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Acme Packet (APKT) just reported that its Net-Net Enterprise Session Director (ESD) enterprise session border controllers (E-SBC) have been certified as the first to work with Verizon’s IP Trunking Services and Microsoft Lync Server 2010.
This announcement builds on the global effort by Acme Packet and Verizon to offer managed and non-managed session delivery network solutions to customers in more than 20 countries. Verizon’s managed SBC solution for Acme Packet offerings can be leveraged to provide full management support, including design and engineering, implementation, ongoing monitoring and change management services. And when integrated with Verizon’s SIP trunking and managed UCC for Microsoft Lync solutions creates a comprehensive, end-to-end UCC infrastructure that facilitates more effective collaboration and decision-making.
The Acme Packet Net-Net ESD provides key session control and internetworking functions that enable customers to integrate Microsoft Lync with legacy multi-vendor communications environments without compromising Microsoft Lync’s enterprise voice features. Available in software and appliance configurations, the Net-Net ESD product feature set includes:
Strong security: Protects IP telephony and UC infrastructure, services and applications through prevention of fraud and service theft, and guards against malicious attacks as well as system overloads and other service-impacting events.
Easy interoperability: Provides signaling and media control features to help businesses overcome interoperability challenges that commonly occur when interfacing with public IP network services. It also performs protocol interworking and dial plan management for integration with legacy systems.
Assured reliability: Enforces service quality, trunk load balancing, and session rerouting around interface failures to optimize network performance, circumvent equipment and facility problems, and ensure business continuity – yielding PSTN-like availability and service quality for IP communications.
What This Means to Customers
Businesses install the E-SBCs at SIP network borders where enterprise communications systems interface with public network services or where disparate multi-vendor systems must be managed. They use the products to:
Last month we reviewed the E-SBC market as seen by Infonetics Research. According to that research Ciscoand Acme Packet were the two top enterprise SBC vendors in terms of first half 2012 (1H12) global revenue share with Cisco in the lead having captured 26 percent of 1H12 revenue. And earlier this month we reviewed the findings of Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for SBCs (October 9, 2012) which focuses on incumbent SBC vendors and those that have developed competing products for communications service providers (CSPs) in the past two years. According to that report Acme Packet’s Net-Net Session Director was recognized in the Leaders Quadrant, and arguably the top player there, based for the company’s ability to execute and completeness of vision in the CSP-SBC market.