SIP to Facilitate Convergent Multimedia Enterprise Communication and Reduce Deployment Time

Frost & Sullivan: Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is growing in significance as the widely accepted standard for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) that facilitates convergent multimedia/multi-modal communication. As SIP helps leverage Internet capabilities to support next-generation communication, the SIP market is expected to witness strong growth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

SIP is anticipated to replace the traditional modes of communication, transforming IP communications, creating an alternate communication industry and reducing network elements to mere call-forwarding devices.

However, due to the intensifying pressure faced by application developers to improve time to market, there is a growing need to standardise video services, in particular. In this context, it will become essential for the regulatory body to become proactive and issue specifications and guidelines to limit proprietary solutions from entering the market.

As return on investment (ROI) and successful business case studies are vital to influence enterprise investments, collaboration between vendors will become essential to facilitate the standardisation of SIP. Vendors will need to collaborate and test their solutions extensively . Certification testing will also prove beneficial in assisting mainstream adoption of SIP-based applications and services.

With well-defined extensions for voice communication, SIP for business (SIP-B) is likely to standardise business features, thereby transforming enterprise communication. Accordingly, server systems are likely to replace private branch exchanges (PBXs). SIP is also anticipated to create greater emphasis on enhanced software-based call processors that will be based on standards. Intelligence will migrate from network elements towards endpoints, thereby creating a 'smartphone' era. Consequentially, SIP is expected to transform the value chain as well as the methods of communication.

SIP offers several advantages over legacy protocols as it assists equipment vendors and service providers in creating innovative solutions for next-generation networks. Further, advantages such as mobility, flexible message structure, media independence as well as forking impart flexibility to application developers and reduce deployment time for service providers and system integrators.

As large networks utilise legacy protocols, SIP will need to co-exist with them to gain greater acceptance. SIP will have to support mixed media and mixed protocol environments to remain successful. Further, commoditising call control and offering it as a reliable, independent platform will have a profound effect on the uptake of SIP.

Despite the potential of SIP, interoperability of features and applications is a significant challenge as inter-domain deployments with multi-vendor products fail to support advanced capabilities. As several enterprises have invested heavily in legacy systems, ensuring the compatibility of SIP-enabled systems with legacy infrastructure will become essential to promote its implementation.

VoIP security also remains a crucial factor threatening to affect market growth. Hence, SIP security infrastructure will have to support multiple intermediaries and endpoints, anonymity, call trace as well as legal intercept and privacy protection. Vendors would do well to provide a secure infrastructure for multimedia/multi-modal communication over SIP, while also ensuring quality of service (QoS), reliability and scalability.

With legacy infrastructure supporting a wide variety of standards, platforms such as the Inter-asterisk eXchange (IAX) are gaining prominence. Currently, Asterix offers advantages that include network address translation (NAT) traversal, better bandwidth utilisation, easier implementation and a strong security mechanism, . At the same time, as platforms similar to Inter-Asterisk eXchange (IAX) are likely to support SIP for user access, Asterix and SIP are expected to co-exist within the same network.

At present, SIP is evolving. As a result, greater awareness of its benefits as well as training and certification on the SIP standard will become crucial for market success.

Service providers will benefit by simplifying pricing strategies and adopting value-based pricing for advanced services. Endpoints are also likely to become standardised, helping service providers bundle them. These companies should also aim to create differentiation by offering value-added services and focusing on efficient time to market for new service launches. ame, title, telephone number, fax number and e-mail address. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you via e-mail.

EMEA SIP Market - Transforming Telecommunication Publ 20060221