The convergence of voice, video and data on IP networks is enabling a new wave of solutions that reduce costs, according to Lorna Hardie, business unit manager of ProCurve SA.
Some of the immediate benefits in terms of cost are maintenance and support of a single network as opposed to multiple networks. Converged networks also offer benefits in terms of flexibility, scalability and productivity, she adds.
This has given companies the opportunity to implement convergence-ready networks that support new technologies, using IP to bolt onto the communications network, Hardie says.
Converged networks are often used to support business environments where customers and employees demand access to more advanced applications, new ways of collaborating and even mobility with voice over wireless LAN (VOWLAN).
According to Hardie, expectations for mobility are on the rise throughout EMEA, and customers are also becoming aware of the productivity boost from VOWLAN, which helps to ensure employees can always be reached when needed, especially when they are away from their desks.
In theory, she says, cellphones should already provide the anywhere-connectivity benefit of VOWLAN. But many enterprise facilities experience cell interference or poor interior coverage, making cellphones unreliable and impractical.
For the organisation, the implications of VOWLAN include avoiding or minimising the expense of cellphones and per-minute or per-month charges. "Companies can leverage their existing WLANs and IP telephony infrastructure, and boost their ROI in those technologies, by adopting VoWLAN."
Forward-thinking companies understand that convergence is an inevitable conclusion of enterprise networks, she adds: "This is where the modern IT reseller can add value by providing IP-based applications and technology solutions to manage their core business more effectively.
"These days, it is about communications and making sure that all a company's data is transported securely and efficiently to the right place at the right time."
The current economic pressures are forcing all companies to reduce costs, she says. "By implementing a single, converged, IP-based network, a company can do this as it costs less to operate and manage."
Hardie says ProCurve's approach to convergence is to provide the best, most flexible and standards-compliant infrastructure for voice, video and data in all its current and future forms.
"ProCurve optimises application performance by supporting the widest possible range of third-party convergence solutions, including voice over IP and VOWLAN, unified communications and others."
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