I recently caught up with Steve Johnson, President at Ingate Systems, to find out more about the company’s latest SIParator Line Enhancements and hear all about the new licensing model being offered. The updates promise to bring ease and affordability along with a host of new features and options for users.

Our exchange follows.

There have been sweeping changes across Ingate’s product line. You’ve added a new Ingate SIParator/Firewall S52. What enhancements does the S52 bring to your line of E-SBCs?

SJ: We’ve made major changes to the Ingate product line overall, and overhauled the pricing and licensing structure. These changes make it easy for customers to select the right Ingate E-SBC for their needs giving them more capacity and more features all at a low price point.

The Ingate SIParator/Firewall S52 E-SBC is a new product. The S52 handles up to 2,000 concurrent calls and supports a broad range of deployment scenarios. It replaces the SIParator/Firewalls S51, S56 and S66 to give customers looking for a midrange product one E-SBC that has a high enough capacity to support their business growth.

Under the new pricing structure, all software modules and functions are included in the base price of the E-SBC. That means Ingate SIP Trunking software module, Ingate Remote SIP Connectivity, VoIP Survival . . . now they’re all included in the base price.

SIP trunk sessions, remote user sessions and SIP server registrations can now be separately licensed as needed. Every purchase of SIP trunk sessions can be applied to an existing or a new trunk group. Customers can simply design and buy what they need.

Ingate’s E-SBCs already include advanced SIP routing, SIP server and security functions beyond what is typically found in simpler point-to-point B2BUAs, making them suitable for a wide range of applications for enterprises, service providers and carriers. 

What other changes have been made to the product line?

SJ: All Ingate E-SBCs have been upgraded with more capacity and new features:

• The SIParator/Firewall S21 now supports up to 400 sessions (from 50), offering small businesses and enterprises more capacity.
• SIParator/Firewall S95 now supports up to 4,000 concurrent calls (up from 1,800) and adds redundant hard disks and power supplies.
• SIParators/Firewalls S97 and S98, which handle up to 8,000 and 20,000 concurrent calls for large capacity enterprises and carrier usage, are now NEBS-compliant and optionally available with 48V DC power supplies.
• The Ingate Software SIParator/Firewall E-SBC for virtual machines can be licensed for up to 2,000 concurrent calls on hypervisors such as VMware and Microsoft’s (News - Alert) HyperV.

The larger Ingate E-SBCs are now NEBS-compliant and available with 48V DC power supplies. What are the benefits to making these additions?

SJ: Call centers and other large, centralized deployments need hardened equipment. Ingate’s S97 and S98 are now NEBS-compliant. NEBS stands for Network Equipment Building System, an industry standard that ensures your equipment meets high standards for being resistant to temperature, humidity, fire and other potential issues.

These Ingate E-SBCs can also be purchased with 48V DC power supplies which enable them to be powered by existing battery backup systems for a much longer period of time. This is very important for service provider installations and for supporting mission-critical applications for hospitals and other emergency service agencies.

Why have you decided to replace three SIParator models with the S52?

SJ: The SIParator 51 hardware had reached the end of its life. The SIParator/Firewall S52 is built on a new hardware design that supports a much higher capacity limit.

Today, we offer three hardware boxes:

-High capacity (S95/97/98)

-Medium-high (S52)

-Low capacity (S21)

We also offer the Software SIParator/Firewall for virtual x86 machines, which can handle up to 2,000 concurrent calls.

How will the capacity upgrades to S21 and S95/97/98 E-SBCs be implemented for customers?

SJ: These capacity upgrades have been implemented through our new software release version 5.0.6. Customers can download the new software from Ingate.com. It is available now.

How will these changes to the product line change Ingate’s addressable market?

SJ: The expansion in capacity of the SIParator 21 also allows us to support larger organizations with the economical SIParator 21.

Additionally, these changes reflect the needs of our enterprise market, which encompasses enterprises of all sizes: smaller businesses, mid-sized and very large enterprise networks.

Ingate products have also found new applications like telephony wholesale businesses taking advantage of the SIParator’s advanced SIP call routing at high capacity. This is yet another field in which Ingate delivers outstanding features and pricing.

How does the revised product line position Ingate in the competitive E-SBC market?

SJ: Ingate E-SBCs offer maximum features and functionality at a reasonable price point. We support our products. They’re easy to deploy. They’re interoperable with every IP-PBX (News - Alert) and ITSP. Ingate is the Swiss Army Knife of E-SBCs.

We are confident that these changes in product mix and pricing will result in even greater adoption of the Ingate SIParator.

What are your plans for migrating existing customers to the new line?

SJ: The upgrade path will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

How much interest are you seeing in your virtual SIParator?

SJ: The Software SIParator/Firewall E-SBC is extremely popular for two reasons. First, customers want to deploy Ingate’s award-winning features and functionality on their own hardware. Ingate’s Software SBC does just that. Second, the Software SIParator/Firewall has a wide capacity range: up to 2,000 calls. That’s a product that can support a growing business for the long haul. We continue to see a strong and growing demand for the product from several segments.

Explain the new licensing model and the thought process that went into it.

SJ: In a word, simplicity. Over time the list of possible combination of features grew as the product evolved. But that made the pricing more complex than we thought it should be. Now all of the features are included in the base prices, with no substantial increase in price. The only thing customers need to consider now is the number of sessions that need to be supported.

Will existing customers be able to benefit from the new licensing model?

SJ: Absolutely. Existing customers can download the new software version 5.0.6 to upgrade capacity and features up to the limits of their hardware.

How will the new model benefit Ingate and its partners?

SJ: We’re making it easier than ever for customers to select the right product for their business. With Ingate they can be confident their E-SBC will support their growth over time. Ingate’s innovation continues with these changes, as we’re always listening to customers and adapting our products to meet their needs. Working with Ingate gives partners the advantage of an exceptional product at a reasonable price.