Sales Opportunities for VARS based on VoIP Applications with highest ROI By Robert Messer, President ABP International, Inc. Background It has been 127 years since Alexander Graham Bell discovered a way to "talk by electricity," and phone calling has changed little, until now! Traditional ways of communicating are rapidly giving way to a new world ushered in by the Internet. There has been a constant demand from business side and a trend form the Information Processing industry to incorporate one area after the other into the data centric world of IT. Now with new flexible and universal VoIP standards like SIP, the time has come to incorporate voice and telephony into the equation and true convergence of Data and Telecom is becoming a reality. The new technologies enable VARs and System Integrators to build adatable solutions that not only offer telefony over the data network but to design better business processes in the communications space of a company, offer true and measureable productivity increases and enables VARS to build customized, unique and distinguishable solutions for their clients. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is designed for the new Internet era where data and voice converge into a single streamlined network. About 20 percent of all calls today travel at least a little over the Internet. And it s being done by big carriers--sprint, MCI, AT&T and more. It's just a better delivery mechanism. VoIP is cheaper, more flexible, and more efficient. VoIP has been around for several years. It has, however, mostly been implemented by big corporations looking for a way to bypass their local telephone company and save money. Chicago-based Nemertes Research recently surveyed 42 companies, 70% of which have revenues of more than $1 billion. It found that nearly two-thirds are using IP telephony, and an additional 20% are running trials of the technology. Many companies are looking at VoIP right now for strategic reasons. Robin Gareiss, principal research officer at Nemertes Research, says that's because it's time to upgrade their PBX systems, or private branch exchange networks. Most companies bought new PBX equipment in 1998 and 1999 in anticipation of Y2K, and that equipment has now depreciated and is due to be replaced. Before they act, chief information officers want to make sure that whatever they buy prepares them for the years ahead. "CIOs know [VoIP] is the wave of the future, and they don't want to buy equipment that could hold them back," says Gareiss. ABP International, Inc. 2004 VAR VoIP Applications - 1 -
8 Application Sales Opportunities The applications listed below are installed by our VAR and Integrator partners as valued added solutions to their customers. All examples are based on open systems standards and vendor independent solutions. Our partners have full control of the application and can create customized and highly integrated solutions that should be of value to the customer and provide true competitive advantages. 1. PBX Extension Gateway to Gateway The analog PSTN Gateway is the key component to connecting new IP based products and solution to an existing PBX. Many PBX solutions will not be substituted in the near future since they still cover most of the company s current needs. For these customers it makes sense to add-on specific features to their existing PBX rather than substitute it with an IPBX system. As more and more IP phones get deployed and functionality is operating on the IP side it will become a natural transition to substitute the PBX with an IPBX solution in the future. This application is easy to setup and quickly provides the customer with a helpful and profitable scenario. Most VARS start with this application to show the customer that VoIP works and then move on to more complex applications. ABP International, Inc. 2004 VAR VoIP Applications - 2 -
2. PBX Extension Gateway to IP Phones The analog PSTN Gateway is the key component to connecting new IP based products and solution to an existing PBX. Since most PBX solutions are new and cover most of the company s current needs it makes sense to add-on specific features to an existing PBX rather than substitute it with an IPBX system. As more and more phones and functionality are operating on the IP side after a few years it will become a natural transition to substitute the PBX with an IPBX solution. There are many technical variations of setting up gateways and IP phones based on network options available. The easiest scenario will be to have public static IP addresses for all Gateways and phones available. This is the most straightforward and easy setup however systems can also be built to work just as well with dynamic IP addresses and with the devices being behind NAT and corporate gateways however this requires a lot more knowledge and also additional equipment and software to automate and keep-alive the connections after IP changes. VARS will need to get indepth training on SIP Proxys, SIP in NAT and Firewall scenarios. Also on the gateway side there are many different modes of operation FXO, FXS single stage dial and two stage dial and VARS should talk their applications through with their technology partners and suppliers and also get training like through ABP s SIPTrain course or ABPs VoIP Gateway training. ABP International, Inc. 2004 VAR VoIP Applications - 3 -
3. Telecommuting & Branch Office As opposed to simply extending a PBX a full Telecommuting solution will allow users to connect to the PBX from many locations and using diverse equipment and access routes. (DSL, Cable modem, IP Phones, residential gateways and softphones.)* Some users may be connecting to the office over their laptop from a hotel. * These solutions tipically will require a deeper understanding of SIP and VoIP protocol traversing firewalls and NAT and it is recommended that the VAR get some formal training through its technology partner in this area. ABP International, Inc. 2004 VAR VoIP Applications - 4 -
4. PBX Trunking One of the classic applications is to leverage digital PRIs at the main office including all the advantages of ANI for call center applications and extending these lines to remote offices. To do this by IP instead of expensive leased lines by routing the telephony over dedicated data lines is a great cost reduction and is the killer application in converged data and telephony solutions. This application provides the customer with a quick ROI and is relatively easy to roll out and implement. Since it affects a lot of traffic it is usually worth while getting a separate IP per gateway and istallation is fast and inexpensive. Most VARS start with this type of solution to show the customer a rapid profit and then move on to a more comprehensice solutions. ABP International, Inc. 2004 VAR VoIP Applications - 5 -
5. PTN Private Telephony Network Similar to trunking where the customer leverages his Digital lines at the Central office and routes incoming 800 calls to all branch offices by adding some intelligence to the system with the snom 4S proxy and registrar now we can add LCR (Least Cost Routing) and automatically have all inter-company calls go over the data network providing significant savings to the customer. There are some great new products like Cashmer from NetFabric that allow to package in one little box the control and configuration of LCR and can be used to quickly and economicaly build a Private Telephony Network. For more complex environements this is done with small separate server running a SIP Proxy and custom configured by the VAR. Such a more ambitious system can be upgraded to add-in a private IP conference server or more complez Auto-Attendant and in addition to Least Cost Routing No Cost Interoffice calls will also offer free cost conferencing in the companies own private conference rooms. ABP International, Inc. 2004 VAR VoIP Applications - 6 -
6. IP Conferences & Custom Applications IP Conference Bridges, Customized Auto Attendants and interactive Applications can be created as XML scripts that run in the Mediaserver Mediaservers typically are programable by scripting languages or some version of Voice XML. Applications supported are complex auto attendants, conference servers, Music on Hold, Play back of pre-recorded messages, Enterprise and Service Provider class Voice Mails systems. The snom 4S Mediaserver is a software based application currently designed to run effectively on a single Intel or AMD CPU and with the capacity to support approximately 50-100 RTP streams depending on server specs. (2.4 Ghz Intel P4) The snom 4S platform works on Windows XP and Linux servers. There are mediaservers of many sizes with different scalability and for different applications and needs. Please check out the ABP Solution Partners pages for more details on partner Mediaservers. 7. The IPBX as PBX Replacement ABP International, Inc. 2004 VAR VoIP Applications - 7 -
The future of Telephony in the business world will be a converged data and telephony network. All on premises and branch office telephony will most likely migrate to IP based systems over the next years. Local LAN, VPN or in some cases even the public Internet will be the new means of transporting voice. Features like Voice Mail, conferencing, ACD, general and local AutoAttendants, and any other services are all well supported by the new IPBX solutions or combinations of SIP server and the Mediaservers. In the example below, the IPBX solution is based on two servers for maximum scalability, one server for the PBX and one for the Mediaserver (Voicemail, Auto Attendant, conference server and Music on Hold. For redundancy and in order to create a virtually fail proof system a second backup proxy / SIP server can be configured to take over in the event that the primary system is offline.for VARS in need of building a custom solution snom technology's 4S SIP server can be used to build a IPBX solution from scratch. The snom 4S SIP server is proxy & registrar and the core intelligence of the system. The snom 4S Mediaserver provides full conference bridges to both IP and PSTN calls when a Gateway is available on the system as well as allows mixed IP and PSTN conferences. ABP International, Inc. 2004 VAR VoIP Applications - 8 -
8. Overview of a Converged Solution in a Hybrid Environment This diagram also shows how the conventional world of TDM telephony converges with an overall VoIP based Telephony solution and gives an overview of how the different modules are interconnected. ABP International, Inc. 2004 VAR VoIP Applications - 9 -
About ABP Tech www.abptech.com ABP Technology is a division of ABP International, Inc. and specializes in the distribution of high-end technology products in the field of Information Technology and Telecommunications. ABP Technology concentrates on Voice over IP solutions based on Open Standards for converged data and voice communications.. ABP is committed to VoIP over Open Standards and works with vendors that support interoperable solutions in a multi vendor environment. ABP represents world class companies from the US and around the world and markets products in the US and the rest of the Americas to service providers, carriers and the enterprise market through specialized channel partners. Snom IP phones and SIP Softswitches and Media Servers AudioCode Analog and Media Gateways Ingate and Interex SIP Firewalls and Routers Red Hawk Power Over Ethernet InCyper IP Infrastructure Management ABP International, Inc. 2004 VAR VoIP Applications - 10 -
Channel Partners Building a profitable business together Are you looking to provide best in class Voice over IP solutions and want a partner with the technical knowledge to support your needs? Are your customers looking to add VoIP to their current PBX, upgrading to a new IP PBX, looking for an integrator to provide them quality VoIP solutions such as IP phones, soft switches, SIP aware firewalls, and SIP gateways? If so, ABP is your partner of choice to provide you the products and knowledge for SIPsucess! ABP offers the products and technology that are chosen from companies around the world to provide the best-cost competitive solutions with cutting edge, not bleeding edge technology. We are adding new products and vendors each month. If you are looking for the best prices and margins with technical training and support for your team, not just box pushers, please fill in our on line form or download our PDF application. We partner with our integrators and VAR s to ensure success for your company. As partners, ABP doesn t just distribute products to you, we are also there for technical training, technical service and relationship building. We create partnerships across the America s creating long lasting business relationships between our integrators, VAR resellers, and ITSP s. Why join ABP as a VAR Partner? ABP sells the Best-of-Breed VoIP products ABP offers its Partners training & support ABP offers its Partners wholesale pricing and full distributor services We share our VoIP technology expertise with our VAR Partners All products are InteropTested One Stop Purchasing Please contact for more information: Bob Ducey, Channel Sales bducey@abptech.com direct 972-831-0280 x.215 ABP International, Inc. 2004 VAR VoIP Applications - 11 -