Advancements in the technological space continue to influence consumer trends and vice versa. To get an inside look at the industry, TMC wanted a firsthand account from key players. With ITEXPO East 2012 around the corner, the timing was perfect for Rich Tehrani (News - Alert) to sit down with Srinivas Mantripragada, PhD, CTO & VP, Products, RedShift Networks Inc. Asked about the most significant technology investment in the last 12 months, Dr. Mantripragada pointed to the open embracement of IP networks/SIP trunking to provision and adopt rich VoIP/UC services. The trend in RedShift’s market segment is the aggressive utilization of SIP trunking to offer richer and fatter UC services.

The biggest challenge facing RedShift customers, according to Dr. Mantripragada, is the constant attacks at higher SIP players. Asked how the cloud has impacted business, Dr. Mantripragada highlighted that several VoIP and UC stacks are now being offered as software elements delivered and provisioned from the cloud. As for cloud-based communications expediting the end of premises-base PBX (News - Alert), Dr. Mantripragada noted the trend is happening fast, yet hybrid models will be around for a while.

When asked how his company is approaching social media, Dr. Mantripragada shared that they are just beginning to look at social media programs. As for whether or not every business needs a social media presence, he said that it really depends on the nature of the business. With Microsoft (News - Alert) touting tight integration between its mobile and desktop OS, Dr. Mantripragada believes the company has the strength to dominate the enterprise mobile market. At ITEXPO (News - Alert) East, attendees will gain a thorough understanding of the security risks and threats surrounding communication and collaboration. Asked to share a prediction for 2012, Dr. Mantripragada pointed to the continued rise of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device).

Their entire conversation follows:

1.      What was the most significant technological advancement in the past 12 months and why?

In the VOIP/UC world, the significant technological advancement has been the open embracement of IP networks/SIP Trunking to provision and embrace rich VOIP/UC services that were not possible a year back. The IP networks have matured a lot with respect to reliability, availability and SIP Trunking is now becoming mainstream, connecting all these disparate islands providing even richer connectivity and collaboration.

2.      What has been the biggest trend in your market segment and how is it impacting your customers?

The biggest trend we are seeing is among the ITSP customers and large enterprises which are now aggressively utilizing SIP Trunking to offer richer and fatter UC services over the pipe. Among the enterprises, BYOD (Bring your own Device) is now becoming a monoculture trend that’s redefining the perimeter boundaries often with User carrying multiple profiles.

3.      What is the biggest challenge facing your customers today and how is your company helping address that challenge?

Our customers are constantly under attacks and fraud activities such as User or Toll Frauds. Attacks at higher SIP layers is also on the rise such as SIP DOS/DDOS attacks, Botnets Scanning, Spoofing, Fuzzing, SPIT and Data leakage such as Voicemail Hacking. Attackers have shifted their target loci from attacking the Windows world (less interesting) to now social and communication networks. These networks have high visibility with huge impact. One hour of PBX downtime is roughly $3.5M in losses according to a recent report.

4.      How has the cloud impacted your business? How has it impacted your customers?

The cloud has constantly evolved. Several VoIP and UC stacks are now being offered as software elements that can be delivered and provisioned from the cloud. The cloud provides on-demand elasticity, pay as you grow model that adjusts quite nicely to one’s business needs.

5.      Will cloud-based communications expedite the end of the premises-based PBX market?

The trend is fast happening. However, it will be a while since cloud-based communications match the premise-based counterparts on both reliability/availability criteria as well as richness in feature sets that customers are accustomed to. Hybrid models will stay for a while now.

6.      What approach has your business taken to social media? If you have implemented a social media program, have you been able to evaluate your program’s success?

We are beginning to look at social media programs and will be qualified better to comment about it next year.

7.      Does every business need a social media presence? Why or why not?

It depends on the nature of the business. If the business depends on social and viral analytics to fuel its growth, then the answer is Yes. Otherwise it would be No.

8.      With Microsoft touting tight integration between its mobile and desktop OS, can it become a major competitor in the enterprise mobile market?

Yes. Microsoft has a strong change to become a major competitor in the enterprise mobile market. Also, with the recent Skype (News - Alert) acquisition, move towards open SIP standards and integration with Lync servers on the backend can provide rich UC connectivity among mobile users.

9.      What can attendees expect from your company at ITEXPO?

Attendees will have a thorough understanding of the security risks and threats associated with communication and collaboration environments as they openly embrace IP networks.

10. Make one technology prediction for 2012 and consider its impact.

BYOD (Bring your own Device) will continue to rise and technologies that can address the security, compliance and management issues around it will do relatively well. 

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO East 2012, taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. ITEXPO offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. For more information on registering for ITEXPO registration click here.

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