Cisco Systems Expert Network Consultants Cisco VoIP Consulting Services From CCIE Qualified Experts
Voice over IP (VoIP) refers to telephony technology that transmits live voice traffic across a network using Internet Protocol protocols. A primary advantage of Voice over IP is its ability to help reduce expenses due to the fact that phone conversations travel across the data network instead of the phone company's services. IP telephony covers the entire range of VoIP enabled services such as the interconnection of phones for communications; associated services such as invoicing and dialing plans; and core features such as group calls, transfer, call forwarding, and hold. These services might at one time handled by a PBX.
Voice over IP is the natural starting point for unified communications solutions. Cisco's Unified Communications portfolio of voice, image, mobility, and IP communications products delivers the tools for creating a single cohesive system that can handle multiple types of traffic concurrently. Cisco allows this capability while maintaining an outstanding degree of network availability, Quality of Service , and Protection. Important benefits of IP telephony technologies are:
A versatile, standards-based migration path that allows you to choose IP solutions that meet your current requirements, while providing a seamless path for expanding IP deployment
QoS mechanisms that help ensure excellent voice quality through strict control of latency, drop out, and distortion
Network management products that provide system administration, troubleshooting, setup, problem tracking, and element management
The framework of the Cisco IP communications platform consists of communications endpoints, call-processing agents, and IP telephony applications.
Call Endpoints A communications endpoint is a customer device, either a desk phone set or a soft phone program that runs on a PC. In the IP environment, each phone has an Ethernet connection. IP phones have all of the features that an ordinary phone handset has. VoIP phones often have extra functions including the ability to access Websites or run useful applications. Cisco VoIP handsets include the Cisco 24-button Unified IP Phone 7931G, Cisco's Unified Wireless IP Phone 7921G, and the Cisco Unified IP Phone 7985G desktop video phone.
In a Cisco Internet Protocol phone network, you can also use Cisco's IP Communicator product, a PC--based phone. When use the Cisco IP Communicator remotely, you take your office extensions with you and in addition have available the same phone capabilities you use in the office. System administrators can provision Cisco IP Communicator as they would any other Cisco VoIP device, significantly streamlining IP phone management.
Unlike conventional PBX systems, in a Cisco IP communications environment you can implement virtually instant moves, adds, and modifications. You simply move the VoIP handset to your new location, plug it into the Ethernet connection, and the device registers itself with Cisco Communications Manager (formerly CallManager). All client rights and configurations are programmatically re-established, eliminating the cost and hassle of sending technicians to wiring closets. An additional useful capability is extension capability, which enables you to sign into any Cisco IP phone and get your personal phone number and privileges.
Centralized and Remote Call-processing Agents
Cisco's call-processing agent is the center of the Cisco IP Phone solution. To meet your organizational requirements you can choose to deploy a central call-processing design, a decentralized design, or a mix of both. In a centralized approach, Cisco Communications Manager expands enterprise telephony features to packet telephony network devices such as VoIP phones, media management devices, Voice over IP gateways, and multimedia programs throughout the environment. Cisco Communications Manager enables additional multimedia services such as unified messaging, video conferencing, and collaborative customer communication networks.
When a central Communications Manager cluster also takes care of call processing for customers at remote sites, IT managers can help promote non-stop call operation using Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony, an IOS Software image for routers. If a WAN connection breaks, Cisco SRST incorporated in the Cisco offers basic Communications Manager capabilities until the link is returned.
For small offices or loosely coupled small corporation branch locations that do not require the complete, enterprise-class functionality available from Cisco Communications Manager, Unified Communications Manager Express, formerly CallManager Express, offers a budget-friendly alternative that handles the needs of sites with up to 240 workers. Since Unified Communications Manager Express is embedded in the IOS Software operating on a Cisco router, smaller offices can quickly and simply implement a combined voice and data solution.
Internet Protocol Telephony Applications
Under Cisco's Unified Communications architecture, IP phone applications are physically independent from the call/voice processing mechanism, and they may reside anywhere within the system. A single connectivity framework offers a versatile platform for feature-rich productivity applications, and acts as a solid basis for downstream convergence-based software.
Cisco works with leading IT industry partners to provide a wide range of third-party Internet Protocol phone applications and devices. Cisco also supports the capability to develop and manage customized applications.
Cisco's Unity Solutions for Integrated Messaging
Cisco's Unity platform offers advanced voicemail plus integrated messaging functions that seamlessly operate with Exchange, Domino, and Groupwise. Cisco Unity expands to meet the needs of large enterprises and provides powerful upgrade tools and a broad array of efficiency enhancing features.
Cisco's Unity product portfolio supports both Cisco Communications Manager and leading PBX systems to allow your business to transition to IP telephony at a comfortable speed and get the most from your current network investments. Cisco's product suite also offers several networking modules that support sophisticated message exchange with leading voice-mail products. When you are moving to the Cisco Unity solution, these network modules help to ensure a smooth transition by giving you the ability to exchange messages with internal system subscribers who rely a different messaging platform.
Cisco Unity Connection incorporates unified messaging, voice recognition, and call transfer rules into an easy-to-manage system for mid-size companies with as many as 3K users. For companies with up to 500 workers, Cisco Unity Connection is available as a single-server option with Unified Communications Manager Business Edition.
Cisco Unity Connection is a feature-rich solution built on an architecture that is straightforward to deploy and support. With Unity Connection workers can access voice messages via Cisco Unified Personal Communicator, utilize the screen on their Cisco VoIP handset to view, search, and file voice mail. and even use the voice interface of Unity Connection to access and participate in Unified MeetingPlace Express meetings. Unity Connection also provides resilient automated attendant features such as intelligent call switching and easily customizable call screen and new message alert options.
Unity Express, offered in certain Cisco IS routers, offers cost-effective voicemail, unified messaging, interactive voice response, and automated-attendant services for small to mid-size businesses (SMBs) and enterprise branch offices with up to 250 workers.
How Progent's Engineers Can Help You with Cisco's VoIP Technology
Progent can give you access to a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) or Cisco Certified Network Professional to assist you to install and manage Cisco VoIP solutions. Progent's developers can create custom unified messaging software that will help your company to incorporate the telephony capabilities of Cisco Unified Communications Manager into your company processes for enhanced efficiency. Progent can analyze your existing network and Internet connectivity infrastructure to determine whether your environment is configured to accommodate Voice over IP, help you to choose and integrate Cisco products appropriate for your present needs and future growth objectives, and interface your Cisco VoIP solution with technology from other suppliers.
For additional information about Progent's engineering expertise for Cisco technology, select a topic:
Voice over IP (VoIP) refers to telephony technology that transmits live voice traffic across a network using Internet Protocol protocols. A primary advantage of Voice over IP is its ability to help reduce expenses due to the fact that phone conversations travel across the data network instead of the phone company's services. IP telephony covers the entire range of VoIP enabled services such as the interconnection of phones for communications; associated services such as invoicing and dialing plans; and core features such as group calls, transfer, call forwarding, and hold. These services might at one time handled by a PBX.
A communications endpoint is a customer device, either a desk phone set or a soft phone program that runs on a PC. In the IP environment, each phone has an Ethernet connection. IP phones have all of the features that an ordinary phone handset has. VoIP phones often have extra functions including the ability to access Websites or run useful applications. Cisco VoIP handsets include the Cisco 24-button Unified IP Phone 7931G, Cisco's Unified Wireless IP Phone 7921G, and the Cisco Unified IP Phone 7985G desktop video phone.
