The Business Value of SIP Trunking: Moving to IP Drives Business Innovation
A Frost & Sullivan Executive Briefing
Michael Brandenburg, Industry Analyst Unified Communications & CollaborationSponsored by
frost.com
contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3
Parity Reached .............................................................................................................................. 3
The Business Value of SIP Trunking ........................................................................................... 4
Going Above and Beyond: The Extra Value in SIP ..................................................................... 4
Conclusions and Recommendations ........................................................................................... 5
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The Business Value of SIP Trunking: Moving to IP Drives Business Innovation
All rights reserved © 2015 Frost & Sullivan
INTRODUCTION
Empowering workers to communicate effectively with colleagues, customers, suppliers and partners is a mission-critical requirement for any business. While the number of tools that businesses use to communicate has increased, the requirement to connect to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) has not diminished.
Business communications have been steadily evolving over the last decade. On-the-premises, next-generation, Internet protocol (IP)-based systems are gradually replacing legacy time division multiplexing (TDM) infrastructure. In the access network, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and session initiation protocol (SIP) trunking services are now in a position to become the primary link between businesses’ premises–based platforms and service provider networks.
However, many organizations still struggle to understand the benefits of SIP trunking services and the value that migrating to an IP-based communications infrastructure can bring to their operations. Furthermore, concerns about SIP security and interoperability remain top of mind for many decision makers. This article addresses the business benefits of SIP trunking and dispels some of the myths associated with next-generation, IP-based services.
PARITY REACHED
VoIP access and SIP trunking services are the successors of TDM-based telecommunications services that have been in place for generations. Many of the SIP trunking services on the market today are from incumbent voice carriers that have simply added SIP offerings alongside their existing TDM services portfolio. As demand for IP communications rapidly increases, new competitors are gaining traction with compelling SIP trunking solutions. Without the baggage of legacy voice platforms, these providers offer affordable and reliable voice services on top of public Internet connections. With such a diverse set of options available, customers are certain to find a SIP trunking solution that will fit their needs.
A well architected SIP trunking solution is able to match the quality and reliability of the legacy telecommunications services that it is replacing. However, using IP networks to transport voice services requires extra attention to security and interoperability. SIP service providers leverage telecom-grade session border controllers (SBCs) within their core network, as well as a mix of SBCs and enterprise media gateways at the customer premises to ensure the quality and safety of voice traffic.
Today, VoIP access and SIP trunking services are rapidly displacing legacy telecommunications services for businesses of all sizes and industries. Frost & Sullivan research finds that SIP trunking services are already well entrenched in North America, serving a projected 29.4 million users in 2015 and growing at an expected 19.1% compound annual growth rate through 2021.
With so much momentum, VoIP access and SIP trunking services are more than ready for mainstream businesses to adopt as part of their communications strategy.
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THE BUSINESS VALUE OF SIP TRUNKING
A migration to SIP trunking services delivers both direct and broader, more strategic benefits to businesses. First and foremost, SIP trunking services are simply more affordable than legacy circuit-based trunking services. TDM-based trunking, such as T1/E1 or primary rate interface (PRI) services, requires a carrier to deliver a dedicated physical circuit to provide voice services and charge extra as a result. SIP trunking services, on the other hand, are delivered across the customer’s existing wide area network (WAN) or Internet connection. By converging voice and data networks, organizations can realize significant cost reductions as well as optimize their IT architecture.
Additionally, SIP trunking services can be dynamically configured to match the call demand of the customer, while legacy circuits are most often delivered as a fixed number of lines per circuit. When a customer outgrows the number of trunks available on a legacy circuit, they are often required to order additional circuits. Instead, SIP trunking services are configured based on the number of concurrent call paths (CCP) needed for a given customer location. The number of CCPs is limited only by the amount of WAN bandwidth available
to the customer’s premises. Dynamically assigned CCPs allow businesses to scale their communication services to exactly match their current call volumes, then scale as their needs evolve.
Growing adoption of the latest unified communications (UC) platforms from vendors such as Avaya, Cisco and Microsoft is quickly becoming a driving factor for migration to SIP trunking services. These IP-based platforms have been developed with SIP services in mind. By connecting UC systems with SIP trunks in an end-to-end IP environment, businesses can realize considerable cost savings and the full feature functionality benefits of IP communications.
However, SIP trunking benefits are not limited to those with modern UC systems. Businesses can leverage some of the advantages of VoIP even while using their existing telephony platforms. Through the use of enterprise media gateway devices, SIP trunking services can be integrated with legacy PBX systems. SIP trunking services can help such businesses reduce access costs and toll charges, and set the business on a migration path to next-generation communications.
Finally, SIP trunking is a mature but still highly competitive market. Providers in the space are aggressively engaged in moving customers off of TDM-based services as well as preventing customer churn. As a result, customers can often look to SIP trunking offerings to find the most attractive pricing for bundles of local and long-distance minutes or highly competitive per-minute rates. SIP trunking offerings also typically include company-wide extension dial plans and free inter-office calling.
GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND: THE EXTRA VALUE IN SIP
The value of SIP trunking services extends beyond a convenient replacement of legacy telecommunications services. In fact, SIP trunking and VoIP access services provide a high level of flexibility not available in traditional PSTN or TDM services. Today’s SIP trunking services remove the physical limitations imposed by the previous generation of services, allowing a level of network freedom. This network freedom is particularly important for an organization’s disaster recovery plan. In the event of an outage, administrators can quickly redirect voice to alternative communication endpoints in case the primary ones become unavailable.
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The Business Value of SIP Trunking: Moving to IP Drives Business Innovation
All rights reserved © 2015 Frost & Sullivan
Furthermore, network freedom enables providers to give organizations a high level of control over their voice services. Through Web-based portals, IT administrators can dynamically manage their organization’s concurrent call paths, move users and phone numbers between locations, and even manage a shared pool of local and long-distance minutes. SIP trunking services are also often equipped with near real-time analytics engines that enable organizations to see a tactical view of call volumes and identify issues or increased demand as they happen. Ultimately, organizations are able to monitor and take control of their own SIP services at a holistic level and react quickly as their needs change.
Finally, SIP trunking serves as the foundation for additional network-based services from the SIP trunking provider. Hosted auto attendant, mobility, and contact center are just some of the applications and features that can be offered at a service level. Value-added services such as these allow customers to enhance their communications infrastructure, extend the life of their existing on-premises platforms, and even avoid deploying in-house solutions.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Above and beyond the cost benefits often associated with SIP trunking services, the dynamic elements of an IP-based communications services platform provide businesses with an unprecedented level of control. VoIP access and SIP trunking are mature technologies with a wealth of capabilities that are cost-prohibitive or not even possible in TDM. Through SIP, organizations are able to adapt their communications infrastructure to match the requirements of new and existing business processes, rather than the other way around. The result is a highly agile set of advanced services that, in turn, enhance the agility of the entire organization.
Businesses should be actively looking to make the transition from legacy telecom services to SIP trunking. 1
Organizations need to reset their expectations on what communications services can do. SIP trunking capabilities far exceed those of legacy services, creating a new set of possibilities.
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Businesses should seek out service providers that can offer services tailored to their specific needs.3
Source: Frost & Sullivan
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