Stop-gapping with Integrated Access

There’s no doubt about it: TDM-to-packet migration is happening among businesses. To help them along, a variety of VoIP market participants have introduced differentiating IP PBXs or hosted IP telephony services, shifting revenue streams away from telecom carriers. But not everyone is ready to go all-IP, and traditional service providers are looking to gain an edge with integrated access solutions that support existing TDM networks while allowing VoIP extensions.

Roughly half of all enterprise decision-makers who responded to a recent In-Stat survey indicated plans to purchase emerging telecom services like VoIP and integrated access by mid-2006. The conditions are right for increasing adoption of integrated access services in the lucrative market segment of firms with more than 1,000 employees, says the high-tech market research firm. Large amounts of legacy infrastructure on the enterprise side will delay the move to an all-IP telephony service, and this opens up an opportunity for service providers to provide a gradual, cost-effective migration path with integrated access.

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“There are a number of different market segments interested in integrated access,” says Roland Zalite, director of marketing at Alcatel. “Large enterprises particularly see the benefit of converged VPN capability, saving money with packetized transport and flexibility in business process optimization. Integrated access allows them to take advantage of this while avoiding the complete upgrade.” Many large enterprises are testing IP telephony services at smaller branch offices or new locations, while amortizing their old systems elsewhere — and integrated access will allow them to manage both sets of users.

“Most large enterprises upgraded their PBXs in 1999 because of Y2K, and it takes five to eight years for equipment to amortize,” explains Dave Dyas, director of VoIP services at Mpower Communications Corp. “Customers want to fill the gap, integrate dial plans between offices and IP trunk their existing PBX right now, because they are not going to throw that very expensive equipment away. We’ve had a lot of interest there.”

Integrated access enables small and medium businesses to bridge the TDM and IP worlds by simply installing an IP integrated access device at the customer location.

“More and more customers [want] to take advantage of VoIP’s basic benefits, but they don’t know they are looking for VoIP, per se, and they don’t know how to integrate it into their network — they are just looking for a solution that matches their business needs,” says XO Communications Inc.’s Nicola Jackson, director of product management for IP services. “So with integrated access, we are delivering all the usual features of TDM phone systems with some additional perks that make it easier for them to run their businesses.” For instance, the ability to self-service and simplify the management of making changes to the phone systems is a big differentiator, she notes. The CLEC’s XOptions Flex fully managed integrated access service has a Web administrator portal that lets the customer set voice mail settings, reorganize hunt and call groups, make changes to the phone system when an employee is hired or people are moved, and turn calling features on and off.

While these features are a bonus, customers aren’t as interested in more advanced converged service opportunities, like launching a video conference from a buddy list.

“The emphasis for most companies adopting VoIP isn’t on features and enhanced services, really,” says Chris Thompson, product manager at Adtran Inc., maker of the TotalAccess suite of integrated access devices. “Right now it is dial tone and basic enhancements like four-digit dialing between branches, because it’s walk before you run. Allowing customers to get their feet wet in VoIP now will pave the way for the deployment of more sophisticated, revenue-rich services in the future.”

Most people still think VoIP is all about free calling over the Internet, Dyas notes. “You have to show them that it’s something that fundamentally changes the way they do business, that they can have QoS over our private backbone, that they can grow their company using convergence. Integrated access lets them try it out and learn at their own pace.”

In-Stat says the next few months will see an explosion in the adoption of integrated access services. While end-user demand is on the rise, and VoIP providers, IP PBX vendors, cablecos and wireless operators are at the door, traditional carriers are embracing integrated access as well.

“CLECs are moving quickly with integrated access, but also, this is the first time I’ve seen RBOCs interested in IADs with any sincerity,” says Thompson. “They all know VoIP is the future, so they would like to get customers with existing PBXs on-net now, and eventually move them to a hosted IP PBX or IP Centrex offering.”