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Why Convergence is Your Opportunity
Mary C. Allan, Manager of Telecom Technology – Black & Decker |
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Mary Allan is Manager of Telecom Technology at Towson, Md.-based Black & Decker, a Fortune 500 global enterprise with more than 200 locations and 95 managed PBX systems serving 25,000 employees worldwide. But more than that, she is Black & Decker’s master of convergence, guaranteeing the company’s telecom and IT staff work cohesively while its voice and data traffic flow seamlessly over the same network infrastructure.
Allan was a TDM-oriented telecom professional before attending night school for four years to earn her master’s degree in information and telecom systems from Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore. Upon graduation, she worked with Black & Decker’s director of global network services and director of global voice to draft the enterprise’s five-year IPT roadmap. In 2008, that roadmap defines upgrading the world headquarters campus for Black & Decker, as well as 15 locations throughout Europe.
In addition to her training in IPT, Allan also has earned her Avaya Certified Specialist (ACS) designation in Contact Center Management. Allan’s career began as a call-center agent, and throughout her professional history, call centers have always held a special place. With the rise of IPT, Allan has been able to help enhance the Black & Decker contact centers by deploying desktop agent applications, extending call center routing to multiple states, and provide self-service applications that enable customers to access account information 24/7.
Going forward, Allan is working on her Cisco Certified Network Analyst certification, as well as defining the 2009 schedule of IPT upgrades for North and South America, Canada, and Asia…among other things.
There’s no question that getting a firm grasp on IP telephony is key to surviving as a communications technology professional these days. But you can do better than survive if you take the correct steps right now.
Gary Audin, the president of Delphi Inc., in Arlington, Va., has more than 40 years of computer, communications and security experience. He has planned, designed, specified, implemented and operated data, LAN and telephone networks. These have included local area, national and international networks as well as VoIP and IP convergent networks in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia and Asia. He has advised domestic and international venture capital and investment bankers in communications, VoIP, and microprocessor technologies.
Audin began his career in the USAF as a decorated R&D officer in military intelligence and data communications. He has worked the last 30 years as an independent communications and security consultant. He is a member of the VoiceCon conference steering committee, founder of the ANSI X.9 committee and a senior member of the IEEE. Audin is a frequent speaker and author. Many of his articles can be found at: www.webtorials.com, www.acuta.org, www.nojitter.com and www.Searchvoip.com.
Confusion. Impatience. Anxiety. Do these describe your feelings every time one of your telecom or IT peers use words like codec, NATing, POE, QOS, RTP, RTCP or VLAN? Don’t worry. You too will be fluent in such terms after hearing from Gary Audin, one of the nation’s foremost IP telephony authorities. You may enter this discussion as an anxious TDM-oriented telecom pro, but you’ll leave with a confident, plain-English understanding of: IP and SIP trunking and routing; IP voice call creation and termination; the mechanics of IP phones and PBXs; and the influence a data network has on an IP voice call. BONUS: Take home Audin’s 30-word IP telephony glossary. (Hint: The “V” in VLAN is not for voice.)
That You Never Cared About Before
As Chief Technology Officer, Dave Hart oversees technology and strategy for Presidio Networked Solutions, a value-added solutions provider (VASP) with a comprehensive portfolio that comprises unified communications, wireless, security, storage, and network infrastructure solutions. He has nearly 20 years of experience working in the information technology integration industry.
Prior to Presidio, Hart worked at Integrated Solutions, which acquired Networked Information Systems (NIS), and he served at both firms as Chief Technology Officer. He holds a B.S. in Industrial Technology and an M.S. in Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Massachusetts.
Migrating from circuit-switched telephony is a strategic decision every company will need to make, sometime. Your evolution to a new Ethernet infrastructure, where a server-based system is used for call control, voicemail and other applications, doesn’t happen without a plan or methodology. You need a solutions-based network architecture that matches the needs of your company today and your expected needs tomorrow. Attend this session to learn what VoIP, unified-communications and call-center solutions will require from your network, how to communicate those needs to other technology professionals in your enterprise, and the problems you can anticipate and prevent. Our speaker is CTO of one of the nation’s largest networking infrastructure developers and integrators. He has personally helped scores of enterprises move to IP telephony.
Mary Allan is Manager of Telecom Technology at Towson, Md.-based Black & Decker, a Fortune 500 global enterprise with more than 200 locations and 95 managed PBX systems serving 25,000 employees worldwide. But more than that, she is Black & Decker’s master of convergence, guaranteeing the company’s telecom and IT staff work cohesively while its voice and data traffic flow seamlessly over the same network infrastructure.
Allan was a TDM-oriented telecom professional before attending night school for four years to earn her master’s degree in information and telecom systems from Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore. Upon graduation, she worked with Black & Decker’s director of global network services and director of global voice to draft the enterprise’s five-year IPT roadmap. In 2008, that roadmap defines upgrading the world headquarters campus for Black & Decker, as well as 15 locations throughout Europe.
In addition to her training in IPT, Allan also has earned her Avaya Certified Specialist (ACS) designation in Contact Center Management. Allan’s career began as a call-center agent, and throughout her professional history, call centers have always held a special place. With the rise of IPT, Allan has been able to help enhance the Black & Decker contact centers by deploying desktop agent applications, extending call center routing to multiple states, and provide self-service applications that enable customers to access account information 24/7.
Going forward, Allan is working on her Cisco Certified Network Analyst certification, as well as defining the 2009 schedule of IPT upgrades for North and South America, Canada, and Asia…among other things.
By now you’ve heard all of the promises made about what an IP telephony system can do, from centralizing voicemail to expanding call centers globally. But vendors never spend enough time telling you about the extensive groundwork that must be done prior to implementation. Separate fact from fiction, and benefit from the lessons learned by an enterprise with more than 95 managed PBX systems serving 25,000 employees worldwide. Explore hosted vs. non-hosted solutions and centralized v. decentralized approaches. Allan will share her decision matrix along with key elements of Black & Decker’s ROI.
Gary Audin, the president of Delphi Inc., in Arlington, Va., has more than 40 years of computer, communications and security experience. He has planned, designed, specified, implemented and operated data, LAN and telephone networks. These have included local area, national and international networks as well as VoIP and IP convergent networks in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia and Asia. He has advised domestic and international venture capital and investment bankers in communications, VoIP, and microprocessor technologies.
Audin began his career in the USAF as a decorated R&D officer in military intelligence and data communications. He has worked the last 30 years as an independent communications and security consultant. He is a member of the VoiceCon conference steering committee, founder of the ANSI X.9 committee and a senior member of the IEEE. Audin is a frequent speaker and author. Many of his articles can be found at: www.webtorials.com, www.acuta.org, www.nojitter.com and www.Searchvoip.com.
You probably know that Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a “signaling protocol” that’s key to enabling telecom equipment from different manufacturers, including IP phones, to talk to each other. It’s also key when linking phone systems after a merger. But did you know that SIP will be the interface to applications systems such as Microsoft’s OCS 2007? There’s a lot more to SIP that you need to understand to survive in the world of IP telephony. Attend this presentation and go home with: 1) A complete understanding of SIP; 2) The most recent list of SIP standards; and 3) The five questions you need to ask before buying any IP PBX from a manufacturer that claims SIP is inside.
Our first day’s presenters return to answer your questions and help you review the material we’ve covered so far.
Mary Allan is Manager of Telecom Technology at Towson, Md.-based Black & Decker, a Fortune 500 global enterprise with more than 200 locations and 95 managed PBX systems serving 25,000 employees worldwide. But more than that, she is Black & Decker’s master of convergence, guaranteeing the company’s telecom and IT staff work cohesively while its voice and data traffic flow seamlessly over the same network infrastructure.
Allan was a TDM-oriented telecom professional before attending night school for four years to earn her master’s degree in information and telecom systems from Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore. Upon graduation, she worked with Black & Decker’s director of global network services and director of global voice to draft the enterprise’s five-year IPT roadmap. In 2008, that roadmap defines upgrading the world headquarters campus for Black & Decker, as well as 15 locations throughout Europe.
In addition to her training in IPT, Allan also has earned her Avaya Certified Specialist (ACS) designation in Contact Center Management. Allan’s career began as a call-center agent, and throughout her professional history, call centers have always held a special place. With the rise of IPT, Allan has been able to help enhance the Black & Decker contact centers by deploying desktop agent applications, extending call center routing to multiple states, and provide self-service applications that enable customers to access account information 24/7.
Going forward, Allan is working on her Cisco Certified Network Analyst certification, as well as defining the 2009 schedule of IPT upgrades for North and South America, Canada, and Asia…among other things.
Black & Decker’s move into IP telephony didn’t happen painlessly. In addition to the big networking changes and technology shift, telecom and data people had to adjust to new roles and learn new languages … well, voice people had to learn the language of data people, anyhow. Attend this session to get a firmer grasp on the key organizational changes your enterprise will need to consider and get a better understanding of your voice or data counterparts.
Doug Carolus is the Director of Consulting Solutions and Operations for the independent technology consulting firm, N’compass Solutions, in Minneapolis, Minn. Prior to joining N’compass, Douglas managed PlanNet Consulting’s Communications Technology practice and earlier held technical and sales management positions with AT&T and Lucent Technologies within their enterprise communication systems business units.
With more than 20 years of telecom experience, Mr. Carolus’ focus has been on enterprise-based voice communications technologies supporting complex engagements with clients such as: Best Buy, Broadcom Corp., City of Pasadena, Clark County Govt. in Las Vegas, Nevada, Lockheed Federal Credit Union, Metropolitan Water District of So. Calif., Quest Software, Target Corporation, Tennessee Valley Authority. His professional experience covers a wide range of enterprise communication services and technologies, including IP telephony pricing and software licensing models. He has spoken at numbers industry events, including VoiceCon, ACUTA and IPComm. He is regularly relied upon as an expert source by Voice Report.
Buying a PBX is a whole new ballgame since the onset of IP telephony. For example, the agreement with your PBX vendor’s channel partner must be clear about the scope of work, including what’s required to certify your network’s readiness. Additionally, unlike previous PBX purchases, a growing percent of your costs are linked to software licenses – the models for which keep changing. No fear. Our presenter has participated in more than 50 IP telephony purchases in the past 10 years. He’ll give you the 10 crucial questions your enterprise should ask before developing its PBX go-to-market strategy and share real-life pricing list examples. You’ll take home his list of suggested SLAs, including the parameters for defining a minor, major or emergency outage.
Gary Audin, the president of Delphi Inc., in Arlington, Va., has more than 40 years of computer, communications and security experience. He has planned, designed, specified, implemented and operated data, LAN and telephone networks. These have included local area, national and international networks as well as VoIP and IP convergent networks in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia and Asia. He has advised domestic and international venture capital and investment bankers in communications, VoIP, and microprocessor technologies.
Audin began his career in the USAF as a decorated R&D officer in military intelligence and data communications. He has worked the last 30 years as an independent communications and security consultant. He is a member of the VoiceCon conference steering committee, founder of the ANSI X.9 committee and a senior member of the IEEE. Audin is a frequent speaker and author. Many of his articles can be found at: www.webtorials.com, www.acuta.org, www.nojitter.com and www.Searchvoip.com.
Making the change from legacy TDM to IP telephony is not just about getting a better understanding of how packets travel over your network. It also means a greater focus on Power over Ethernet and battery UPS systems as well as server blade and storage rack density. From the desktop to the data center, phone to the LAN switch, IP telephony means new energy and cooling requirements to accommodate. Attend this session and leave with a better understanding of your enterprise’s power needs as well as some of our speaker’s best strategies for mitigating your ever-increasing energy bills.
Dan York, CISSP, is Director of Emerging Communication Technology reporting to the CTO of Voxeo Corporation focused on analyzing/evaluating emerging technology, participating in industry standards bodies and addressing VoIP security issues. As Best Practices Chair for VOIPSA (the VoIP Security Alliance), he is leading the development and documentation of a concise set of industry-wide best practices for security VoIP systems.
Additionally, Dan is the producer of "Blue Box: The VoIP Security Podcast" where – since October 2005 – each week he and co-host Jonathan Zar discuss VOIP security news and interview people involved in the field.
Prior to joining Voxeo, Dan was Director of IP Technology in Mitel's Office of the CTO focused on emerging technology and VoIP security. As chair of Mitel's Product Security Team, he coordinated the efforts of a cross-functional group to communicate both externally and internally on VoIP security issues, respond to customer inquiries related to security, investigate security vulnerability reports and monitor security standards and trends. Previously, Dan served in Mitel Product Management, bringing multiple products to market including Mitel's secure VoIP Teleworker Solution in 2003.
Before Mitel, Dan was the President and co-founder of the Linux Professional Institute (LPI), today the leading global certification program for Linux professionals, and served on the Board of Directors of Linux International. A dynamic speaker with more than 20 years in information technology, Dan routinely presents at conferences, has authored multiple books and has written numerous articles in print and online. His writing can be found online both at the "Voice of VOIPSA" and also his own weblog, "Disruptive Telephony."
SPIT, Spoofing, Fuzzing and VOMIT... These all may sound like things your cat does, but they are much more troublesome. These are just four of the kinds of attacks that a hacker can make on your enterprise’s network employing IP telephony. There’s also eavesdropping, impersonation, VLAN hopping and of course good old toll fraud to mention a few more. Don’t enter the world of IP telephony without a thorough understanding of the vulnerabilities associated with the technology as well as the best practices to protect your enterprise. As producer and co-host of Blue Box: The VoIP Security Podcast, the best practices chair of VoIPSA and a 25-year technologist, our speaker is one of the foremost authorities on the topic. Come prepared to learn what the threats are to IP telephony, the tools out there to help you test and defend your systems and the strategies to best protect your systems.
Mary Allan, IPTU’s “Dean of Studies,” and our Day 2 speakers return to identify the most common problems your enterprise is likely to run into during an IP telephony implementation, suggest troubleshooting solutions and answer your remaining questions.