The SIP trunking sphere saw new problems, new partnerships, new products and a little pomp this past week. To get the bad news out of the way first, let’s start with the problem.

iViZ conducted a study of multiple security tools, firewalls, antivirus programs and VPN security features. Many of the tools, including Cisco (News - Alert) products, Norton Anti-virus, and Clam AV, did no better at protecting themselves against malware than the products they were originally designed to protect. “Security companies,” said the press release, “do not necessarily produce more secure products.”

 The study’s author, Jitendra Chauhan stated that many types of vulnerability information were traded for reasons linked to cyber-warfare and cyber-crimes. To read more about these vulnerabilities, click here.

On to partnerships: Bancaribe Curacao selected Level 3 as its provider for its multi-protocol label switching VPN. The dedicated MPLS backbone enables networks to converge and prioritize traffic, which increases the availability of voice and video functionality.

Grandstream announced that its IP telephony products are now compatible with SIP trunking solutions from Vitelity. With Grandstream’s phones and Vitelity’s 50 GB dark fiber network, small and medium-sized businesses can have a ready-made solution for their telephony needs.

Also, Japan Communications, Inc., deployed SoliCall (News - Alert) audio quality improvement solutions to improve sound on its networks. The SoliCall solution should enable JCI to produce high quality calls over multiple devices and platforms, neither increasing their CPU load nor requiring an individual solution for every kind of device.

In new products news, Teradici released a firmware update for its PC-over-IP protocol that includes a fresh new interface, better image quality settings and support for certificate checking.

In addition, IronGate Security Networks put its iHome Defender family firewall solution up for sale on Amazon.com (News - Alert). Also, Lancope unveiled StealthWatch, its protection solution for service provider infrastructure. StealthWatch provided show floor monitoring at Cisco Live this week.

Let’s end the week with a little pomp: ShoreTel (News - Alert), according to Synergy Research, is the fastest growing IP telephony vendor in the U.S. market. The company’s market share has jumped 19 percent in the past year. Avaya and Mitel (News - Alert) both saw significant drops in their market share while ShoreTel gobbled up the competition.

Tap into SIP trunking’s Twitter feed to keep up with the latest information as it happens. Until next week, kick back and enjoy the beginning of summer.