White Paper

The power of converged networks

Transform your business by uniting voice, data and video on a single network

Table of Contents
Executive summary The complexity of communication Unified communications and network convergence One network, countless possibilities Cost savings VoIP Scalability Video A convergent world The challenges of converged networks Bandwidth Security Availability The CDW approach Glossary Product spotlight 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 5 5 5 5 6 7 8

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Rising customer expectations, an increasingly mobile workforce and growing competition is driving the need for enterprises to be agile and quick to respond to the changing market dynamics Enterprises are beginning to realize the role of communication in achieving this agility
Shivanu Shukla, Frost & Sullivan, as quoted in Enterprises Harness the Power of Unified Communications, Business Wire, July 2008

Executive summary
More communication tools and technologies are being used every day This has resulted not only in improved flexibility and productivity, but also in higher costs because of the complexity of managing these technologies By uniting voice, data and video on a single network, you can minimize maintenance costs while benefiting from the power of integrated communications Just be sure to address some key issues such as capacity, security and reliability before moving forward with a converged network Thats where CDW comes in: We can arm you with the information you need to choose the ideal solution

The complexity of communication

Good communication has always been essential to an organizations success But these days, its not as simple as getting the team together in a conference room Your coworkers may be spread out across five different offices You may need to post a video on the intranet and get feedback from colleagues around the world With e-mail, voicemail, videoconferencing, instant messaging (IM) and remote access, all of this and more is now possible We are no longer tethered to our desks nor restricted by geography These technologies are powerful tools, each contributing to the efficiency and productivity of your business But they can also lead to increased cost and complexity Just one employee might use a desktop computer, notebook computer, cell phone and a wireless handheld device each needing to be configured, managed and secured End users are forced to learn several different interfaces and to work with several different inboxes Most critically, your voice, data and video services run on separate networks Each requires a dedicated staff, which can quickly get bogged down by hardware and software conflicts and an overwhelming demand on the infrastructure You may be spending more than necessary on staffing, maintenance and repair but still not getting the most out of your investment

Unified communications and network convergence

As a result of the costs and conflicts involved with multiple networks, unified communications (UC) solutions are becoming increasingly popular With UC, all of your communication tools are fully integrated: voice, e-mail, IM, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), business applications, audioconferencing, videoconferencing, web conferencing and more Your system is streamlined, and your tools work together seamlessly By needing fewer people to oversee the network, youll also experience cost savings as well as improved efficiency and productivity The foundation of UC is network convergence: a single network for voice, data and video This offers far greater flexibility, functionality and ease of use than running each stream separately

One network, countless possibilities

A converged network offers a wide range of enhancements to your business enhancements that can not only save you time and money, but also help you get ahead of the competition Cost savings A single network requires fewer resources to manage, as well as less time spent on deployment and configuration This can help free your IT team from routine maintenance tasks and allow them to focus on higher-level projects Youll also enjoy improved productivity across the workforce because there will be fewer inboxes to check, easier ways to get a hold of decision-makers and better collaboration with remote employees VoIP An increasingly popular way to cut costs is by implementing VoIP VoIP lets you place and receive calls through your Internet connection rather than a phone network yet another advantage of network convergence Because you only pay for the Internet connection, you can avoid long-distance charges and other costs incurred by traditional systems like a public switched telephone network (PSTN) or private branch exchange (PBX) VoIP devices are also easier to set up and manage, with plug-and-play capabilities that make them extremely flexible Simply hook up your VoIP phone to any Ethernet port, and youre ready to make a call Video Network convergence can also improve the integration of video into your daily operations Recent advances in videoconferencing technology have made it a viable replacement for faceto-face meetings This can significantly cut down on travel costs as well as your companys impact on the environment And with a single network, its much easier to share documents or collaborate on a project through a videoconference Scalability Just as a converged network makes it easy to add new VoIP phones, it also simplifies almost any kind of network scaling Adding a new employee no longer involves creating accounts on multiple networks or having three distinct learning curves for the end user Plus, many top vendors are already developing products that are optimized for a single network By refining your infrastructure today, youll be ready for the latest technologies of tomorrow

Were at a tipping point for video, where enterprises are seeing it as a critical new tool that they can use Part of it is the network finally being ready to support these applications
John Bartlett, NetForecast, as quoted in Data Networks Wont Cut It for Convergence, Jim Duffy, Network World, September 2008

Today, half of all enterprises in North America and Europe have some type of unified communication initiative
Top Unified Communications Predictions for 2008, Forrester Research, February 2008

A convergent world
Once you have voice, data and video on one network, a whole world of possibilities opens up, revolutionizing how your entire business operates Youre chatting online with a coworker on the other side of the country. You need to include a third colleague and show him a few sketches of the idea youre working on Transfer the IM chat to a three-person videoconference with the touch of a button no need to set up a bridge in advance or move everyone over to a different network You need to update the extensions of all 150 phones in the office. You used to have to do it manually, going from desk to desk This could take days, with a high chance of making a mistake somewhere along the way Now you can make the updates from a centralized location, simultaneously You have e-mails coming in that need your immediate attention. And a voicemail from your boss that needs even more immediate attention Theres even a fax waiting for you And youre in a taxi in London No worries e-mail, voicemail and faxes all come in wirelessly to your handheld device, where you can sort through them at your leisure You need to get your VPs approval ASAP on a project, and shes nowhere to be found There are any number of ways to get in touch with her, but who knows if shes got her phone turned on or is connected to the Internet? Just fire off an e-mail, and the network will automatically route it to the correct device Youll save time and stay nimble by getting the decision you need right away

The challenges of converged networks

A unified network can transform how you do business, but there are potential concerns you should be aware of before moving forward By making informed decisions up front and working with a trusted partner, you can sidestep these pitfalls and take full advantage of UC Bandwidth Powerful applications, rich media and fast connections require a robust infrastructure Many data networks cant handle real-time applications such as voice and video Analyze your existing setup to determine if it has the bandwidth to allow for increased traffic Also, check your existing switches and routers to ensure that they are up to the task Security On a converged network, denial-ofservice (DoS) attacks can affect phone and video service in addition to your servers Plus, UCs dependence on open standards, which allows for seamless interoperability among services, can also leave you vulnerable to hackers These kinds of situations are avoidable as long as you plan ahead Implementing the right combination of safeguards will help keep your operations secure and your business up and running Availability With everything running on a single network, reliability is absolutely essential If something should go wrong with any component, you risk losing phone, Internet and video capabilities all at once When considering a converged network, take into account hardware, software, power supplies, the operating system anything that could cause network downtime You can build a network thats as reliable as the dial tone on your phone at home, but it takes intelligent analysis and careful planning

The CDW approach

The challenges of setting up and managing a converged network are not trivial, but neither are the benefits to your organization In order to take full advantage of these benefits, you need a partner with the expertise necessary to handle the challenges of convergence At CDW, we have developed a simple yet comprehensive approach to converged network solutions This approach has proven successful for organizations of all types, and our relationships with top vendors mean you get the perfect solution, custom built for your specific needs Heres how it works: 1. We assess your current network infrastructure to identify potential concerns or opportunities for improvement 2 We plan an intelligent transition to a converged network, including recommendations for hardware, communication capabilities, workflow tools and business applications 3 We implement the solution, helping to speed up deployment time by configuring your products before they arrive at your site 4 We provide support after the deployment to make sure everything works as planned We also evaluate performance against key business productivity benchmarks and offer 24x7 telephone support just in case Key to our approach is a dedicated account manager who acts as your point of contact throughout the process You always know who to call, every step of the way With CDW, you can avoid the pitfalls and get down to business Youll enjoy high availability, premier security and a low total cost of ownership Youll be able to move faster, work smarter and get a leg up on the competition

Glossary
Denial of service (DoS): An attack on a web server with the intent of making it unavailable to users This is typically accomplished by overloading the server with external requests On a converged network, a DoS attack could also take down voice and video services, which is why establishing a secure environment is essential Internet protocol (IP): How packets of data are sent across the Internet Every computer connected to the Internet has a unique IP address, allowing for proper transmission of the data (e-mail, websites, files, etc ) With a converged network, IP can also be used for voice communications Private branch exchange (PBX): A private telephone network Often used by large companies because it is less expensive than connecting every phone to an external line Public switched telephone network (PSTN): Standard phone service, carrying analog voice data through copper wires Newer telephone networks use digital technologies such as an integrated services digital network (ISDN) Unified communications (UC): A communications system comprising a number of individual tools (e-mail, voicemail, IM, videoconferencing, fax, etc ), integrated into a single platform Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP): Hardware and software that allows for voice communication through the Internet Data is sent in packets via IP rather than through a physical circuit This can result in cost savings over other types of phone service because you pay only for your Internet connection and not for phone charges such as longdistance fees

Akin to what we saw with adoption of the PC and the explosion of the Internet, were now seeing this extraordinary adoption of unified communications Four years ago, less than 25 percent of all the new lines shipped were voice over IP In 2008, close to 80 percent of new lines are voice over IP
Lou DAmbrosio, CEO, Avaya, as quoted in Avayas CEO Looks to Bring Unified Communications to the Masses, J. Nicholas Hoover, Information Week, March 2008

Product spotlight

AVAyA S8300 SErVEr

The Avaya S8300 supports the Linux operating system and is powered by Communication Manager. It supports industry-standard call control, quality of service, management functions and IP, digital and analog endpoints

AVAyA G350 MEDIA GATEWAy

Powerful converged networking solution that packs an IP telephony gateway, an advanced IP WAN router, a VPN Gateway and a high-performance LAN switch into a compact (3U) modular chassis
Designed to be a complete voice/data

AVAyA 9620 IP TElEPhONE

With a combination of audio quality, an improved user interface with a context-sensitive display and a stylish, professional design, Avaya sets the new standard for enhanced productivity and an enhanced end-user experience
Intuitive user interface Superior audio quality New design and display Modules and adapters Phone models designed for

AVAyA 4610SW IP TElEPhONE

Improved productivity with paperless labels, call log, speed dial and web browser features Midsized graphical grayscale display (168x84 dots) Integrated switched ports for connection of PC 12 programmable feature keys automatically labeled from the system (no paper labels needed) 10 fixed feature keys: speaker, mute, drop, hold, volume up and down, conference, transfer, redial, headset DHCP client and statically (manual) configurable IP addressing CDW 568341

Maximize communication uptime with

fully survivable gateways

Save time and money by managing all

networking solution
Ideally suited for enterprises with

sites from a single system interface

Advanced voice applications Integrated messaging Integrated system management

distributed branch office locations using 8-72 extensions

An advanced TDM/IP architecture

CDW 1234566

provides seamless connectivity and communications between a wide variety of analog, digital, H.323 and SIP-based telephony devices and applications
For communications security, the G350

user profiles CDW 1010566

S8300 Media Server with a G700 Media Gateway

can secure VoIP media streams using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) CDW 1046370

To find out how CDW can help you build the perfect convergence solution, visit us today at CDW.com/convergednetworks

The terms and conditions of product sales are limited to those contained on CDWs website at CDW.com; notice of objection to and rejection of any additional or different terms in any other form delivered by customer is hereby given; CDW, CDWG and The Right Technology. Right Away. are registered trademarks of CDW Corporation; all other trademarks and registered trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners

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