January 19, 2011

Will 2011 Be the Year for SIP?

By Susan J. Campbell
TMCnet Contributing Editor

As much as consumers and business users influence technology, technology also dictates much of what we do and how we live. In looking back to 2010, TMCnet’s Rich Tehrani wanted to know the most significant technology trends of 2010 in the minds of industry leaders. In an interview in anticipation of the upcoming ITEXPO (News - Alert) East 2011 event, Tehrani spoke with Michael Oeth, CDO of Junction Networks, and determined that Oeth’s opinion of the most significant trend was the broader adoption of SIP as a phone standard.

When asked about the impact the continued growth of cloud computing will have on the communications industry, Oeth stated that he does not see this platform making any further inroads into communications. As for the mobile winners in 2011, Oeth pointed to anyone who continues to add SIP in a more integrated fashion to their mobile device. He does believe that mobile technology will continue to infiltrate the corporate PBX space and the best opportunity in the tech space this year is in mobile computing. When asked how technology can change the world for the better, Oeth noted that it has helped him to reduce his carbon footprint.

Asked about the impact social media has had on how he interacts with customers, Oeth said that Junction Networks (News - Alert) uses Twitter and company blogs to communicate, which has a huge impact. As for internal collaboration, wikis are used. Oeth believes that net neutrality is absolutely necessary, and that mobility will be the greatest technological development in 2011. Oeth’s session at ITEXPO East is a must-attend so companies can experience the unique vantage point offered in its hosted PBX option. Junction Networks has some exciting solutions for 2011, including version 2.0 of its SIP/XMPP interface known as my.OnSIP. As for his surprising prediction for 2011, Oeth believes it will be the year of SIP.

Their entire conversation follows:

1.      What was the most significant technology trend in 2010 and what impact will it have in 2011?

The most significant technology trend in 2010 was the broader adoption of SIP as a phone standard. 2010 saw SIP added to mobile smart-phones with the excellent Bria application launch and the SIPDroid application on the Android. The year ended with Google releasing the latest Android OS, Gingerbread, with native SIP support.

2.      What impact will the continued growth of cloud computing have on the communications industry in 2011?

Cloud computing is a good solution for remote processing, but I don't see cloud computing making any further inroads into communications. Cloud computing fundamentally is not setup for real-time, packet-intensive applications like voice and video. Cloud Computing: CPU intensive = yes, packet intensive = no.

3.      Who will be the mobile winners in 2011 out of Google Android, Apple, Microsoft, Nokia (News - Alert), and RIM?

Anyone who continues to add SIP in a more integrated fashion to their mobile device will be the mobile winners in 2011. Android is slated to integrate SIP directly into the phone's native dialer, which will further seal its spot as the leader especially in the mobile VoIP category.

4.      What impact will mobile technology have on the tech space in 2011?

Mobile technology will continue to infiltrate the corporate PBX space with the integration of SIP into mobile devices. The ability for iPhones and Android phones to have SIP user agents directly on the phone will mean that the mobile phone can be used as an actual extension on the company PBX, not just a ring-down destination.

5.      Where are the best opportunities in the tech space this year?

The best opportunity in the tech space this year is in mobile computing. A company must balance mobility, security, privacy, and employee morale as their workforce becomes more and more mobile. Mobility is great. Personally I love it, but if my laptop, iPad, or iPhone were to be lost, stolen, or misplaced, there is an unbelievable amount of personal and corporate information on any one of those devices. A solution to this issue is a great opportunity for 2011.

6.      How can technology change the world for the better?

For me, technology has greatly reduced my carbon footprint. I used to have to commute into New York City every day to go to work. Now, with VoIP, I can work remotely and be 100 percent as effective as if I were in the office.

7.      What impact have social media had on how you interact with your customers?  How do you measure their effectiveness?

Social media have had a huge impact on how we interact with our customers. We utilize Twitter and our company blogs to communicate with our customers for every aspect of the business from new products, to how-to's, to service issues. It is one of our primary tools for customer interaction. By focusing on social media, we have seen the traffic to our Twitter feeds and blogs grow exponentially, which is our measure of success. If a company is going to step foot in social media, it can't just put its toe in the water. It's got to be all or nothing. A company's social media interface is just as important as the company's main phone number. No company would dare let their main number go unanswered, but many put out blogs, Twitter feeds, and Facebook (News - Alert) pages that are never responded to. To be successful, you have to treat your social media the same way you treat your main number or your front door.

8.      How have you leveraged social networking as an internal collaboration tool?

Internally, we have created wikis to share information between groups. Other than that, there are no internal Twitter feeds or internal-only blogs. Anything along those lines is shared with our entire customer base.

9.      The FCC has recently voted to support net neutrality. Is net neutrality necessary, or will it present more challenges than it will solve?

Net neutrality (News - Alert) is absolutely necessary. We've already seen some of the larger ISPs routing their traffic through substandard carriers forcing companies with content to purchase bandwidth from them.

10. What will be the greatest technological development in 2011? Why?

The greatest technological development in 2011 will be mobility. With an ever more mobile workforce, the applications and mobile platforms will continue to amaze and astound. 

11. Why is your session a must-attend at ITEXPO?

Any company struggling with the decision to purchase a VoIP PBX for on-premise use or to go with a hosted PBX option should attend our seminar. Junction Networks can give a unique vantage point because we support both types and we'll be able to tell you what features may make you lean one direction or the other.

12. What other topics should be at the top of attendees’ lists?

Any session that can help companies do more with less should be on their list.

13. What new and exciting products/solutions can we expect to see from your company in 2011?

2011 will usher in the version 2.0 of our SIP/XMPP interface called my.OnSIP. my.OnSIP allows users to see all the other users on their company PBX and to drag/drop call transfer and via the XMPP protocol built into the application, to chat with anyone in the company. Version 2.0 takes that application to a whole new level.

14. Please make one surprising prediction for 2011.

2011 will be the year of SIP. By the end of the year, everyone will want to know how to get a SIP address.

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Andrew Litz