Unified Messaging with CallManager
Unfied Messaging for Cisco CallManager
Moving to IP Telephony in the enterprise is not a question of "if" but of "when?" According to industry analysts, IPT sales have outpaced those of traditional TDM PBX systems, growing by more than 30 percent per year. By contrast, sales of TDM PBX systems decreased 20 percent. Voice Messaging is an integral part of the migration process, but many companies simply accept the Voice Messaging software offered by the IP-PBX vendor, without thought to the current and future usage of voice messaging and speech applications.
Over the past several years, Cisco Systems has become a leading vendor of office phone systems, providing telephony switches and desktop equipment that work solely over IP networks. The heart of Cisco's IP Telephony product line is Cisco CallManager, Windows-based software that provides telephone functionality via the IP network, functioning as the IP-PBX switch.
Migrating to Cisco CallManager
A large manufacturer has launched a significant IPT migration project, the goal of which is to move more than 40,000 users to IP telephony, primarily on CallManager. Over a five year period, the company will integrate or retire more than 100 legacy PBX systems, replacing them with IP PBXs. The plans also call for Unfied Messaging to replace traditional Voice Messaging systems, as well as to introduce unified communications capabilities to key user communities.
As part of this multi-year IPT migration, the company selected one division to serve as a testbed for the converged data project. After choosing Cisco CallManager and Cisco IP phones, the project proceeded on schedule, starting with network design and build-out to support the greater bandwidth demands, QoS upgrades to ensure voice quality, and then planning began for the actual deployment of the IP-PBX and new user handsets. A key piece of the rollout, was understanding what existing voice applications were currently in use and would therefore be needed on the current system. In addition, the company wanted to understand what new capabilities users were expecting, or would potentially benefit from.
The primary existing applications included Voice Messaging, automated attendant with employee directory support, and several information mailboxes. Users also saw significant value in moving from basic Voice Messaging to Unfied Messaging to allow users to better manage voice messages and give mobile users with email-capable devices access to messages without dialing in. The team also saw value in replacing traditional DTMF interfaces with speech recognition, as a way to improve the experience of both inbound callers and subscribers.
The Adomo Solution
Adomo was selected to provide consolidated messaging and speech application functionality. Designed to work with Cisco CallManager and seamlessly integrate with Microsoft Active Directory and Exchange, Adomo Unfied Messaging met the company's needs of simplictiy, resillience, flexibility and future voice enabled businesss communications capabilities. Among the benefits cited:
- Lowest Total Cost of Ownership
As a proven converged messaging solution based on an appliance platform, Adomo was faster to deploy and easier to manage, with three year savings of more than 50% compared to other CallManager solutions. - Integrated Approach
Adomo's converged architecture lower resources needs by reducing the number of servers, applications and integrations that must be deployed and managed. Speech applications run on the same appliances as voice messaging, support N+1 redundancy via clusters and disaster recovery via cluster over WAN. - Future-proof
Aligned with Microsoft's unified communications strategy, Adomo seamlessly connects your CallManager implementation to Microsoft's unified communications products via a single flexible platform. Adomo's next-generation Unfied Messaging protects your investment in legacy telephony equipment while you migrate to IP telephony, while providing flexibility to work with alternate IP vendors if the need arises.
