Unified Communications

Five years ago, many in the communications technology predicted that voice over IP (VoIP) was going to be the “next big thing.” VoIP has indeed had a major impact on providers in the market, but has turned out to be more of a commodity than a paradigm-changer. So what really is the next big thing?

 

According to Brough Turner (News - Alert), CTO at NMS Communications, the answer to that question is… mobility. He especially sees potential for mobile video. I asked Turner to elaborate on his predictions for mobile services, and for his perspective on the industry as a whole. Attendees at Communication Developer Conference next month (co-located with INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO West 2008) can continue the discussion at NMS’ booth, #106.

 

BT (News - Alert): Mobile-enabling everything! Sometimes this is in cooperation with mobile operators (e.g. through the operators’ channels); more often developers are leveraging basic mobile capabilities to create new innovative services for individuals and for enterprises.

 

BT: Mobile video! There are so many mobile applications that can incorporate video —  mobile TV, video SMS, mobile video blogging, video-enabled contact centers, mobile gaming…

 

BT: The demand is for solutions. Typically software makes up the largest part of any solution but every mobile application must take account of hardware issues, both at the handset and in the core network, and many applications require mobile network specific hardware.

 

BT: There are enormous opportunities in both consumer and enterprise applications and in every geography.

 

BT: First, focus on mobile-enabling existing applications and services. If you are developing new applications, consider your distribution options and go to market capabilities. For example, many mobile consumer services only make sense if distributed through operator channels. Other applications run on top of standard mobile services (voice or video telephony, SMS, MMS, etc.) and can be promoted directly to consumers or through existing consumer brands.  

 

BT: Consumer services, whether sold through operators or directly, can be very large and very lucrative. However, the hit rate for really big new applications is fairly modest. Today, there is enormous diversity in enterprises and in enterprise services, so there may be a broader range of opportunities in mobile-enabling enterprise services.

 

BT: VoIP is a technology that has facilitated arbitrage, enabled new conferencing and social networking applications, but which has not changed the nature of telephony. Mobility — wireless — represents the most significant change in communications in the past 15 years, thus it is not surprising that operators are seeing fixed-mobile substitution (FMS). Going forward, the opportunity is to mobile-enable everything, including contact centers.

 

BT: The NMS booth (#106) will be focused on our enabling technology for mobile value-added services (VAS). We will be featuring our recently announced Vision CX Video Gateway (News - Alert), for delivering 3G video services between IP enabled applications and 3G based mobile phones. The Vision CX Video Gateway bridges the worlds of 3G mobile and SIP application platforms for voice and video calls without complex routing requirements. Some of the emerging VAS applications supported by the Vision CX Video Gateway include video portals, video enabled contact centers, video SMS and video ringback tones. We will have demos of some of these applications in our booth.

 

BT: In addition to checking out the latest NMS technology and tools for the development of mobile value-added services, attendees who visit the NMS will have the chance to win an iPod!