1. INTRODUCTIONSIP or Session Initiation Protocol has become a widely deployed technology throughout the world. Putting aside the feature benefits that SIP brings tobusiness, the primary reasons for SIP adoption boils down to economics and simplicity.Economically speaking, SIP offers the ability to move into the next logical evolution of communication technologies: Making communications more openand efficient. This departure from vendor proprietary to more open solutions offers greater choice in application and device technologies, which in turndrives down cost. Additionally, with greater choice in the types of applications used, businesses can find greater efficiency in their operations.For years, communication technologies have enjoyed the enviable position of being both required to operate a business and being vendor proprietary. Thelatter allowed manufacturers to set the price for the functionality offered and businesses for the most part were content with the value it delivered.Today a new economic model is driving businesses to move beyond accepted practices when delivering communication services. SIP has proved to bethe tool that delivers an acceptable rate of investment return while simultaneously allowing for multi-vendor technology interoperability. The challengeto businesses will be in making certain that the road map to get to SIP is clearly defined. Additionally, we need to be able to articulate what SIP is andhow it can improve business operations. From the standpoint of simplicity, SIP can remove complexity from the networkand add new capabilities to improve the flow of information. SIP accomplishesSIP is the glue that binds vendors, devices andthis by distributing the intelligence of connection between each SIP element applications to create an enterprise with seamlesswithin the network. This allows for less complex infrastructure and can remove delivery of services to disparate locations and users.the need for gateway technologies. SIP-as-the-Glue has become the de-facto standard forCarrier networks have been migrating to SIP based architectures as a means toconnecting multi-vendor communication technologies,offer more features, increase available bandwidth and reduce the cost of service centralized applications, and branch systems into andelivery. Once a SIP trunk is installed, enterprise network architects can removeenterprise-wide communications solution.many of the gateway appliances currently used to transition traditional circuitsto IP. The removal of this layer will simplify network designs and reduce costs in Alon Waks, Avaya UC Product Marketinghardware, services and maintenance.Finally, one of the main reasons SIP has been so widely adopted is evolution. On December 21, 2009, AT&T submitted a proposal to deregulate the PSTN.In essence, this will ultimately lead to the removal of most of the PSTN services as we know them today. Businesses will need to begin the process ofmigrating to SIP so that they can be prepared for what will ultimately be a completely SIP-enabled broadband communications environment throughoutthe US and abroad.Now that we have established a baseline for the rationale behind Why SIP? Lets begin with understanding what SIP actually is and how it can benefitbusiness.

2. An Overview of SIP BasicsSIP (which stands for Session Initiation Protocol) is a standard defined by the IETF. But what is that? Lets start with understanding the terms thatcomprise the SIP acronym.Session: Since SIP is indiscriminate in the types of communications it supports, it would be wrong to refer to it as call or text or email or video initiationprotocol. Session, a more generic word, was used as it could pertain to any number of various communication methods in use today and for futurecommunication methods not yet known.Initiation: A major task for SIP is in the setting up and tearing down of voice and video communications. Initiation describes this major function of SIPas it acts as the introduction (or initiator) of communication sessions between SIP elements.Protocol: This is the only word within the SIP acronym that describes what it IS rather than what it DOES. SIP is a protocol similar in many ways toHyperText Transport Protocol (you know this from your Internet browser: HTTP) and as such can run under existing transport mechanisms in place todaysuch as TCP/IP.In summary, the terms are Session because it supports more than just calls, Initiation because it introduces the sessions between SIP elements andProtocol because thats what it actually is.As for SIP elements, the first element to consider is the SIP User Agent. SIP UserAgents are logical elements (code embedded into circuitry) that are installed inAt an architectural level, SIP fulfills the promiseall SIP end points. It is the element that both sends and receives SIP requests.of IP communications that the first generation ofIf you consider a regular PSTN telephone, the person initiates the call by pressing IP deployments failed to achieve. The architecturalon the numbers. The numbers correspond to tones that are being listened for improvements include allowing intelligent devices toby devices with more intelligence. A SIP User Agent is intelligence added intodistribute some functionality thereby allowing for larger,the circuitry of the end device that not only allows you to press numbers to dial more efficient solutions, allowing devices to be contextbut also allows you to press a video button or text buttons as well. This makes aware which decreases the negative effects of failureit possible to put less intelligent (i.e. less expensive) equipment in the core torecovery, significant reduction of hardware footprinthandle the requests.when compared to TDM installations, and makingAnother important SIP element is the SIP Server. There are generally three SIPmulti-modal communications native to the solution asserver elements that make up a SIP network. When we speak in terms of SIP opposed to an add-on.servers, we are referring to logical rather than physical elements. All three ofthese servers can be located in the same physical element. Stephen Durney, Avaya AuraTM Product Management SIPProxyServeractsastherouterandpolicyenforcerforSIPsessions. SIPRegistrarServeractstoprovidelocationinformationoftheSIPUserAgentandthesessionsitsupports. SIPRedirectServerdoesjustwhatitsnameimplies.ItactstomoveSIPrequeststoexternalSIPdomains.All of these requests and introductions and location information are all running on a regular TCP/IP network along with the content you are sending.As you can see, SIP is a unique and powerful solution to help you communicate in ways that were not possible before. SIP supports all types of digitalcommunications in the form of sessions, and as a protocol, it can run over existing networks in place today. Now you can initiate a voice session andthen add video to it without having to hang up and add additional lines.SIP also resides in each SIP-enabled end point as a User Agent and sends and receives requests to SIP Servers. However, instead of the intelligencebeing at the network core, SIP intelligence is located within each end point. This makes it possible to have less expensive equipment in the core of thenetwork.The User Agent is also better known for a service it has been providing over the Internet for some time: Instant Messaging. IM was built on SIP andadds to it the ability to know what the receiving end point status is before a session is established. Now you can see ahead of the call before you makeit, and that makes business more efficient. 3. SIP: Transforming User CommunicationsThe User Benefits of SIP with Broad Solution ReferencesAs previously discussed, SIP adds intelligence to the end point. In traditional communication networks, intelligence is located at the network core. Whatthat means is that in traditional networks, the person had the least amount of information available before a call was placed. The most one could hopefor was for a busy signal or connection to someones voice mail system. Socially, we referred to this as playing phone tag. However, this phone tagwas in actuality a significant productivity hindrance to our jobs.With the introduction of cellular end points, phone tag was nearly a thing of the past. But it was now replaced with new inefficiencies. The first wasmultiple contact numbers. Now you had more than one telephone number where you could be reached. This added confusion to the process of makinga simple call. Are you at the office? Or should I call your cell? Additionally it meant covering two voicemail systems. Today, people default to callingyour cell phone nearly 80% of the time, making the investment in an office telephone system seem redundant (and making you spend more money oncellular minutes).However, these examples of productivity loss and inefficiencies are really nothing more than soft dollars when used to calculate a return on theinvestment in SIP. So lets break down the types of activities users engage in when trying to communicate and lets review how SIP can improve themboth in real and soft dollar terms.Voice Communication is a major part of every persons day. We make calls to connect to others so that we can conduct business. In order to place thatcall we need to know the persons telephone number. If we do not reach the person, we can leave a voice message.Voice Communication over SIP immediately alters our calling paradigm. Instead of trying to call the number where the person might be located, SIPallows us to contact the person and through presence, location and proxy services deliver our session request to whatever device it is programmed torespond to. In a nut shell, SIP knows what device you prefer to use or that is closest to you and can deliver the session request to it.In real terms, SIP can ensure inter-office communications flow through the office network rather than over cellular devices. This saves real money incellular minutes. Additionally, traditional voice messaging resources can be reduced as users can be sent a text of a session request. This saves costson storage and backup resources.Video Communication is used largely in businesses where travel is a significant expense. However, setting up video conferences requires a fair amountof technical knowledge to accomplish. Additionally, most traditional video systems require dedicated circuit resources that, whether used or not, arecharged for on a monthly basis.Video Communication over SIP greatly simplifies the setting up of video sessions by removing the complexity of session requests. Instead of trying tobridge two networks to make video work with voice, SIP video sessions utilize the same path the voice session uses. The bandwidth required for video isthen added to the voice path and released once the video session is terminated. This is better utilization of bandwidth resources and allows for alwayson services without having to be charged when the service is not in use, saving on recurring monthly circuit costs.Text Communication isnt widely used in business but is extensively used in our personal lives. Text communication comes in the form of InstantMessaging and Cellular (SMS) text. Text is a cost effective alternative to voice communications and can have a positive impact on customer service,but requires additional addresses to be managed (i.e. IM name and cellular text address). However, in markets with regulatory and compliance laws inplace, text can add significant risk to business operations as it is mostly an open technology delivered over the Internet.Text Communication over SIP allows businesses to control, audit, store and report text messages similar to voice and e-mail messages. In addition,SIP encryption appliances can secure these conversations over open Internet connections, making it a more viable and less risky venture for businesses,even those that live with regulatory restrictions.E-mail Communication, once frowned upon by business, is now the mainstay communication tool for nearly all document-able communications. E-mailalso has the ability to become integrated with most cellular solutions, allowing end-users to read e-mail away from their office computer. Again, thisis yet another address which end-users have to manage. 4. E-mail Communication over SIP integrates e-mail into all forms of computer applications other than MS Outlook or Lotus Notes. Now end userscan access a customer information database and send e-mail directly from it. Instead of having to leave what you are doing to communicate, SIPallows you to communicate through the applications directly. When utilized through SIP proxy services, the end user can select their preferred modeof communication and have all communications routed to their e-mail. This function can also be tied to a persons online calendar, allowing forcommunications to flow based on your meeting schedule.In summary, SIP is all about transforming the user experience. This is the next big challenge for businesses to fully value the investments made incommunication technologies. SIP brings the tools and intelligence to alter end user behavior without adding risk to business operations. For the enduser, SIP will be mostly transparent in their day-to-day use of communication technologies. But this brings up an element of training that very fewbusinesses address when deploying SIP into their network. Just because an end user CAN do something differently doesnt mean that they WILL dosomething differently. In fact, odds are that they will continue acting under the older paradigm unless told otherwise. IT managers and operationspersonnel should determine which type of activities users are most engaged in and deploy that SIP element first. SIP will deliver efficiency, but it isntnecessary to jump into the deep end of the SIP pool to get that efficiency. Simply getting your feet wet will work for now. Professional Services Catalyst Telecoms Professional Services team has several offers that will help assure a solid foundation for VoIP installations. A comprehensive evaluation is an essential component to a successful implementation. Potential issues are identified early in planning stages, reducing later unforeseen costs- hardware, lost business, time and money. Weve developed services that give you and your customer choices that fit their budget and exceed your expectations. Catalyst will help you plan, test and evaluate networks that will carry VoIP traffic. VoIP Assessment Call Center Optimization 5. SIP: Transforming Enterprise CommunicationsThe word most associated with the organizational benefits of SIP is control. Communication is a large expense for nearly every IT budget and in mostenvironments, the end user is in control of how they communicate which means there is little thought put into saving money by utilizing less expensiveresources. Additionally, incoming calls are also not privy to the control of business. However a customer calls is how they call. Before SIP, there reallywasnt much that operations managers could do to control these costs other than finding cheaper carrier services.Lets analyze the many benefits a business can gain from adding control into their communications infrastructure. The first advantage with control isin expense. SIP proxy services can act as the traffic cop, ensuring communications flow through the most appropriate (i.e., less expensive) resource.ThisisaharddollarelementoftheROIcalculationforintegratingSIP.ThewaythatSIPcontrolscommunicationsisbyensuringthatallsessionsgothrough a central SIP engine before being connected to the requested service. For Avaya, this element is Avaya Aura Session Manager. SIP enables employees to have a broad range ofAnother benefit of control is acting as a change agent. The question isnt communications tools at their fingertips which arehow to alter communications to better suit an internal or external customersneeds. It is how to alter customer behavior to reduce the cost of supporting easy to use individually, sequentially or in multi-modalthose communications. The capabilities that SIP brings to communications sessions regardless of location, network type or theallows businesses to re-think how they work and how they can better supportendpoint thats available to them.their customers. With SIP, you can now use multiple communication sessions Stephen Durney, Avaya AuraTM Product Managementas easily as you could use traditional voice. As such, you can move customersto more text based communications, thereby drastically reducing circuit costs.Finally, SIP also brings about much needed slimming down and commoditization of the network. We have already established that as a technologySIP can be an overlay onto an existing communications topology. This allows for an easy migration to a SIP-enabled environment and can provide thenecessary operational and functional efficiencies businesses require. However, a significant benefit that an organization can gain from SIP is in the re-architecture of their communications infrastructure. Since SIP is more logical in nature, the need for hardware based gateways and servers is reduced.With the advent of hypervisor technologies (such as Xen and VMWare), most SIP services can run as separate services on a single server. This reducesserver count and improves ITs ability to control rising maintenance and service costs. SIP is a ratified IETF specification, and SIPs acceptance in thevendor community also allows organizations to focus more on utilizing a multi-vendor approach when delivering service to end users. This will helpreduce the cost of devices and thereby help curb rising communication costs. Education & Training Catalyst Offers Avaya Enterprise and SME Certification Training Catalyst is here to help you succeed in todays competitive market. As an authorized Avaya ALPP Training Partner, weve got the courses to help prepare your team to work confidently in the field. From our Avaya Aura-based Enterprise Certification Training Courses to our SME Certification Boot Camps, we can help you effectively sell and provide support to your customers. Check out our complete list of available courses or visit Catalysts Education & Training page to register today! 6. SIP MigrationThe enterprise must be convinced of the additional value that SIP brings to them. As discussed previously, SIP tactically helps enterprises dramaticallylower their TCO, improve operational efficiencies and increase reliability. From a strategic point of view, SIP allows for richer communications andeasier deployment of new services to end users. SIP can act as a change agent and help an organization re-invent itself and the services it delivers toits customers. Also, SIP can help re-architect the network in ways that will foster reduction in appliances, services and maintenance. But perhaps thegreatest of all benefits is in SIPs ability to help control communications. Without control, organizations must rely on continually educating the end userand customer population, which can be a significant resource drain both from a headcount and expense perspective.How to Sell the Benefits of SIPThere are many facets to SIP. To most customers, the concept of SIP will seem foreign and hard to grasp. Not because of the complexity of the technologybut because it is a dramatic departure from accepted practices handed down since the beginning of communications. Here are a few suggestions thatpartners can use to help communicate the value and benefits of moving to SIP.Be ForthrightSIP is vendor agnostic. For those that have taken the early steps of moving to SIP, you know that this statement also has a few pitfalls. First, SIPisnt fully inter-operable between vendors or carriers. Help the customer understand the dynamic nature of making everything SIP. In some cases thelandscape has already been scouted and the lesson already learned. In other cases, it will be unchartered territory and will require some patience inorder to figure it out. The bottom line is that the benefits of SIP far outweigh the complexities one might face.Take Sips of SIPJumping into the deep end and making everything SIP is not a good business plan for success. Again, think of SIP as a direction and then look atthe driving business needs to determine where SIP should play first. Also consider the best places where a return can be delivered to help offset SIPtechnology and integration costs such as trunks and multi-vendor interoperability.You Are What You EatThe best advice to give any partner is this: Make SIP part of your internal network before you start selling it to others. Beyond a demo unit, all partnersshouldgetaSIPcircuitinstalled.Onlythenwillyoubeabletoconfidentlylookacrossthetableanddelivervaluetoyourcustomers.Remember,itsallvapor-ware until you actually use it.The Readers Digest vs. War and PeaceSIP can be very daunting to a company, especially since most do not come from the world of any application any device. Find an element of SIP andfocus on selling that one piece. SIP can help bring about operational change, but if you look across that chasm without seeing the bridge, you will findit difficult to obtain customer buy-in and acceptance. Start with the benefits of SIP trunks and go from there.SIP MigrationThere are many things to consider when helping enterprises migrate to SIP so that they can take advantage of the value obtained from SIPs multi-vendorinteroperability.The first principle to consider is buy-in: acceptance and ownership of SIP. Before we can think of SIP as an element of the network and part of ourbusiness operation, we must first think of it as a strategy. Since the creation of the first communications devices, the one unfaltering rule was theproprietary nature of the solutions offered. For the first time, SIP changes that rule. If you consider everything that SIP offers, you can boil it down tothis statement: SIP allows my business to move away from proprietary communication elements and towards elements that offer choice, efficiency andcontrol.In other words, instead of working with a vendors application and device, you can now work with any vendors application on any device. Considerthe power of that statement. The future of Intelligent Communications isnt saddled to a specific vendors vision. The future rides on the ability tocommunicate no matter where you are, using whatever device you have at your disposal in a safe, intelligent and efficient manner. Before you can beginthe process of the migration to SIP there needs to be buy-in from all interested parties on this one guiding principle. 7. Once there is acceptance and ownership, then focus on migration. This is where you look at assisting the process with a return. Specifically, you look atthe elements of SIP that can help offset the costs associated with SIP integration. Avaya refers to this as a self-funded roadmap. Two main componentsof the roadmap are the continued use of operational technologies and the move to more efficient WAN technologies.Continued use of operational technologies refers to SIPs ability to inter-operate with multiple vendor solutions. This allows for the continued use ofalready capitalized equipment with SIP acting as the gateway between various manufacturers proprietary feature sets. This makes the network lookand act more like a single vendor solution even though many vendor solutions reside in the network.The move to more efficient WAN technologies refers to SIPs ability to reduce trunk and analog circuit costs. SIP, delivered natively from an ISP, canimprove bandwidth utilization and add services in comparison to traditional circuits that require gateway functionality to connect to IP networks andhave limited bandwidth aggregation capabilities.In support of the migration to SIP, a Session Management element must also be included. Session Management refers to SIP technology that acts as thegateway between vendor solutions. Avaya Aura Session Manager is that gateway technology making it possible for vendors solutions to inter-operate.Session Manager from Avaya comes from an acquisition of technology from of a company named Ubiquity which provided this capability in the carriercloud.The future of Intelligent Communications is clear. It is any application running on any device. Avayas direction of providing Session Managementcapabilities helps to ensure a peaceful and cost-effective transition to SIP. It will do this first by continuing to utilize existing multi-vendor equipmentand secondarily by helping reduce WAN costs and improve bandwidth utilization.Jim Sevier, President and CEO of Convergence Readiness, Inc. is a trusted advisor that has built a successful practice providing directionon communications technologies to hundreds of businesses in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.Inhispractice,ConvergenceReadiness,Inc.,Jimdeliversadviceandeducationtobusinesseslookingtogetthemostoutoftheircommunicationsinvestments. He also delivers a Sales Readiness Education series, as well as web seminars and other educational opportunities exclusivelyon behalf of Catalyst Telecom.As a compliment to his practice, Jim has begun writing blogs and producing podcasts on numerous convergence topics. Visit the ConvergenceReadiness website to learn more. 8. About Avaya AuraAvaya Aura is the next generation communications architecture based on SIP connectivity between all enterprise components. All of the productsthat communicate with the Avaya Aura core support SIP. SIPs incredible flexibility has led every major vendor to create their own standard SIP dialectfor exposing advanced features over SIP. Avaya aggressively promotes interoperability between various 3rd party solutions by supplying adaptationmodules in the Avaya Aura core, and a rich robust SIP stack designed to work with the largest collection of SIP devices in the world. Adaptation modulesare software components that reside in the Avaya Aura core that convert different vendors SIP dialects into IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force)standard SIP.In addition, the Avaya solution has been proven to be interoperable with a myriad of service providers like AT&T, Orange, Verizon, etc.For Enterprises of All SizesThere are many aspects to the Avaya Aura architecture that allow all customers,independent of vertical, to benefit. For extremely large enterprises, the Avaya Avaya Aura has proven ROI for mid to largeAura architecture supports massive scale in terms of BHCC and users while enterprises. Payback is assessed at less than 12still providing an easy method for supporting and administrating the enterprise. months on average, and average recurring OPEXFor geographically disperse enterprises, the Avaya Aura architecture supportsa centralized dial-plan, advanced routing (multi-domain, location-based, toll savings are 25-40% for large enterprises. Utilize theavoidance). For mid-sized customers, Avaya Aura brings advanced functionalityAvaya Aura Session Manager Savings Estimator Tool tothat was typically only available to the largest enterprises or was cost ineffective prove ROI to your customers.to the mid-sized customer. Avaya Aura also provides an environment wherenew fit-for-purpose services can be deployed into the enterprise without requiring upgrades or negatively impacting large amounts of users, andminimizing the risk to the solution. Many new game-changing applications and services, some vertically focused, are being developed by not onlyAvaya, but also its business partners and customers alike.Avaya has leveraged the Service Provider standards to add the innovative application sequencing to Avaya Aura products. This allows applicationsfull access to the complete SIP protocol used in setting up and modifying sessions by sequencing the SIP critical INVITE messages to all applicationsbound to a user or SIP entity. This innovation allows applications to be written and deployed without changing or upgrading existing enterpriseequipment.In addition, the application sequencing providesa second advantage to contact center customers.The SIP protocol allows the addition of sequentialinformation to be appended to the SIP messages usedin a session as the session progresses. Since all theinformation is in the SIP messages, this eliminatesthe need for the traditional, brittle CTI integrations toprovide cradle-to-grave reporting, and up-to-dateagent information in screen pops, etc.The diagram to the right illustrates how Avaya Aurahas redefined enterprise communication leveraging astrong SIP core with Session Manager: 9. Avaya Aura is designed to support geographically disparate enterprises. The basic logical building block that allows Avaya Aura to accomplish this isthe location parameter that is deeply embedded into the Session Manager design. This allows the enterprise to indicate the location for every user orclass or set of users in the enterprise and apply policy based on location.In addition, the solution is geo-redundant. Each core element of Avaya Aura has data replicated automatically so that requests from users or devicescan be routed and handled by any Session Manager in the enterprise. Session Managers can be separated by up to 1000 msec round trip delay and aslittle as 3 Mb/s in peak bandwidth.Finally, special care has been taken in the designof Avaya Aura for network outages. The Avaya AuraSurvivable Core modules can be used for up to 63different data centers, and the Avaya Aura SurvivableRemotesoftwarecanprovidethefullfeaturesettoSIP and non-SIP stations in branches should they bedisconnected from the core. All in all, up to 8 levelsof SIP redundancy have been built into the solutionas shown in the diagram.Selling the Benefits of Avaya AuraThe Avaya Aura solution uses the same standards and principles Service Providers use in their modern SIP networks based on the IP MultimediaSubsystem standards created by the Third Generation Partnership Project or 3GPP standards body. This allows customers to create enterprise cloudswhere services are distributed to enterprise users.Avaya Aura seamlessly integrates SIP and non-SIP components together. There is no smoother evolution strategy from TDM to SIP. Additionally, AvayaAura is the best way to integrate not only SIP and TDM, but to integrate them with other vendors as well.Avayas Session Manager supplies unprecedented scale and performance for small to large enterprises. The Session Manager provides the routing,authentication and security, binding applications to users and applying policy to every enterprise user, providing an enterprise core network that canbe built upon for years to come.Avayas solution is tightly integrated with a world leader in edge security Acme Packet as well as tested to be interoperable with major serviceproviderSIPtrunkingservices.Finally,AvayaAurahasprovenROIformid-to-largeenterprises.Paybackisassessedatlessthan12monthsonaverage,and provides average recurring OPEX savings of 25-40% for large enterprises.Avaya & Multi-Vendor SIP InteroperabilityAvaya has jointly developed a security solution with Acme Packet that scales up to 750 concurrent sessions and resells the Acme Packet 3800 and 4500series of session border controllers. Both solutions have been thoroughly tested and certified for use with the Avaya Aura solution. The Avaya solutionsfor session border control specifically address the needs of the enterprise with a complete security framework.With the introduction of the Avaya Aura Session Border Controller, powered by Acme Packet, for the needs of medium and large sized enterprises andcontact centers, Avaya can satisfy the full range of enterprise needs. 10. While there is a great deal of similarity between the Avaya Aura Session Border Controller and the Acme Packet Net-Net 3800 & 4500 feature sets, thereare a few key differences besides scale. These are: Transcoding The Avaya Aura Session Border Controller supports media transcoding as an optionally licensed capability. Government Security Acme Packets Net-Net 3800 and Net-Net 4500 SBC implementations of SIP-TLS, IPsec, SSH and SFTP are designed to complywith FIPS 140-2. These solutions are also currently going through a formal FIPS 140-2 certification cycle. Management GUI - The Avaya Aura Session Border Controller supports the Net-Net OS-E management GUI, as well as a specifically developed SIPtrunking wizard to ease SIP trunk deployments to carriers via standard SIP trunking configuration. The Acme Packet Net-Net 3800 and 4500 supportboth CLI (Command Line Interface) and Acme Packet EMS (Extended Management System) GUI. Hardware The Avaya Aura Session Border Controller runs on an S8800 server and Avaya Aura System Platform. The Acme Packet Net-Net 3800and 4500 is software running on proprietary hardware from Acme Packet.In summary, the Avaya Aura Session Border Controller augments Avaya solutions for Unified Communications and Contact Center as follows: Defends SIP signaling elements against security threats and overloads Normalizes signaling and many other interoperability issues Preserves session quality under load and adverse conditions Extends Avaya application reach across IP network borders Supports regulatory complianceThe key benefits of the Avaya Aura Session Border Controller include: Faster Avaya solutions deployment at lower risk and cost Easier integration of Avaya with third-party applications and services Safe use of cost-effective SIP trunks High-quality session delivery to workers across the enterprise Improved customer options for customizing their networksFor more information on Avaya Aura, please visit: www.avaya.com/usa/product/avaya-aura.Avaya Aura content courtesy of Avaya 11. Case Study: Reducing Carrier Costs andStreamlining System ManagementPowerful STRATEGIES for driving great RESULTSScenarioA global finance organization was incurring huge carrier costs, with an effective rate of almost $ .022 per minute. System management was complexand time-consuming because each of the companys 43 top- and middle-tier sites had its own inbound and outbound trunking, and each switch utilizeda unique dial plan. The organization had already invested heavily in initiatives aimed at leveraging the internal IP network more effectively, especiallyfor site-to-site calling, but the efforts were largely ineffective. The situation became more critical as global economic conditions worsened and strictercost-control measures were mandated by management.Avaya AuraTM Session Manager is delivering a solution that involves SIP routing,trunk sharing, and international tail-end hop-off strategies (which enable theThe Big Story:organization to route a call anywhere on the IP network with entry to the PSTNThis finance organization will realize a 65% reductionat the closest point, so that only local charges apply). In addition to providing in carrier fees, a 70% footprint consolidation, andcost savings and streamlined management, the new infrastructure simplifiessubstantial savings on IT support time and costs.the deployment of new unified communications and media applications.The Avaya Solution: Avaya Aura Session ManagerPayback Results and Other BenefitsThe organization will realize over $1M per month in carrier cost savingsa 65% reductionwith payback in less than one year. Breakout:50% lower access charges and a negotiated 30% reduction in per-minute PSTN rates from carriers. Rapidpaybackwillenableexpansiontosmallersitesaroundtheworld.There will be additional savings on energy with SIP versus TDM gateway hardware.The strategy will result in a 70% footprint consolidation, involving fewer cabinets, DS1s, DSPs, DS3s, and T1s across the network and drop-off sites.Significantly less IT support time will be required for existing and future applications.Availability will increase due to greater ability to route around failures. 12. Case Study: Centralizing Applications and ServersPowerful STRATEGIES for driving great RESULTSScenarioThe claims division of a US insurance company operates over 450 locations. Separate communications systems at each location were not delivering thevalue and performance that the company needs to help hold down costs and maintain competitive advantage.With Avaya Aura, the enterprise-wide communications architecture isstreamlined and all locations are connectedmoving from 450 separate AvayaThe Big Story:PBXs to a single SIP-enabled core. The new infrastructure will consolidate 56 Operational expenses will be reduced by a projectedcontact center applications and associated server hardware to just 6, and it$7M annually, with payback in less than 6 months.will leverage the existing MPLS data network. The nationwide deployment willbe completed within 6 months, enabling the organization to accelerate itsThe Avaya Solution:centralization strategy and cost-reduction initiatives. Avaya Aura Avaya Contact Center ApplicationsPayback Results and Other Benefits Operational expenses will be reduced by a projected $7M annually, with payback in less than 6 months.Breakout:$3M annual savings from reducing trunk access fees, leveraging centralized SIP trunking, and conserving energy with SIP versus TDMgateway hardware.$1.25M annual savings from consolidating 56 call management servers to just 6 (based on estimates of $25K annual overhead per datacenter server).$2.8M annual maintenance plus upgrade savings potential from consolidating hardware and upgrade protection. The strategy will reduce complexity and IT administration/management costs. All locations will standardize on a single dial plan. The solution enables centralized management of the broad portfolio of applications required to drive a large contact center committed toproviding superior customer service. Customer service will be improved by being able to more effectively route calls to a broader agent population across sites, leveraging the broadset of skills within the agent pool. 13. Welcome to the dawn of anew era in business communications.A new era driven by a breakthrough unified communications platform.Finally, we are in a world where you can combine multi-vendor environments while leveragingyour current infrastructure investment. A place where you can reduce capital expenseswhile you allow for rapid deployment of new applications. A time where you can experienceunmatched speed and simplicity at lower cost with greater efficiency. The future of unifiedcommunications has arrived learn more about Avaya Aura at avaya.com/aura. 2009 Avaya Inc. All Rights Reserved. 14. About AvayaAvaya enables businesses to achieve superior results by designing, building and managing their communications infrastructure and solutions. For overonemillionbusinessesworldwide,includingmorethan90percentoftheFORTUNE500,Avayaembeddedsolutionshelpbusinessesenhancevalue,improve productivity and create competitive advantage by allowing people to be more productive and create more intelligent processes that satisfycustomers.For businesses large and small, Avaya is a world leader in secure, reliable IP telephony systems, communications applications and full life-cycleservices. Driving the convergence of embedded voice and data communications with business applications, Avaya is distinguished by its combinationof comprehensive world-class products and services. Avaya helps customers across the globe leverage existing and new networks to achieve superiorbusiness results.For more information please visit www.avaya.com.About Catalyst TelecomCatalyst Telecom is a value-added distributor of voice, video, mobility, network security and data equipment for the reseller community. The companywraps its value-added service offering around its best-in-class product set, ensuring resellers are getting the education, training, design and technicalsupport and financial services assistance they need to be successful growing their business or adding new technologies. Catalyst Telecom is a salesunit of international specialty technology distributor, ScanSource, Inc.For more information please visit www.catalysttelecom.com or call 800.790.2029.