Bringing Skype into the FoldBringing Skype into the Fold

ShoreTel was first to announce interoperability, now SIPfoundry and Nortel are on board.

There's been a lot of activity around Skype for the enterprise, specifically on the issue of interoperability. ShoreTel became the first major vendor to announce Skype interoperability, and now comes word that open source SIPfoundry also is now interoperable with Skype. This applies both to the standalone SIPfoundry open source IP-PBX, which is called sipXecs, and to the sipXecs that was OEM'ed into the Nortel Software Communications System (SCS).The connections here are plentiful, mainly via Silver Lake Partners, the private equity company that owns Avaya, Nortel Enterprise (pending closing), and the lion's share of Skype. Avaya also has an existing peer-to-peer system, the one-X Quick Edition, aimed primarily at SMBs. Avaya acquired the technology for one-X Quick Edition when it bought Nimcat Networks, a Canadian startup, in 2005.

So Avaya has some experience integrating and productizing peer to peer technology, though the one-X Quick Edition isn't exactly one of its marquee products. Furthermore, as the ShoreTel deal indicates, Skype really needs a multivendor strategy. The Skype client has been so successful, deployed on so many enterprise users' desktops independent of those user's other communications systems, that it could never be an Avaya-only client.

However, if Avaya can use its services and consulting capabilities to help enterprises deploy Skype proactively and--most important--securely, as an enterprise client, that would be a significant win for a company that--like all of its competitors--needs to broaden its services appeal.ShoreTel was first to announce interoperability, now SIPfoundry and Nortel are on board.