[Image]
lippis.com | back issues | advertising | contact us
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Image] From the Publisher:
The Enterprise Networks 2004 conference www.en2004.com is taking place from
April 26th to the 28th at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. We are very fortunate
to have Don Peterson, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Avaya deliver the
Monday morning April 26th keynote on "Going Mainstream With IP Telephony". I
hooked up with Don to get his take on the direction of the enterprise
communications industry. We talked about the shifts and changes that are
occurring in technology, industry structure, and communication applications
as the enterprise market migrates to IP communications. I also got his views
on the future of our industry and how he, with his executive team, is
structuring Avaya for that future. We also talked about how Avaya competes
against Cisco. It's a fascinating interview. Enjoy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Image]
Nick Lippis: The days of procuring enterprise voice systems via large
capital expenditures seem to be over as IP Telephony features are
increasingly bundled within computing, operating systems, Ethernet switches
and routers. In short, the procurement of an enterprise voice system is
shifting toward a software and service business. First, do you agree with
that assertion and if so then how are you organizing Avaya to participate in
this market?
Don Peterson: Value is certainly shifting to the software layer. We
recognized this early and translated it into a number of initiatives. The
first was the creation of Avaya Global Services, an organization
dedicated to providing comprehensive multi-vendor communications services
to small, medium and large enterprises. The second was investment in open
standards-based software, culminating in the Avaya MultiVantage suite of
communications applications, which comprises a significant portion of the
value we deliver to our customers. It is important to note that we will
continue to pay attention to converged infrastructure, like media servers
and gateways, as well as communication appliances. These are important
solution components, given the mission critical nature of the
applications we deliver and our commitment to quality and availability.
Nick Lippis: With Avaya enjoying the leading share of the voicemail market,
thanks to your Octel products, how will you hold onto that share as
voicemail becomes an application running on standard hardware platforms?
Don Peterson: As with the rest of our portfolio, we have transformed our
messaging offerings to meet customer needs and embraced open standards.
Key to retaining and growing share is commitment to ease of migration and
innovation. We're now shipping the Avaya Modular Messaging System, a
software product that operates on industry-standard hardware platforms.
It integrates easily into customers' infrastructure and interoperates
with all of our current Octel and Intuity AUDIX Messaging systems, so
customers can add capacity or migrate at their own pace, protecting their
investments. Customers also value the new desktop capabilities such as
Web, Microsoft Outlook and/or IBM Lotus Notes access to messages. For
mobile personnel, we have a new speech-command interface to messaging and
calling. We believe many of our customers will choose to update and
refresh their messaging systems and networks over the next few years; we
will be there to support them.
Nick Lippis: What is Avaya's primary value proposition when it competes
against Cisco?
Don Peterson: The ability to migrate customers to IP telephony at a path
and pace of their choosing is a major differentiator. Our migration
approach enables customers to leverage their existing investments, on
average retaining up to 85% of their existing network investment. At its
most basic, they don't have to rip out and replace what they have. We can
IP-enable their existing PBX or provide client server architecture - the
important factor here is choice. A key aspect of our value proposition is
the global multi-vendor services capability provided by Avaya Global
Services. Anywhere in the world, customers have a single point of
accountability to design, build, manage and maintain their IP
communications network, irrespective of whose label is on their
equipment. Last but by no means least is our strength in software
applications. Our MultiVantage IP telephony software is industry
standards-based and runs on multiple platforms. With 700-plus feature
applications, we offer applications to suit unique business needs.
Solutions - the combination of applications, systems and services -
rather than infrastructure is the key to unlocking business value and
competitive advantage.
Nick Lippis: What is your view of how enterprises will connect Avaya
solutions between sites with service providers such as AT&T, MCI, Quest and
many others offering VoIP services?
Don Peterson: Service Providers (SPs) are offering enterprises an array
of VoIP options with ever more sophisticated IP pipes becoming available.
Technologically we will support these options, particularly if they prove
cost-effective, simple to manage and provide appropriate QoS to meet
customer needs. I see a role for our consultants to simplify the issues,
helping customers to make informed decisions that best meet the needs of
their business. Our SP division is working closely with SPs to create
IP-based applications that are hosted in their network, residing in the
SP's 'cloud'. By leveraging SP's IP networks and service offerings,
enterprise customers can enjoy feature/functionality at both HQ and
branch offices in a fully hosted solution, or interconnect existing
on-premise equipment via the SP's network in a managed service across
multiple locations. Put simply, we are committed to serving customers any
way they want to buy. We offer a range of hosted and managed options to
enable customers to leverage the benefits of IP telephony together with
SPs as their partners.
Nick Lippis: With so many different parts of the communications equipment,
service providers, and IT industry shifting toward IP Telephony and VoIP,
what is your vision of corporate networking over the next three to five
years?
Don Peterson: Technologies, vendor sectors and markets will continue to
merge and blur, both in the applications, i.e., voice, data and video,
and infrastructure space -- public networks, private networks, wireline
and wireless, in-building and out-of-building. Successful enterprises
will integrate communications applications into the fabric of their
business processes. Communications applications based on
industry-standard software make it possible to modularize communications
"services" into building blocks. This trend will continue apace, but with
the major addition of 'presence-based' functions like 'create a
conference' or 'find the user' woven into them. Of crucial importance to
presence-aware networks is development of rules and policies, governing
how the enterprise, and we as individuals, will communicate. It's worth
repeating that the power of the network and how it will be used will be
determined not by vendors, but by users. They will look to solution
partners, those with the know-how and services capability to help them
through the changing environment, and partner with them to make it work.
For all of these reasons, Avaya has embraced open standards and
interoperability -- from TDM to IP, Linux to Lotus, Sun to Microsoft --
and end-to-end services, from consulting to maintenance. It's going to be
a very exciting stage of communications history. I'm looking forward to
it.
Nick Lippis: What are the big growth engines for Avaya over the next three
to five years?
Don Peterson: The transition to IP telephony is a major growth engine.
Just how big will be determined by the speed of adoption. Currently there
are about 400 million lines of business telephony installed worldwide of
which a little over 4% are IP lines. Conservative estimates indicate
that, by 2007, the number of business lines will grow to 440 million with
IP accounting for about 27%. No matter whose figures you read, this is a
big opportunity. We also envisage significant demand for communications
applications, such as contact center, unified messaging, wireless, and
eventually, presence/SIP-based applications. Adoption and integration of
these new technologies will drive demand for services, in particular
professional consulting services, systems integration, maintenance,
outsourcing and SP hosted solutions.
Geographically, we foresee significant growth opportunity outside the US.
Our move to expand ownership of Tata Telecom, in India, underscores our
confidence in growth opportunities overseas and the importance of SP and
technology partners as key distribution channels.
Nick Lippis: What industry triggers, events or products will shift the basis
of IPT procurement from an economic efficiency solution toward a way to
increase corporate earnings and productivity?
Don Peterson: Most companies realize they can't save themselves to
success; they have one foot on the cost pedal with the other on the
growth accelerator. IP telephony serves both masters with the potential
to reduce costs and grow revenue through optimizing performance and
creating new business models. For example, a major telecom provider in
Asia used our IP solutions to reduce expense and improve customer
service. The enhanced capability enabled it to launch revenue generating
outsourcing services for its enterprise customers. Significant technology
triggers are likely to be the linkage of communications applications with
web services platforms; increases in bandwidth for communications-enabled
devices, both wired and wireless; and the proliferation of open
standards. These will fuel communication and business application
integration to levels unimaginable a few years ago.
While there will also be triggers relevant to vertical sectors and
compliance issues, I believe the main catalyst for growth will be
sustained economic recovery and job creation.
Nick Lippis: It's pretty clear that the adoption of IP Telephony will not
stop; the only question is what its pace of adoption is. With that said,
what is the next step or evolution in IP Telephony?
Don Peterson: To date, the majority of adopters have been driven by the
opportunity to reduce overall expense, through toll avoidance and
simplified administration. The next phase of evolution will be
characterized by applications that drive revenue growth and competitive
advantage. 'Presence-aware networks and applications' are set to have a
profound impact. The technology will support unprecedented mobility,
intelligence, and distribution of the enterprise. It will address top
line growth needs, helping forge consistent, seamless customer
experiences; intelligent, precise, customer interactions; increased
effectiveness of mobile workers; and more productive internal
collaboration. While vertical sectors may have different killer
applications, they will all benefit in this new phase. There are exciting
times ahead.
[Image]
I look forward to personally meeting Lippis Report readers at the Boston Park
Plaza Hotel on April 26th through the 28th at the Enterprise Networks 2004
Conference www.en2004.com (use priority code EMDAILY to register) as we
explore the smart ways to build out enterprise networks and save our
companies money at the same time.
Your comments are always welcome. Send them to us at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Nick
[Image]
The Lippis Report is written by Nick Lippis, a world-renowned authority on
corporate computer networking and consultant to CxOs of Global 2000
companies.
Special thanks to Barbara Thomsen [EMAIL PROTECTED] for copy
editing this Lippis Report.
Please feel free to forward The Lippis Report to your peers. If you received
The Lippis Report by it being forwarding to you, you are welcome to a free
subscription at the www.lippis.com site. To be removed from this list please
reply with "remove" in the subject field.
Reporters are free to quote The Lippis Report with acknowledgement.
[Image]
[Image]past issues
Special Announcements:
Announcing the Enterprise Networks 2004 Design Excellence Awards
Brought to you by Network Magazine, the Enterprise Networks Design Excellence
Awards (ENDEA) acknowledge and honor network architects who have designed a
new or updated network infrastructure, leveraging the latest technological
advancements in the networking industry. Network architecture submissions
from across all industries are considered, and will be judged based on the
following criteria:
* Ability to support new business processes and/or applications
* Use of new technologies, such as IP telephony, utility computing and
Wi-Fi
* Architectures that take a holistic approach to network security
* Infrastructure designs that intrinsically support strategic and
operational business goals efficiently
* Dramatically improves IT responsiveness and/or cost of ownership as a
direct result of the new network design
Network architects will be recognized with awards in each of the following
three categories:
* Medium Sized Enterprise (under 2,000 employees)
* Large Enterprise (2,000+ employees)
* Overall Excellence In Design
All winners will be invited to attend The Enterprise Networks 2004
Conference, where CMP Media and Network Magazine will present awards and
invite each lead architect or appropriate network design team lead to speak
on a conference panel discussion moderated by Art Wittmann, Editor-in-Chief
of Network Magazine. Enterprise Network Design Excellence Panel will be held
on Wednesday, April 28 from 1:15 to 2:45 PM. Enterprise Networks 2004 will
provide all winners with free admission to the Conference. CMP Media and
Network Magazine will provide all winners with travel and lodging.
Enterprise Networks 2004 Conference; April 26 - 28, 2004; Boston Park Plaza
Hotel; Boston, MA
[Image]
Enterprise Networks 2004 is the ultimate educational experience for anyone
responsible for architecting, designing and managing enterprise networks.
Comprised of six online forums and a three-day conference, the content has
been developed by Nick Lippis and a team of enterprise network designers for
enterprise network designers. Enterprise Networks 2004 is presented in
association with Network Magazine.
Enterprise Networks 2004 Schedule
Date Media Content
Available On Online Forum Strategies For Deploying Integrated Network
Demand Now Security
Available On Online Forum IP Telephony Economics: Does It Add Up To
Demand Now Savings and Productivity?
Available On Online Forum Integrating Wi-Fi Into An Enterprise
Demand Now Framework
Available On Online Forum Presence-Based Communications: What It Is and
Demand Now Why It Will Transform Unified Communication
April 26 - 28,Conference Enterprise Networks 2004 Conference; Boston
2004 Park Plaza Hotel; Boston, MA
May 25, 2004 Online Forum Distributed Intelligent Networking: A New
Enterprise Network Framework Emerges
June 17, 2004 Online Forum IP Telephony Tools: Where Are They?
For more information and to register, please visit www.en2004.com.
Enterprise Networks 2004 Sponsors:
3Com
Airmagnet
Artisoft
Aruba Wireless Networks
Avaya Inc.
Bearing Point
Bluecoat Systems
Bluesocket Inc.
Chantry Networks
CMP Media
Colubris Networks
Crossbeam Systems
Entua
Extreme Networks
Foundry Networks
Funk Software
Hewlett-Packard Co.
IAMP
INS
Legra Systems
Mitel
Multitech
Netfusion Inc
Netscout Systems, Inc.
Network Magazine
Nortel Networks
Orative
PCR
Procket
Propagate Networks
RAD Data Communications
Reefedge Networks
Sphere Communications
[Image]
Lippis Media LLC 110 Shawmut Rd, Canton, MA 02021
--
NYCwireless - http://www.nycwireless.net/
Un/Subscribe: http://lists.nycwireless.net/mailman/listinfo/nycwireless/
Archives: http://lists.nycwireless.net/pipermail/nycwireless/
