NEC Events

Use Communications to Transform Your Enterprise

VoiceCon returns to Orlando this March 22-25, to host the leading vendors, IT professionals, industry experts for four information-packed days at the Gaylord Resort.

Attend the leading enterprise communications event in the industry to swap logic with your peers, see the latest solutions available, and analyze how to take advantage of all the dramatic changes reshaping our industry. New players, new products, new choices, and you don't want to begin your migration without a complete understanding of what it means for your network, your enterprise and your career.

The VoiceCon Conference Program will address key issues, including:

• Planning and Implementing IP Telephony and Converged Networks
• Unified Communications
• Managing Staff, Technology & Costs
• Communications Applications and Application Development
• Mobility/Wireless Communications
• Next-Gen Communications Technologies

VoiceCon Summits (as of January 1):
Unified Communications
Cloud Computing Role in Enterprise Communications
User Forum
Future of the Phone in the Enterprise

Tuesday, March 23, 8:00 – 8:45 AM
* New Options for Connecting Distributed Offices and Teleworkers
Session Format: Gareiss gives 20-min preso, then reactor panel
Session Notes:  As companies spread out across towns, states, nations and the globe, the challenges of interconnecting locations becomes more complex. And with more employees working from home and on the road, the question of which systems, services and personal devices becomes more challenging. There are new options for centralizing core communications facilities with distributed subnetworks, and the options for mobile communications are expanding almost daily. This session will review the newest options for connecting smaller/ branch locations and at-home and mobile workers.

KEY QUESTIONS:

• What design configurations make the most sense for distributed network architectures?
• What's the emphasis on current developments--more features, more security, more availability?
• What are the real capabilities for ensuring system reliability, security and back-up?
• What's the pricing trend?
• Should you be thinking about on-premise equipment or using "the cloud"?

Wednesday, March 24
1:00 – 1:45 PM
* Hardphones, Softphones & Next-Gen Systems
Session Format: Leaden gives 20-min preso, then reactor panel
Session Notes: Krapf to talk to Leaden re refresh preso to concentrate on the key questions
The demise of the desk phone has been predicted for several years now, but is there any evidence of a decline? Has the economic downturn brought a reassessment of the 30-40% of a new system spend that's devoted to desktop instruments? What's the case for deploying a desk phone to non-customer-facing employees? In this session, we'll debate whether budget cuts should finally force enterprises to revisit the expense of desk phones. We'll also consider the features and functions that are most appealing in desk phones in this environment.

KEY QUESTIONS:

• With some vendors bundling UC functionality with IP-PBXs, is it worthwhile to forgo hard phones altogether?
• What is the price/performance of the latest phone sets? Are vendors cutting prices to stimulate continued demand? What are the life cycle expectations for hard phones?
• Will the cost of vendor-proprietary desk phones drive increased adoption of: SIP phones? Softphones? Mobility features in call control platforms?
• What quality and security challenges need to be overcome before softphones/UC portals go more mainstream?

Monday, March 22, 2010
2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
*UC Options – Who’s Offering What?
Session Format: Marty Parker  gives preso, then reactor panel
Session Notes:

• An introductory section on the options for implementing UC
• A review of about a dozen suppliers’ offers based on 4 to 5 slides that you work with me to create in advance (or to update from VoiceCon San Francisco 2009)
• An analysis of the information that has been presented, to put it in a vendor-neutral, but comparative context
• Panel discussions and commentary by the suppliers’ representatives -- in two groups of 5 or 6 representatives

Tuesday, March 23
2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
* Integrating Mobility and UC: Comparing Vendors’ Solutions
Session Format: Michael Finneran will lead discussion of vendor responses to RFP
Session Notes:  Mobility is one of the key features of UC, however, each vendor seems to have a different range of solutions. Some depend on cellular service exclusively which can add to already spiraling cellular bills. The combination of wireless LANs and Wi-Fi can lower cellular usage and Wi-Fi also supports higher data rates than the cellular carriers’ 3G services. But upgrading the WLAN to support voice can be expensive and there’s the challenge of accurately matching capacity to call volumes. Most IP PBX vendors build or partner to provide dual mode Wi-Fi cellular that combine the two technologies and can transparently hand off calls. There are also Wi-Fi only and DECT solutions to support users who are mobile but only within the building or campus.

The VoiceCon team has put together a request for proposal for a mobile UC solution to work in conjunction with an IP-PBX deployment.  A set of of mobility requirements has been added, but no particular technology solution is specified. Participating vendors will propose a solution based on their existing product lines, identify the products required to implement it, and provide cost per user and for the entire solution.
Twelve leading vendors have been asked to participate, and each will get the opportunity to describe their solution, why they chose it, and to highlight the cost and particular advantages of their approach. We have also asked them to complete a feature matrix, which we will use to summarize and compare their offerings.

Mobility is an increasingly important element in UC and this deep dive will allow you to:
-       See what the vendors have to offer on the mobility front
-       Understand the elements involved in their solutions, and the particular features they offer
-       Recognize what it will cost to add mobility to UC
-       Determine how creatively they can address mobility requirements

KEY QUESTIONS

• What is the most cost effective way to integrate mobility for users who split their time in and out of the office? How about those who are mobile only within the office?
• What elements are actually involved in adding mobility to each vendor’s UC solution, what do they cost, either purchased separately or in a bundle with other UC features?
• Can a dual mode Wi-Fi/cellular solution be cost justified on its own or do we have to look for soft productivity benefits?
• If the costs of upgrading a WLAN to support voice are significant, can DECT be a cost effective alternative?
• Will users get the same range of features on a cellular-only, dual mode Wi-Fi/cellular, and VoWLAN based mobile US solution?

Wednesday, March 24
2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
* IP Telephony System RFP: Who Delivers the Goods?
Session Format: Allan Sulkin will lead discussion of vendor responses to RFP
Session Notes:  An RFP process to purchase a new enterprise communications system can be an exhaustive and time consuming experience. The objective of this workshop is to facilitate this task for customers who plan to issue an RFP for an IP telephony system in the near future.

There are three important take-aways for this tutorial:

• An all-inclusive RFP system performance document covering the basics and advanced capabilities of current generation IP telephony systems.
• Highly detailed proposals from leading system suppliers covering performance specifications with summary pricing information.
• A critical review of the response submissions by the industry’s leading enterprise communications system analyst.
  Systems suppliers participating in the tutorial include: Aastra, Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Cisco, Digium, Microsoft, Mitel, NEC Unified, ShoreTel and Siemens.

The RFP is designed for enterprise-level customers with single or multiple premises requirements. It covers: system architecture and design of common control and common equipment, voice terminals (IP desktop instruments, PC clients, mobile extensions), generic software features (station, attendant, system), voice/integrated messaging, ACD features/functions, Unified Communications options and systems management.