10/19/2004 -- Cisco last week announced its new EGW 2200 Enterprise Gateway, an offering designed to help facilitate the long-awaited (if phased) migration from time-division multiplexing (TDM) PBX networks to converged IP-based solutions.

And if industry analysts are to be believed, converged IP-based solutions are all the rage among enterprise decision-makers—and with good reason.

Cisco says its EGW 2200 gateway appliance can facilitate the internetworking of voice signaling protocols, Digital Private Network Signalling Systems (DPNSS) and Q.SIG, with Cisco CallManager call-processing software and Cisco Unity voice mail and unified messaging solutions.

The EGW 2200 supports call-back, extension status and route optimization, among other time-tested DPNSS features. It features a centralized attendant console, along with other centralized operator functions, and—Cisco officials claim—can enable some interoperability between legacy voice mail systems and Cisco’s IP telephony voice mail features.

Analysts say that IP telephony—and its parent trend, voice and data convergence—are technologies that enteprirses ignore at their own peril.

“The hard-won popularity of convergence technologies has largely been based on the cost savings they make possible,” writes Tere Bracco, vice-president of IT infrastructure and e-business applications with consultancy Current Analysis. “Few in the industry will now dispute that businesses can reduce their costs for voice systems management when they shift to a VoIP-based implementation.”

Indeed, highly distributed organizations can reap big savings on transmission and switching costs by converting to VoIP—and that’s just the beginning. “Application convergence improves productivity and customer service—offering an even bigger contribution to the bottom line,” Bracco says. “Enterprises must acquaint themselves with the mechanics as well as the implications of applications convergence, and prepare their business models to take advantage of the revenue opportunities it makes possible.” -Stephen Swoyer