Cisco's VoIP announcements

Cisco IP telephony products bring call center, conference management and WAN connectivity features to enterprises.

By Phil Hochmuth
Network World Fusion, 11/05/01

SAN JOSE - Cisco recently introduced 12 new IP telephony hardware and software products aimed at adding a slew of functions and applications to a Cisco-based enterprise VoIP network.

Among the new VoIP products were several software tools for managing customer contacts over voice and Web channels, as well as a packaged call center product from small and midsize companies. Also announced were legacy phone connectivity modules for Cisco routers and enterprise software for setting up and managing IP conference calls.

The Cisco Intelligent Contact Center (ICM) 4.6 is server software that can be use to manage out-bound telemarketing call campaigns for a call center. The computer telephony integration (CTI) features in the software can allow agents to control phone dialing, and access to information such as scripts from a desktop interface.

The IP Contact Center Bundle is a package of server applications that includes pre-defined call routing rules and queue set-ups that a small or midsize company could use to roll out an IP-based call center in less than a week, according to Cisco. Professional services from Cisco are also includes with the bundle.

Cisco's Internet Service Node (ISN) is software that can be used to add interactive voice response (IVR) access to route calls or access in traditional PBX and Cisco IP telephony systems. Cisco says its IP-based ISN server can improve IVR performance by handling voice requests at the edge of a network as opposed to traditional IVR systems, which are usually attached to a centralized PBX and can cause delays in call processing.

For online customer/call agent interactions, the Cisco Collaboration Server (CCS) 4.0 can be used to introduce "click to talk" buttons on a business' Web site, which can link a customer back to an agent via phone or Web chat.

A long-awaited product by Cisco users and analysts, Cisco's Conference Connection software allows end users to arrange conference calls on a Cisco VoIP system through a Web interface. The software comes with a scheduling engine that can notify users of a call start time, and can handle manage up to 100 simultaneous conferences. On the hardware end, Cisco's High Density Analog Voice/Fax Network modules, and its Advanced Integration Modules (AIM-Voice-30) can be added to Cisco 2600 and 3600 series routers.

The High Density module can be used to add legacy PBX equipment, fax machines and high densities of analog phones to a Cisco router. Through a Cisco 2600/3600, phone traffic can be routed to the PSTN, or over a WAN to a branch office or main office. The AIM-VOICE-30 module fits into the AIM slot in a Cisco 2600 or 3600 and can be used to add 30 additional PSTN or fax channels to a router without taking up network module or WAN interface card (WIC) slots on the box.

The following are the price and availability for all 12 Cisco VoIP products announced last week:

Products available today

Catalyst 4200 SNA/IPX - $12,995
Conference Connection - $21,000
IP Phone Expansion Module 7914 - $428
AIM-VOICE-30, $4,000
VG248 Analog Phone Gateway, $11,995
MGCP support for Cisco 2600/3600 routers, free Cisco IOS upgrade
SRST with Cisco 7200 routers, $16,250
ISN 1.0, $7,000 plus $1,000 per port
IPCC Bundle, $55,000.

Other products

Emergency Responder -at $6,000 (available Dec. 7)
High Density Analog Voice/Fax Network Modules - $3,900 (available Dec. 28)
Cisco CallManager 3.2, - free software upgrade for CallManager 3.1 (available Dec. 31)

Cisco's VoIP announcements

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