Sotto Voce: Data Conquers Voice: R.I.P.Sotto Voce: Data Conquers Voice: R.I.P.

I don't see data conquering voice but I do see another wave of transitioning old systems and old solutions into something better. It won't be one or the other but both.

It's been two years since I posted: What's Wrong With Telecom? and What's Wrong With IT?

The relationships of some verticals such as government, health care, hospitality and higher education remain TDM centric according to John Croce, CEO of Phybridge. John was kind enough to spend time discussing the failings of the promises of an all-IP, one-drop-to-the-desktop network eliminating two separate infrastructures. (More on this later)

Announcement of Microsoft's third release (Lync) states the PBX era is over. IT guys have been decrying the death of TDM since around the time of the DASH open systems that are still found in pizza parlors. So here we are in a post-Nortel/TDM era, but "Nortel & TDM lives," meaning that the legacy gear just continues to work--and customers willingly retain gear that works.

We had a couple of service calls last quarter. One Nortel customer called stating the 20+ year-old voice mail system (StarTalk Model B) was dead. A $40 power supply solved their problem. Afterwards, I couldn't wait to email Eric pictures of the unexpected fruit basket our customer sent to us. Later, one of our factory customers said they needed some repairs to their 17-year-old twice-installed system. Replacing dropped handsets cured their ailments. A DC law firm that we installed just after my daughter was born 14 years ago needed emergency service on their Panasonic system. The owner pleaded with me to keep the system working and hoped we could find a way to rescue it. They just had some minor construction work done and the work crew shorted a couple of cables that caused the phones to lose service. The fix was easier than the drive.

Recently we were called in to evaluate the systems replacement of the Fire Department in a neighboring county. The key feature is the analog ring down circuits and they will likely not see the light of an all IP solution for years to come. Analog ring down circuits cost more, but costs become non-issues for Emergency first responders in the course of their work. Until the States mandate changes, the PSTN could remain viable for years if not decades to come. Then carriers must be onboard to service the IP alternative solutions and most IP solutions today still rely upon the PSTN as their backup.

The IP-PBX must focus on market segmentation. This may mean that the PBX will no longer be designed to just provide hundreds of features in an attempt to cater to numerous vertical markets. In the SMB space it means that PBX is the communications server and it must compete with Cloud services, including CaaS, and still be able to leverage both Cloud and hosted/managed services. This may surprise some but it shouldn't. What bewilders customers is the unavailability of hosted/managed features that Centrex customers enjoyed having blended on their PBXs. PBXs must be positioned to provide onboard UC or use Cloud services as a compliment. Managed/hosted services that remain without the traditional telephony feature sets will hinder the adoption rate of SIP trunking. Then, a server glut plagues SMBs as they clamor to virtualize or move to the cloud.

Large enterprise IT staff risks getting seduced by their own technology and this is what can cost companies. These same companies set themselves up for failure and disappointment with over-reliance and dependence upon outsourcing. IT thinks it can always fix a problem with a solution but that in and of itself remains a chief complaint. Looking at the bone piles of both IT and telecom hardware found in company attics reveals these solutions-to-solutions. Paring down these interim solutions is more than a mindset and it doesn't mean that the IT or voice guy has the view that telecommunications is a conservative business. The key elements of that conservancy are: high availability, quality, performance and functionality. These remain a balancing act much like the simultaneous desire for speed, quality and security. Throw in cost to these decisions then you get to the meat before any sizzle. In most solutions in either world there is a propensity to provide a solution (fix/work around) for the just installed solution.

Uncomfortable issues between the two worlds exist. Some telecom guys that are just hanging on until retirement have failed to meet the challenge. I've been privy to some of these conversations and discussions and it’s akin to stepping back in time. Throw in the IT guys’ claim that telecom guys are fighting for their jobs and it merits some truth, but it’s laced rhetoric pitched with the idea that only IT can successfully manage telecom. The old and even still weathered claim that "proprietary PBXs are too complicated to administer" could be easier than what awaits companies.

While my musings and observations aren't reflective on everyone or every possible situation, I think that our industry has a huge challenge. Cisco--the devils that they are--have deservedly benefited greatly by reverse engineering voice, monetizing on their proprietary solutions and marketing them like no politician could ever do or even hope for. Microsoft is a Johnny-come-lately after three times with an almost all-Microsoft solution appealing to some, but will need more than marketing to establish themselves as a key source for a business telephone system. No, I don't think they have voice ganas.

The industry and voice solutions range from extremely old TDM, PBXs, Centrex, Skype, hosted services or voice in the data center. With numerous solutions in between, I don't see data conquering voice but I do see another wave of transitioning old systems and old solutions into something better than before. It won't be one or the other but both. It's easy to forget about the sheer size and width of this industry as an embedded base. Just like the demarc; when you haven't seen it or tested all the cable pairs and reconciled it against the actual bills and then have the expectation that outsourcing resolves inventory and management problems, you get a disparity from reality. Many of these proclamations fail because they don't see voice outside of either their control or large enterprise. Maybe "hybrid" is overused but so is the death call on an industry that just works. As fractured as telecommunications is from disruption, gluing it back together again is going to be a process involving more than just learning new skill sets because it is complicated. How complicated do you want to make voice, and what is going to end up in your attic?