Session initiation protocol (SIP) trunking never sleeps, and as more businesses discover this platform's value in developing communications, it's clear that it won't let up any time soon. There were plenty of new developments this week, and with the weekend now afoot, it's a good time to stretch out, settle in, and take a look at the wider events of the week with our Week in Review coverage!

First we had a look at the pitfalls associated with both unified communications (UC) and Internet protocol (IP) telephony that can kill return on investment (ROI). Issues of capital expenses (CAPEX) and infrastructure, lack of information and security, geography, and unrealistic expectations can all come together to gut the return out of a project. Those who guard against such things going in, meanwhile, are likely to come out much less damaged.

Next we had a look at a new release from IVR Technologies, Talking SIP (News - Alert) Mobility. This new system offers up a variety of solutions geared toward a variety of mobile network professionals. With Talking SIP Mobility, those who want to offer mobile and voice over IP (VoIP) systems can, and with a variety of different billing structures. The system uses both a Microsoft (News - Alert) SQL Server database and an application scripting language to make the release as useful in as many use cases as possible.

The city of Yonkers in New York brought in the next bit of news, as the city turned to MASS Communications to step up its voice and data systems. With the upgrade, Yonkers now has access to a complete VoIP infrastructure. Despite the dispersed nature of the city's facilities—it represents 40 locations and is the largest deployment MASS Communications ever engaged in—the new upgrades are expected to represent a roughly 30 percent cut in telecom expenses.

Then, Mitel stepped in to pick up TigerTMS in a bid to step up its operations in hospitality. With TigerTMS, Mitel (News - Alert) can offer hotel guests the ability to book rooms from anywhere. Mitel is eager to become the vendor of choice for the hospitality industry, and since Mitel added TigerTMS' Simon Udell—who had over 30 years of management experience in the hospitality industry to his credit—to its roster as the new general manager of Mitel's business unit, that was a goal more likely to come to fruition than some may think.

Finally, we had a look at the connection between cloud and private branch exchange (PBX) sales, and revealed that once again, the cloud was slowing sales of PBX systems. Based on the results of the IHS (News - Alert) Enterprise Unified Communications and Voice Equipment report, this was the second consecutive year that the cloud bit into PBX sales, and also was attributed to losses in UC as well. But the IP-PBX (News - Alert) field saw 17 percent year-to-year growth, a development attributed to big gains in the Asia-Pacific region.

That was the week that was in SIP trunking, and it's clear there was no shortage of news in the field this week. Our global online community, meanwhile, recognizes there seldom is a shortage of news, and was thus well-versed in bringing back all the best in news for us to consider. So be sure to join us back here next week for all the latest, and every weekend as well for our Week in Review coverage!