Alsbridge Says, To Achieve Maximum Value, Move Beyond SIP Trunking

Sourcing, benchmarking and telecom advisory firm, Alsbridge, Inc., today released a new report that outlines how to harness the full value of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

“There's no question that SIP is an extremely powerful communications enabler,” says Alsbridge founder and CEO, Ben Trowbridge. “As a result, Session Initiation Protocol is becoming an increasingly ubiquitous game-changer for businesses. Yet, many enterprises fail to harness its full value, especially in the cost savings and technology arenas.”
Why is this? According to Alsbridge, these enterprises approach SIP solely as a SIP trunking initiative, in which they migrate, from the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and reconnect SIP trunks to legacy systems, while reusing their incumbent carrier's antiquated architecture, limited definitions, and dictated price points.

But consider these realities:

 - The Tier 1 telecommunications providers - or full-service providers, as we recommend the legacy ILECs and today's incumbents, i.e., AT&T and Verizon, be termed - very narrowly define SIP deployment as SIP trunking, as it plays to their value pitch, per the outdated architecture, and provider-mandated pricing inherent with the PSTN. But the real value of SIP is the session interoperability, leverage, and reach enterprises attain across multiple providers, partners and customers.
 - With a typical SIP unilateral trunking arrangement, organizations have a one-to-one relationship between their system, the SIP trunking provider and ultimately the PSTN. However, an effective SIP strategy is one that leverages multiple providers , e.g., wireline and wireless carriers, partners, and VoIP peering providers.
 - The FCC's Technical Advisory Council has recommended the PSTN - in particular the "S", or the circuit-switched part of the nation's public telephone network - be sunsetted by 2018.
 - Today's organizations have at minimum two networks, their IP network and the PSTN. They likely also have a mobile network, and perhaps others, all of which require support, resources and capital expenditure. Why would they want numerous networks, providing duplicate services when they can have just one?