* Nortel's Secure Router 4134
Smart networking vendors have or are developing a strategy for all-in-one devices, also known as multifunction devices or branch-in-a-box products. These products combine any number of functions, such as switching, routing, VPN, firewall, IDS, network optimization, and VoIP, into a single piece of hardware.
I have been an advocate of this type of product based not only on the value I perceive, but also based on the enthusiastic feedback I have heard from hundreds of IT executives I’ve interviewed during the past two years.
The number of networking devices at the typical branch office has dropped from seven to five in the past year, in part because 17% of companies already have consolidated multiple devices into one. Another 31% are evaluating the products. I expect these figures to increase as companies open more offices, replace aging networking gear, streamline their product selection at branch offices, and simply learn more about the value of the products.
Most recently, Nortel announced its Secure Router 4134. The multifunction device for branch offices, available third quarter, combines routing, switching, security, power-over-Ethernet, and VoIP. My first thought was that this was another “me-too” announcement, because Nortel’s competitors have similar products.
But there is a differentiator. By early 2008, Nortel will add a media gateway into the 4134, integrating it with Microsoft Mediation technology. That move will enable communications between Microsoft’s Office Communications Server and SIP clients. This will help organizations interoperate Microsoft applications with other SIP-based collaborative applications as they develop their unified-communications strategy.
The 4134 is finally a tangible product resulting of the Microsoft/Nortel Innovative Communications Alliance, and it lessens the concern many enterprises face about whether to mix OCS and SIP applications.
Moving forward, Nortel should add other functions, including network optimization, collaborative applications, and wide-area file services, that are software-key enabled. Such a multifaceted piece of hardware, coupled with Microsoft Mediation technology, would further differentiate Nortel from other vendors.
