms prices are dropping 25 to 30 per cent a year. He said bandwidth was plentiful, internet circuits better than ever, and there was a renewed emphasis on customer service.
Winther said a typical pervasive computing contract would guarantee 800 to 1,200 connection points. As far as Voice over IP is concerned, Pim Bilderbeek, IDC vice president, European e-business and networking research, said firms had a choice as to how they tackled the technology.
They could opt for an IP-enabled PBX, an IP/circuit-switched PBX, or a total replacement solution in the form of a softswitch/fully packetised PBX. IDC says 25 per cent of companies have adopted VoIP in one form or another and that there will be 25 billion minutes of business IP telephony traffic by 2005. The current figure is around five billion minutes.