A Product Survey of SIP 'Softphones'

Transcription

1 Markets, R. Costello Research Note 11 July 2003 A Product Survey of SIP 'Softphones' Session Initiation Protocol-based "softphones" offer advantages over SIP "hardphones" for enterprise network managers and end users, but full multiplatform interoperability seems unlikely. Core Topic Enterprise Networking: Network Equipment Vendors and Technologies Key Issue During the five-year planning period, which networking equipment vendors and technologies will enterprises use to successfully build their networks? Strategic Planning Assumption Broad interoperability among Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-based softphones of advanced functionality will never be fully realized (0.9 probability). Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) application-layer signaling protocol for Voice over IP (VoIP). Through the use of proxy servers and text-based messaging, SIP-based "softphones" and "hardphones" can establish, modify and terminate the following: IP conferencing, IP telephony, unified messaging, instant messaging (IM), presence management and events notification. SIP-based softphones are standard desktop or laptop PCs loaded with software that support contact center agents, remote agents, other mobile workers, and unified messaging and IP conferencing users. SIP softphones support the same user interface, voice quality and feature set of many of the SIP hardphones they emulate, except that the interface is presented on a computer screen to provide visual information and screenbased functionality. Note that the difference between a SIP softphone and client is that a SIP client typically provides greater functionality than a SIP softphone. Softphone users typically want to take advantage of the features and functionality of the desktop hardphone at a lower price. The cost advantage of a softphone over a hardphone can be significant. Although high-end, IP hardphones can still cost in the $500 to $600 range (including hardware, software and user license), a softphone application can cost less than $100, with an additional user fee required to connect each application to the IPvoice system. Generally speaking, a user license for connecting an IP softphone to an IP-PBX ranges from $75 to $200. SIP-based phone interoperability that is, operation across multiple vendor systems depends on the level of SIP functionality built in by the vendors. Some softphones support greater levels of SIP functionality and therefore can support a Gartner Reproduction of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The reader assumes sole responsibility for the selection of these materials to achieve its intended results. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.

2 broader range of voice systems, while others support only basic levels of SIP functionality and are less interoperable. Products based on the H.323 standard, as well as the longstanding proprietary PBX vendor protocols, have poor interoperability track records. Similarly, Gartner remains skeptical about the interoperability prospects for SIP-based products in general, and broad interoperability among SIP-based softphones of advanced functionality will never be fully realized. Some PBX vendors will offer SIP softphones that are proprietary to their voice platforms, such as Nortel Networks' SIP Multimedia Client. PBX vendors continue to earn significant revenue from phones and softphones in telephony and thus have little interest in supporting the full-feature richness of their phone systems through third-party phones, which usually operate across multiple vendor platforms. As such, end users should be aware that, in many cases, only limited feature-set support is available through the use of many third-party softphones. Several SIP-based hardphones are proprietary, including phones from 3Com, Alcatel and Siemens. However other products, such as Pingtel's xpressa SIP hardphones and softphones, work across multiple vendor IP voice platforms. The listing below describes several multiplatform SIP softphones and clients on the market today. estara SoftPhone This is an SIP-software client that replicates the functionality of a SIP telephone handset and provides traditional PBX features, as well as enhanced capabilities found in an SIP-based network. The estara SIP phone offers an intuitive multiline phone-like interface that lets customers customize "skin," that is, allows customers to modify the look and feel of the user interface and make cosmetic changes to reflect their brand. It is enterpriseready, with support for Network Address Translation (NAT) traversal Simple Traversal of User Data Protocol through NAT and Traversal Using Relay NAT auto-configuration setup Uniform Resource Relocators, mandatory or voluntary upgrades, address book, voice mail, do not disturb, call forwarding, and conferencing. It supports G.711 and G.723.1, with optional support for G.729B, automatic gain control and echo cancellation. EyeP Media SIP EyeP Phone for Desktop This is a SIP softphone based on an open standards design that integrates advanced digital signal processing features such as audio-echo cancellation, audio streaming, automatic gain control, voice-activity detection, noise reducer and clock-skew 11 July

3 management to enhance the voice quality and services such as caller ID, call waiting, visual message waiting, transfers, conference, multiple calls, and play and record over the call. The softphone supports G.711, G.723.1, G.729A and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) 6.10 speech codecs, as well as nonstandard codecs. A Software Development Kit (SDK) is available with ActiveX control. NAT and remote authentication dial in user service support is standard, and the SIP softphone client is available for every MS Windows platform, including CE and Linux. Hotsip Active Contacts PC This client software supports open standards and interfaces for SIP-based presence and real-time communications services for PCs supporting Windows 2000, XP, 98 and ME. An SDK is available for developing communications plug-ins for conferencing, and for importing/exporting presence information using application programming interfaces (APIs), for example, with Outlook Calendar integration. It is interoperable with Windows Messenger 4.6 and 4.7, Cisco ATA 186 Analog adapter and phone, Cisco AS5300 SIP voice gateway, and SIP hard phones such as Mitel 5055, Pingtel xpressa, Cisco IP and SNOM. Microappliances SIP Client This is an SIP-based, soft client messenger that includes presence, audio and IM capabilities. SIP Client supports audio codecs G.711, GSM, G.723 and G.729a; video mode and video codecs (H.263, H.261) are available. SIP Client integrates with Web pages and provides point-and-click capability to initiate SIP calls from the browser. A contact list can be downloaded to SIP Client from a Web-based address book. It supports local or Webbased address books for a consistent view on the desktop or while traveling. SIP Client provides full NAT support for multiple streams and can interoperate with Microsoft Messenger. Feature support includes call hold and re-invites, outbound proxies for users behind firewalls, and timers to renew sessions. Microsoft Windows Messenger in Windows XP Windows Messenger for businesses and enterprises is a Web telephony, chat and video client that is included in the Microsoft Windows XP OS. It supports presence, IM, data collaboration and PC-to-PC voice and video communications. It allows log-ins to IETF-defined SIP proxy servers and enables the services supported by Windows Messenger to be used on different devices. 11 July

4 Pingtel Instant xpressa Enterprise SIP-Based IP Softphone This is an SIP-based IP softphone for Microsoft Windows-based PCs and laptops. Instant xpressa enables users to carry their office phone with its features, applications and directories on their laptop. The softphone recreates the look and feel of the hard Pingtel phone, including its large Palm-size LCD screen, virtual scroll knob, eight programmable hard buttons and 11 programmable soft buttons. Instant xpressa users can access speed dialing, access corporate Lightweight Directory Access Protocol directories, call handling, call logging, and dial from Microsoft Outlook or other contact managers. Open APIs and adherence to industry standards such as SIP, Java, HTTP and VoiceXML enable Java developers to add telephony applications. Instant xpressa supports personalized computer telephony integration, letting users click-to-dial from Microsoft Outlook, browsers and other applications; as well as create screen pops from customer relationship management, sales force automation and other programs as they take inbound calls. Ubiquity SIP Center User Agent SIP Center User Agent is software that acts as a softphone, allowing the user to control IP telephone calls on-screen. Basic call-control functionality is offered via a small graphical user interface that is displayed on the user's PC desktop. A call can be made directly from this user agent to another user agent if there are no intervening firewalls or proxy servers, but more typically, calls will be routed through external SIP servers. SIP Center User Agent can be used as a test tool. Developers of SIP applications that wish to benchmark their products against a protocol-compliant application can test against the parameters of the user agent. Xten Networks X-PRO Windows Softphone This is an SIP-based user agent with the features and functionality of a small-business phone system. Open standardsbased design allows for maximum network interoperation and integration with SIP devices, gateways and VoIP networks. The intuitive phone-like design reduces end-user software training. Supported OSs include Windows 95, 98, NT4, ME, 2000, XP and CE; Macintosh OS X; and Linux. X-PRO is available as a standalone product in a co-branded or private, labeled format. X.NET is the SDK for X-PRO that allows for third-party development and integration. X.NET exposes the X-PRO software engine and features for access by most common programming languages with support for Windows, Macintosh and Linux. 11 July

5 Multiprotocol Hardphones A handful of vendors offer IP handsets (hardphones) that are either SIP-based or provide the capability to support multiple protocols such as H.323, SIP and Media Gateway Control Protocol. Some of these are proprietary to vendor systems. Leading SIP-based or multiprotocol desktop hardphones on the market include the following: 3Com NBX 21xx SIP phones Cisco 7960 IP phone (multiprotocol) Mitel 5055 SIP phone and 5140 IP appliance PingTel xpressa SIP IP phone Polycom SoundPoint IP 500 phone (multiprotocol) Siemens optipoint 400 Standard phone (multiprotocol) SNOM 100 and 200 VoIP phones Zultys Technologies ZIP 4x4 and ZIP2 SIP phones SIP Developer Toolkits Popular SIP developer toolkits include the following: Dynamicsoft SIP User Agent can SIP-enable end-user devices such as PCs, softphones and server applications such as softswitches, media gateways, and proxy and location servers. Radvision SIP Toolkit is a versatile set of development tools designed to address the development requirements of producing SIP user-agent systems. The toolkit complies with the latest IETF SIP specifications and key extensions and provides multiple application programming interface layers to facilitate the development process. SIP-Based Softphone Vendors and Informational Web Sites estara ( EyePMedia ( Hotsip ( Microappliances ( Microsoft ( Pingtel ( Ubiquity ( Xten Networks ( 11 July

6 For more information on anything SIP-related, please see the following Web sites: Acronym Key API GSM IETF IM NAT SDK SIP VoIP application programming interface Global System for Mobile Communications Internet Engineering Task Force instant messaging Network Address Translation Software Development Kit Session Initiation Protocol Voice over IP Bottom Line: Although Session Initiation Protocol-based softphones are more economical than hardphones, potential SIP softphone users should consider more than just price differentiation and applications support. Enterprises should remember that third-party SIP softphones will, in many cases, provide limited feature-set support for vendor IP-voice systems. They should also consider the fact that the PBX vendors don't have many SIP softphones on the market. 11 July