Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Unified Communication:
The evolution of dynamic collaboration
ABSTRACT
Unified Communication refers to a very simple ideal, encapsulated in the following definition:
Unified Communication is not a new concept; it was first mooted in 1996 when the first
Internet Phones (“iphone” – no less) and IP-TDM media gateways started to appear.
The common enabler for all of unified communications was the development of IP-based
signalling protocols; initially H.323 and then standardisation followed around SIP
(Session Initiation Protocol). The key benefit when using IP over TDM is separation of the
media (your voice/video etc) and the signalling. In simple terms the way you find the other
person’s communication device can be separated from how you send the content of your
call; this makes the ability for different devices to talk together a manageable problem.
The separation of service and transport is the underlying principle of all “Next Generation
Telecoms” and the corner stone of Interoute’s “Unified ICT” strategy. Unified Communication
creates a world where communication devices of any technology can communicate directly
with each other, thereby “unifying” your world of communications. The separation goes
further as it means that YOU are the person being called, not the device you rent, this
effectively overturns 100 years of tradition where the device (and it’s associated number)
is actually what gets called, not you the subscriber. You just happen to have it in your
pocket or on your desk. With Unified Communication it is the subscriber (the individual)
who is called and their preferred, default or only method of real-time communication gets
the call, much the same as it is with webmail. Just as with email, it is the address/number
itself that facilitates the abstraction layer between user and device.
The broad benefits of Unified Communication are obvious – complete user mobility,
optimal (low cost, high quality, or indeed the reverse) call routing, rationalisation of
technology, a more dynamic communication environment etc. Realising it, however;
for many corporate IT and Communication Managers, is, after 15 years of iteration,
www.inThe birth of the enterprise network
maturity and refinement of standards, still as illusive as ever.
as a dynamic ICT services platform
In recent times the spectre of Unified Lofty Goals and Modest aims
Communication has been most realised in
The desire to evolve communication in
the consumer space; this has lead to “three
the work place leads to conflicting and
quarters of UK workers wanting to combine
sometimes confusing goals. On one side
email, voice, video and instant messaging”
users want to be able to communicate freely
(according to research company Redshift),
without constraint, but the IT manager and
73% said it would make the workplace more
probably the CFO want to be able to use
efficient and crucially expand the work
Unified Communication not only to improve
environment, enabling them to work outside
productivity, but directly and positively to
the “traditional work place”. This is coupled
impact cost.
with a steady increase in the number of
laptops connected to mobile data networks: The simple challenge for most IT directors is
from 26M in 2008 to a forecast 36M in 2009. where to start? The problem and challenges
The trend and the demand are for more and faced by the IT manager is three fold:
more integration, simplifying and unifying • Lack of standards – two very different
communication. worlds; the world of PBXs and Computing
This whitepaper outlines the challenges, • Regulation – what can you do in each of
solutions and most importantly the method your offices, what’s possible? what’s not?
by which an IT manager can get on the • Concerns over technology: VOIP and its
road to the communication nirvana, while readiness for corporate communications
still maintaining service and expanding
Standards
the communication capabilities of their
The world of corporate telephony has for
organisation in a risk-free manner. In doing
years existing in the twilight world of ITU
so they will cast off the shackles of years
standards; with copious vendor extensions
and years of restrictive practice.
(to add decreasingly valuable features),
It also introduces Interoute One, which is meaning in practical terms that if you want
Interoute’s unified communication platform. to realise any level of sophistication and
Interoute One can be thought of as the inter-working in your corporate telephony:
largest “communication cloud” service in you’d better buy from the same vendor. This
Europe delivering over 7Bn minutes a year for very simple sales approach for PBX vendors
carriers and enterprises alike. Interoute One that has served them well over the years.
rewrites the rule book when it comes to how However; few enterprises will find themselves
communication services should and can be in a position with a consistent single vendor
thought of by eliminating the technological environment: acquisitions, changes in
and commercial barriers that separate the management and varying economic cycles all
worlds of wholesale and retail voice services serve to complicate the life of an IT manager,
typically leaving them with a mix of vendors.
www.inThe birth of the enterprise network
This reduces most PBXs to simple Private
as a dynamic ICT services platform
Branch Exchanges (PBX) distributing DDIs
among a series of extensions.
The lack of network and the cost and The challenge for the IT manager is: how
complexity of building a dedicated voice VPN do I eliminate the geographic constraints
means most never even realise the ability to on my organisation and normalise the
have free on-net calling amongst offices. communication environment? There are over
a billion fixed phones and a billion mobile
SIP is the IETF standard that underlines
phones in the world [The Yankee group]
Unified Communication and creates a world
so communication between all forms of
where the call control resides centrally.
technology is essential if the move to unified
It effectively has evolved to translate
communication is to be effective.
traditional TDM protocols, allowing for the
mixing of traditional TDM technologies and Concerns over technology VOIP: its
pure SIP-based communication. It allows for readiness for corporate communications
the creation of communication platforms Since 1994, when the first Internet phones
that are agnostic to the technology of the emerged, there have been concerns and
communication device, allowing traditional comments concerning the quality of VoIP-
black phones to talk to PCs and vice-versa. based communication versus the traditional
Unlike previous standards; SIP is resolutely Plain Old Telephone System (POTS). The
open in the grand tradition of TCP/IP, MPLS concern is referenced in the world of the
and Ethernet. For Unified Communication to Internet and is related to the variability of
ever work this was, and still is, a prerequisite. quality in the call and the ability to maintain
consistent call quality. 16 years on, and
Regulation
the world is considerably different. Billions
Unified communication is the confluence of and billions of everyday calls are transiting
two disparate worlds: the unregulated world IP networks, which are mostly privately
of applications and the Internet, and the controlled and managed using MPLS. The
tightly controlled and until recently state largest mobile network in the USA is SIP
owned world of telephony or PSTN (Public based [AT&T] and all the growth in minutes
Switched Telephone Network), or in the is on SIP based infrastructure [Interoute].
simplest term, phone numbers. For years Uncharacteristically it has been consumers
this has lead to confusion over when a VoIP that have led this development and it is now
application should be regulated and when time for Corporates to catch up.
it shouldn’t. Unfortunately there is no silver
The issues with extending this into the
bullet that addresses the issue. Whilst you
enterprise are often bound up with the way
can browse the Internet pretty much
in which many of the equipment and service
anywhere in world (with varying degrees of
vendors orientate their solutions. Many
constraint), the same theory does not apply
solutions sold to enterprises continue to place
to Unified Communication. Email addresses
the intelligence outside of the network, i.e.
are the domain of the enterprise but the
create more sophisticated PBX infrastructures
phone numbers are owned and regulated by
at the edge of the network. This approach is
the local incumbent or second operator. You www.inThe birth of the enterprise network
outdated and harks back to the days of closed
can make a VoIP to VoIP call anywhere in the as a dynamic ICT services platform
networks, where you had little choice but to
world (unless they block UDP – the requisite
place intelligence on the edge of a network.
protocol) but can you break out to the PSTN?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
Unfortunately for most IT managers, the “24 The Migration Model has four steps
hour” switch is one most loathed as either side to achieving this
of the event is months of user adoption training • Integrate – connect your legacy and
and heartache as carefully laid plans are tripped new communication devices together
up by the inflexibility of traditional telephone
• Separate – the signalling and the media
service, incompatibility of vendors etc.
• Combine – the users identities – URI
Below is an outline with a far less dramatic and PSTN/Mobile
approach (not as news worthy either) to
• Migrate – migrate based on user adoption,
moving your communication forward; one
avoiding a technology big bang
thatcreates an environment where adoption
and choice is manageable and controlled Integrate – Communication Devices
by the IT manager. The Interoute approach The first step in getting toward a fully unified
is about creating the right environment communication environment is to connect
for migration. It then lays out how to build all the devices together. The immediate
a common environment that can then be advantage of this is that PBX-to-PBX calls
adapted at will. Crucially in this approach are subsequently zero-rated – delivering
it leaves open the question of how much immediate measurable savings. Practically;
control you want to manage yourself and Interoute will on a PBX-by-PBX and trunk-
how much you would want to give to a third by-trunk basis, test interoperability, ensuring
party. Interoute has made much of its success consistent signalling and call quality.
out of adopting adapted outsourcing models, Interoute One is an access agnostic platform
allowing for change as businesses trust us that caters for up to 8 different access
more, and decide specific infrastructure is scenarios from traditional E1 (PRI) to or
more or less important to them. This model Microsoft Office Communicator certified SIP
is based on the Interoute product Interoute trunks, as illustrated below. The immediate
One which is an access agnostic enterprise benefit of this is that call routing can be
communication services platform. optimised from a cost and quality perspective.
(See the appendices)
Figure 1
The Interoute One
agnostic platform
IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global wherever the user is services
as a dynamic ICT connected
platformis where the
Figure 2
The IUCN solution
Figure 3
Interoute One
customer solution
Appendix One Interoute One a carrier or simply buy a SIP trunk where you
give Interoute the job of routing the call.
Interoute’s Interoute One product is an access
The diagram below illustrates the relationship
agnostic (any form of access or device) SIP
between Interoute One, Interoute’s Virtual
based communication platform. It leverages
Voice Network and the customer environment.
Interoute’s Virtual Voice Network platform
that supports over 250 global carriers Product Summary
worldwide and manages over 7Bn minutes Interoute One covers a range of
per annum. Interoute One unlike most other capability designed to serve the corporate
offerings is best thought of as an intelligent communications market, providing A-Z
real-time communications network. In termination, inbound numbers (DDIs)
simple terms you can plug old and new and voice VPN’s. In order to access the
communication technology PBXs (any vendor), features Interoute One also supports a wide
IP PBXs or Microsoft Office Communicator range of access methods to enable an IT
into it and they will communicate between manager to “unify” their communication.
devices in the office, at a home or anywhere.
You can take as much or as little control of
the routing as you require, you can become
www.inThe birth of the enterprise network
The access methods can be mixed and Interoute One Access Methods
matched as required to meet the needs Interoute One is split between the access
of the customer. methods and the features and capability
The diagram below displays the Interoute of the services. Simply put the first step in
One access types and features supported, creating a uniform communication platform is
in a format similar to that of the layered normalising all the disparate access methods
OSI stack: and devices. Interoute One supports a broad
range of access methods illustrated below.
Figure 4
Interoute One OPTION DDI
Access Types and
Features Matrix FEATURES Worldwide Termination Free OnNet Interoute Hub
Calls
PROTOCOL IP TDM
CONNECTIVITY
SIP Q.931
OCS Trunking H.323 Trunking VOIP Gateway
CUSTOMER Legacy PBX
TELEPHONY SYSTEM Microsoft OCS IP PBX
Figure 5
Access Scenarios
Figure 6
Feature Stack OPTION DDI
Free OnNet
FEATURES Worldwide Termination
Calls
Interoute Hub
Figure 7
Voice VPN
Figure 8
Traffic Statistics
(HUB)
Figure 9
Customer CDR
Format
Figure 10
CDR Download
via the Hub
Figure 11
Voice product
catalogue codes
Figure 12
Interoute One
Portal