Digital Equipment Corporation and Microsoft Corporation have announced a new programme to address the evolving needs of the telecommunications industry for delivering a wide array of services to their customers. The programme focuses on Internet-Enhanced Intelligent Networks which combine Intelligent Networks (IN) with the power, flexibility and momentum of the Internet and Microsoft Windows NT Server. This enables telecom network operators to cost-effectively deliver a new generation of services to their customers.
At the heart of the new programme is the Windows NT Server implementation of Digital`s industry standard Signaling System Number 7 product, DECss7 (http://www.digital.com/decss7). DECss7 on Windows NT provides high performance telecom servers that enable telecom service providers to deliver a wide range of Intelligent Network services to their customers.
For telecom network deployment, DECss7 for Windows NT Server is scheduled for delivery to market by Digital in August 1998. The Application Programming Interface of DECss7 for Windows NT Server is currently available for use by applications providers to develop or port IN applications. As part of the joint programme, Digital and Microsoft plan to identify and work with application providers as they target DECss7 on Windows NT Server for enhanced network solutions.
DECss7 for Windows NT Server will provide the level of non-stop performance and reliability the telecom industry requires and will be available for customer premise and central office NEBS/ETSI compliant configurations. The initial use of DECss7 for Windows NT Server is targeted for enhanced IN services such as unified messaging and virtual call centers, and as the cornerstone for integration of the Internet with Intelligent Network solutions.
The main features of the DECss7 for Windows NT Server product line will
include:
- Compliance with worldwide SS7 standards
- Application Programming Interfaces (API) identical to UNIX and OpenVMS versions of DECss7, enabling easy porting of applications from one operating system to another and ensuring interoperability among each
- A full range of server configurations, from PC to very large configurations capable of handling thousands of transactions per second, and the ability to transparently migrate from low to high end configurations
- Cost-effective high availability for mission-critical applications, a feature embedded within the DECss7 family of products
DECss7 for Windows NT Server complements Digital`s industry leading Unix and OpenVMS based Intelligent Network products which are in use in over 120 telecom networks today. As with the Unix and OpenVMS based IN platforms, Digital will provide comprehensive service capability for DECss7 for Windows NT Server, including a full portfolio of professional services, supporting customers and partners from idea to implementation and business critical services, available worldwide, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. By providing Windows NT Alpha and Intel server-based systems, as well as 64-bit UNIX, OpenVMS and interoperability between these operating systems, Digital provides an unparalleled suite of telecommunication platforms.
"Deregulation and the resulting increased competition in the world telecom market, has resulted in rapid growth of personalised services delivered via fixed and mobile telephone networks and the Internet," said Martin Meltz, Digital Equipment Corporation SA. "In response to this growing market, Digital and Microsoft are working together to produce and deliver robust computing servers, based on the Alpha and Intel based processors and the Microsoft Windows NT Server operating system. This convergence of technologies embraces telecommunications network intelligence, equipment for Intelligent Network access from customer premise, network based Internet telephony and Internet-enabled telecom services."
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