Many enterprises find themselves in a difficult quandary, both technically and financially when they are considering deploying Microsoft’s OCS as a full UC solution, including telephony. The first quandary – is the price of phones – most users need and/or still expect to have desk phones.  In general, the UC-based SIP display phones are not cheap. The OCS-capable endpoints are generally significantly more expensive than standards-compliant SIP phones available from many suppliers. The second, and more complicated quandary, is for those enterprises who have already deployed at least one IP-PBX. They have already invested the money and effort to acquire and deploy the system (or systems), the wiring, the licenses and the phones and trained the users to use the new system(s). One of the limitations of such an enterprise considering the implementation of Microsoft’s OCS for enterprise telephony services is the investment, both financial and resources, they have made in the existing system. Traditionally, endpoint devices (phones) have been a major portion of the acquisition of the system – often greater than 1/3 of the total purchase price. Reducing or eliminating the cost of migration to OCS would certainly make such a decision easier. If the new phones are SIP, there is a way to save a substantial portion of the prior investment and make it easier to adopt and deploy Microsoft OCS. NET is approaching solutions for both these groups of customers, as well as others who may be thinking about OCS but have yet to deploy.

NET announced the acquisition of the SmartSIP product and customer base from Evangelyze Communications. SmartSIP, running on hybrid gateways or on a standalone server, allows standard SIP phones to be provisioned and used as extensions in a Microsoft OCS deployment. In addition, presence is automatically updated when such phones go “off-hook.” The combined solution, to be sold and supported by NET’s global sales and support organization brings over 25 years experience in the industry.

The SmartSIP solution enhances Microsoft OCS in several ways, simplifying and enhancing its deployment, provisioning, usability and user experience:

• Customers can use existing SIP-phones as full Microsoft OCS extensions via SmartSIP’s provisioning and extension translation capabilities
• SmartSIP runs inside the Microsoft Mediation server providing OCS voice interoperability for connected SIP devices
• Provides full UC presence to Microsoft’s Office Communicator (client) for SmartSIP connected SIP phones (using UCMA, not more complicated methods)
• Provides Mediation Server NAT traversal for endpoints behind NATs
• Provides APIs for additional advanced applications, such as Contact Centers
• SmartSIP supports SIP phones from many major vendors

So, an enterprise considering deploying an OCS solution but, having already invested in SIP phones and maybe even an IP-PBX, who thought their ability to migrate to voice with Microsoft’s OCS was limited, now have an additional option to consider. With NET’s extensive experience and reputation in successfully deploying OCS solutions globally, customers do have a way to both preserve their expensive investment in telephones and move to OCS.