- Chinese Internet censorship: An inside look
- Desktops of the future here today
- What network CEOs really make
- DoD sold counterfeit network gear
- Sci-Fi's goofiest gadgets and technology
Rss FeedRss Feed
Rss FeedNortel, Microsoft deliver UC products; CIOs prep for recession. Listen now!
DEMO '08: Toktumi eases VoIP for SMBs. Listen now!
A missing computer can result in compliance and confidentiality issues that can be very costly to an organization. This paper discusses the strong relationship between computer theft, regulatory compliance and data security, and examines how IT professionals can protect mobile information by implementing a multi-layered network security approach comprised of various policies, procedures and asset tracking strategies.
Get the latest on storage technologies that allow IT professionals to better cope with new IT demands. Learn how storage technologies can help you successfully tackle e-Discover, regulatory compliance, green data center initiatives and the data explosion. Get all the details now.
Watch Raven Zachary, Research Director for Open Source at the 451 Group, an independent IT analyst firm, discuss the emergence of enterprise Linux and the role of Oracle Unbreakable Linux support.
We need more like him, people who point our bugs rather than use it agains others. If he can find it,...- Anonymous
Foundry Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FDRY) is a leading provider of high-performance enterprise and service provider switching, routing, security and Web traffic management solutions. Foundry's customers include the world's premier ISPs, metro service providers, and enterprises.
For further information on Foundry Networks please click here.
Today's enterprise network provides more than simply a technology infrastructure. It's an enabler for the enterprise, supporting mission critical applications, creating operational efficiencies and increasing productivity gains. Foundry Networks provides the ideal foundation for a multi-vendor network.
We had a chance recently to talk with Brian Bourne, President of CMS Consulting, about his experiences as a Unified Communications user. CMS Consulting is a boutique firm with about 30 senior consultants, and is a Microsoft Six-Times-Gold Certified Partner focused on a limited number of Microsoft's core server products. Bourne points out one of the biggest challenges they have as an IT consultancy is "if our people are in the office, then they are costing us money and not making money. But then how do you tie the 30 people together into a team?" He adds, "leveraging unified communications helps address issues of a team that is always spread out in the field." (Compare Unified Communication products.)
Practicing what it preaches, CMS uses a Microsoft OCS OC platform that includes Exchange 2007 and Nortel Office Communicator phones - its demo environment is also its production environment. The company has replaced its PBX with Microsoft OCS and a media gateway for the PSTN connection, and consultants in the field typically use a client-supplied secure SSL connection to link back to their CMS colleagues.
Collaboration is critical to the CMS business model. Bourne said that by using presence, instant messaging and collaboration tools, “if I have a question about SQL technology, I can [quickly] get to a person and have that expert share my desktop to solve the problem. We could do the same thing with accounting or any teaming challenge.”
Taking advantage of the opportunity to gain more insight via Bourne’s experience as an IT consultant, we asked him about his clients’ experiences with unified communications. He said, “Our clients [typically] adopt this a piece at a time with presence and IM first, then audio and video, then full VoIP as the next step.” He also noted that with the largest enterprise deployments comes an inherent complexity as multiple users are added so a “very staged deployment” is essential.
Our thanks to Mr. Bourne for sharing his observations both as a unified communications user and as a consultant.
| NetworkWorld, Inc. | About Network World, Inc. | Advertise | Careers | Contact us | Terms of Service/Privacy | Reprints and links | Partnerships | Press room | Subscribe to NW |
| IDG, Inc. | CIO | Computerworld | CSO | Demo | GamePro | Games.net | IDGconnect.com | IDG World Expo | Infoworld | JavaWorld.com | LinuxWorld.com | MacUser | Macworld | PC World | Playlistmag.com The Industry Standard IDG List Services |
 |
Copyright © 1994-2008 Network World, Inc. All rights reserved. |
