Leveraging the Next Generation Network to Seize the IP Centrex Opportunity

7/28/2019 Leveraging the Next Generation Network to Seize the IP Centrex Opportunity

1/7

i~i~i~i~==k=d~===k=d~===k=d~===k=d~=k=k=k=k===

p==fm=`=lp==fm=`=lp==fm=`=lp==fm=`=l=e=`~=~==fm=è=`~=~==fm=è=`~=~==fm=è=`~=~==fm=`=

~=~====b=~==fm=m_u~=~====b=~==fm=m_u~=~====b=~==fm=m_u~=~====b=~==fm=m_u==

j~=_K=cI=s~=k=fKj~=_K=cI=s~=k=fKj~=_K=cI=s~=k=fKj~=_K=cI=s~=k=fK=


2/7

Copyright by VERAZ NETWORKS INC., 2003. All rights reserved worldwide.

The information contained in this document is proprietary and is subject to all relevant copyright, patent and other lawsprotecting intellectual property, as well as any specific agreement protecting VERAZ NETWORKS INC.s rights in the aforesaidinformation. Neither this document nor the information contained herein may be published, reproduced or disclosed to thirdparties, in whole or in part, without the express, prior, written permission of VERAZ NETWORKS INC. In addition, any use of

this document or the information contained herein for any purposes other than those for which it was disclosed is strictlyforbidden.

Any representation(s) in this document concerning performance ofVERAZ NETWORKS INC.s product(s) are for informationalpurposes only and are not warranties of future performance, either express or implied. VERAZ NETWORKS INC.s standardlimited warranty, stated in its sales contract or order confirmation form, is the only warranty offered by VERAZ NETWORKSINC. in relation thereto.

VERAZ NETWORKS INC. reserves the right, without prior notice or liability, to make changes in equipment design orspecifications. This document may contain flaws, inaccuracies, omissions or typesetting errors; no warranty is granted norliability assumed in relation thereto, nor responsibilities for third-party rights which may be affected in any way by the usethereof, unless specifically undertaken in VERAZ NETWORKS INC.s sales contract or order confirmation. Informationcontained herein is periodically updated and changes will be incorporated into subsequent editions. If you have encountered anerror, please notify VERAZ NETWORKS INC.


3/7

White Paper IP Centrex: Seizing the Opportunity

MBF Copyright 2003 Veraz Networks Inc. 7

Introduction

As carriers increasingly seek new sources of revenue, one emerging profitableapplication is IP Centrex, also termed hosted PBX. This service allows features

such as telephone extensions, voicemail, conferencing, forwarding to otherextensions, and auto-attendant, among many others. As IP Telephony isincreasingly reliable, carriers are introducing IP Centrex to even their largestcustomers.

Market Size

The market for IP Centrex will grow quickly, affording carriers a tremendous source ofrevenue. With IP Centrex, they can provide a compelling offering that seamlesslyintegrates thae PSTN and Next Generation Neworks using the Veraz solution at its

core and a choice of IP Centrex systems from Veraz partners. According to analystfirm ABI, the market for IP Centrex is growing rapidly:

Numbers in millions

Source: ABI

The rapidity of new service rollout and creation of differentiated offerings, along withthe cost reductions available through Voice over IP, will help carriers become moreprofitable. Estimates of the IP Centrex market by analyst group IDC show growth to$6.8 Billion by 2007. As numerous vendors are selling their IP PBXs into enterprises,potentially bypassing service providers, they urge carriers to take advantage of thisopportunity quickly.

Advantages of IP Centrex over IP PBX

Some advantages of IP Centrex include the reliability of a carrier network, especiallywith the Veraz distributed and fault-tolerant architecture that seamlessly integrates


4/7

IP Centrex: Seizing the Opportunity White Paper

8 Copyright 2003 Veraz Networks Inc. MBF

with the PSTN and can scale to millions of concurrent calls with a high level ofredundancy. Enterprises do not need extensive testing of IP PBXs, and do not needa staff to support the PBX. The following table highlights the contrast:

Feature Veraz ConrolSwitch & IP Centrex IP PBX

Total Cost of Ownership Low: managed by carrier(outsourced)

High: Equipment, man-hours,moves adds changes anddeletes (MACD); total costmust be factored in (downtime,etc.)

Interoperability SS7 (multiple variants),PRI, MGCP, SIP, H.323 (allversions), C7 (multiplecountries)

Interoperability limited tosmall set of protocols

Closed or proprietaryprotocols

Scalability High; can span continents Low rarely exceeding fewthousand

Reliability Complete redundancy withelement separation

Geographic diversity forlocation failure

Exceeding five 9s for totalsystem

Several points of failure Typically three, maybe

four 9s or so for totalsystem

Extensibility Additional features added andtested by carrier withfeature/application servers

Adding features requiremanpower and developmenttime & risk

Management Centralized and backed up Depends on PBX vendor

Call Routing Customizable by operator;over 60 parameters foroptimization in multisitedeployments

Limited and depends oncarrier selected

Risk of technology Carrier bears risk withsufficient manpower

Enterprise bears risk

Billing Call detail records elementwith protected redundancyDepartmental chargebacksdifficult

Requirements for Carrier-Class Centrex

Numerous vendors offer IP PBXs for enterprises, but they do not scale sufficiently fora carrier to deploy IP Centrex service to numerous businesses. The carriers requirean IP softswitch (software-based switch) that connects to both IP Centrex serversand IP PBXs via standard interfaces such as SIP and H.323. Moreover, they mustconnect to existing traditional PBXs and the rest of the PSTN and should bedeployable over a global geography if needed, scaling modularly with no limit and behighly fault-tolerant. These capabilities enable a uniform infrastructure where IPCentrex users can transparently coexist with the Service Providers other customers.Hence, it is now possible to offer features and functions of IP Centrex and otherapplications across TDM, legacy VoIP, and next-generation VoIP networks.


5/7



Service providers should choose a distributed softswitch one with a modulararchitecture whose different elements are tightly coupled. For example, the SIP orMGCP element is separate from the CDR (billing) element, which is separate fromthe call routing element. Each of these is replicable as many times as desired, toscale to millions of calls with fault tolerance and backup.

This modular architecture enables true carrier-class deployment of IP Centrex, withthe Centrex functions on a device connecting to a softswitch that scales to support as


6/7

IP Centrex: Seizing the Opportunity White Paper

10 Copyright 2003 Veraz Networks Inc. MBF

many calls as desired, with as much fault tolerance as required, and across as manycities or countries as needed.

The carrier may leverage Controlswitch routing policies to centralize call routingdecisions, thereby allowing all IP Centrex Systems to use the same call routingpolicies. These policies are flexible and easily programmable in the architecture, with

over 60 parameters available for call routing. These include least-cost routes, time ofday, and other parameters. With very simple programming, code blocks may becombined and reused as needed. For example, a call originating from one Centrexgroup or PBX may receive different treatment from calls originating elsewhere.

All call detail records may be centralized and backed up from a common element,even as the IP Centrex servers are distributed geographically. Finally, with completeinteroperability with MGCP, SIP, C7 variants, and H.323 (including both Vocaltec andCisco H.323), carriers can preserve their installed base of equipment and migrate toVoice over IP. With a softswitch, the network will scale and allow the deployment ofIP Centrex and other applications on feature servers and application servers.

With a distributed softswitch featuring a modular architecture, carriers can offer IPCentrex with rapid global rollout, high reliability and scalability. Regardless of size,carriers reap the benefits and help their enterprise customers to reap the benefits ofthis emerging market before enterprise players decide to buy their own PBXs, IP orotherwise.

Advantages for Carriers

The most compelling advantage is top-line growth and reversing the recent financial

issues facing carriers. With a robust, non-stop, fully reliable service offering, carrierscan offer a service to enterprises that would be too difficult or expensive to deploy ontheir own. Moreover, the ability to add new services, whether unified messaging,find-me/follow/me, etc. would allow carriers to upsell additional services toenterprises using the same infrastructure they already have in place, contributingsignificantly to gross margin.

Another advantage is in attracting new customers and reducing churn. With anarchitecture as reliable if not more than the PSTN, the provider can offer betterbundles of features than the competition can. Customer attraction becomes viable,as well as offering differentiated feature bundle to different segment, or communitiesof interest, within the existing and expanded customer base.

The cost reduction benefits are apparent, with the open-architecture, open-standardsapproach. Using non-proprietary elements keeps costs down, and allowsimplementation of best-of-breed Centrex feature servers alongside the most scalableand reliable softswitch namely, the Veraz ControlSwitch.


7/7



Advantages for Enterprises

Advantages for enterprises include cost savings on IP PBXs and software.Furthermore, the manpower requirements go down when a carrier is responsible foroperation. Finally, a carrier has more resources to test a new service offering thandoes an enterprise. Between the cost savings, new features, reliability and scalability,enterprises are best served utilizing IP Centrex services from their carrier.

Leveraging the Next Generation Network to Seize the IP Centrex Opportunity

Documents

Transcript of Leveraging the Next Generation Network to Seize the IP Centrex Opportunity