Playing golf only with one leg. This is really inspirational!

Golf and the Balance – What an inspiration! See the Youtube below.

As Frank Dunn works away at trying to prove his innocence for wrongful dismissal and illegal activities at Nortel I wonder whether he might have had a better chance getting aid form the government than Mike Z the American CEO. It is my understanding that Frank Dunn is close to getting his day in court and that he has been doing most of the legal work himself trying to save on costs. Not too many have empathy for his situation, I do. If he took accruals for losses and then brought those same accruals back on the books as profits that is wrong. I believe there is more to this than we know. I have been in his company on more than one occasion and I find it extremely difficult to question his integrity. We should all know soon.

Mitel

Mitel ranked the number two software provider in the 2011 Branham300
Mitel announced it has been ranked the number two software provider for Canadian ICT Companies in the 2011 Edition of the Branham300, a listing of Canada’s ICT industry leaders, as ranked by revenues. Mitel’s transition from a hardware company to a software solutions provider was solidified when the company unveiled the Mitel Freedom architecture in 2010. The Mitel Freedom architecture is a single, cloud-ready software stream that delivers an array of communications options for businesses looking to integrate a voice solution into best-in-class networks and applications. The Branham300 is currently operating in its 18th year. The top 300 publicly-traded and privately-held Canadian companies are included in multiple categories, including the top 250 Canadian ICT companies and several sub lists such as Top Software Providers.

Interesting to see that Google has put in a stalking horse bid for Nortel patents. Like any liquidation sale the buyer is looking to purchase this asset at bargain basement prices. One wonders why this Canadian Icon was left in this precarious position considering how governments bailed out both the auto and banking industries. Was it because of 1) accounting  problems embarrassing the Canadian Government 2) Manufacturing was mostly off shore 3) Was run by an American 4) Beyond help I would be interested in people’s comments

“What the Heck is a SIP Trunk?” I asked this question on the SIP and Serve blog, in January of 2009. Two years later, I feel the need to revisit the topic and ask “Is SIP Trunking still the same, or has it changed as I predicted it would?”
SIP Trunking has become the prevailing standard for low cost, multi-presence communications applications. However, in 2009, I kept it simple:
A SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) Trunk is a connection between two network elements, a PBX and a service provider.
Although a SIP Trunk can be viewed as a phone line delivered over an IP trunk connection to a provider network using Ethernet, broadband, copper, etc., voice is not the only thing the SIP signaling protocol can handle. It manages not only voice but also data packets, enabling everything from voice and video, to chat, email, presence, collaboration, dynamic concurrent call sessions, conferencing, contact center management and business continuity.
Interestingly, a fellow member of the IP ecosystem recently lamented the use of the term SIP Trunk, decrying its lack of value, because in his opinion the term fails to provide an understandable and identifiable product for the customer. Engineers and IT experts posted replies defending SIP as a specific IETF-defined signaling protocol, and a SIP Trunk as an integral part of the delivery of this protocol through a network.
The experts are precisely correct, of course, but the gentleman does have a point; the term SIP Trunk means little to individuals looking to implement communication solutions into their businesses. End-users are justifiably confused. The matter is further complicated by individual service providers. When each provider endeavors to explain SIP to their customers, they invariably try to brand the term in order to reflect their own specific set of service offerings. The number and kind of definitions that result can easily contradict and confuse the meaning.
The Need for a New Definition
The IP Industry is still maturing. Industry shapers acknowledge the need for new definitions and increased understanding of SIP as it continues to evolve, and call for collaboration to create strategies for SIPs growing ecosystem.
In January, the SIP Forum announced that it was launching SIPNOC (the SIP Network Operators Conference) a new annual conference for the worldwide service provider community. In the press release, SIPNOC Forum Chairman Richard Shockley explained the purpose of the new conference, “SIPNOC will provide the first true venue for SIP operators, and will build on the fact that SIP has become the protocol of choice for carrier VoIP transport and interconnection, universally deployed by enterprises and service providers worldwide.” Among other things, the event will examine a myriad of SIP-related topics such as the use of SIP in smart grid installations, FoIP (Fax over IP), video and user-agent configuration.
Forces for Change
• VoIP – A factor driving the penetration of VoIP/SIP Trunking continues to be the adoption rate of VoIP by residential users. Residential bundled packages of cable and calling services enable business owners to experience the cost savings and usage of VoIP in a relatively safe setting, their homes. After a time, it becomes a matter of curiosity and trust to leverage the technology within their business environment. A recent report by the FCC indicates that only 5% of business access lines are VoIP while 28% of residential access lines utilize VoIP for placing calls. This disparity relates to the mission critical nature of business communications and to some extent broadband access. As businesses evaluate their traditional acceptance of costly PRIs for access, they will continue to switch to IP facilities for originating and terminating services. (Please note this discussion does not include VoIP technology used for internal calling between extensions or office locations.) Aggregated, the adoption of VoIP, in any form, has penetrated in excess of 50% of U.S. businesses and is expected to reach 79% by 2013 (In-Stat).

• Mobility – Multiple applications such as Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC), SIP enabled smart phones and mobile devices, and Unified Communications are increasing the demand for SIP in the world of wireless. FMC is a critical productivity tool to support the mobile worker. FMC with VoIP/SIP can support the transition of a call from a desk IP Phone to a wireless device – without loss of the call. SIP enabled smart phones, softphones, tablets and other mobile devices can reduce the cost of communications by using the Internet for transport rather than the cellular networks. For example: mobile device users that employ applications like Skype for calling are doing just that.

• Business Continuity – Often discussed in the context of SIP, business continuity offers the needed level of reliability for businesses to incorporate state of the art applications into their IT infrastructure. Video, Video Conferencing, telepresence and other streaming applications can become mission critical very quickly as usage increases. SIP allows for the end-user to easily design networks with multiple service providers, and multiple application servers, that deliver the stability and responsiveness required to ensure there are no interruptions to these business applications in case of a failure. The use of SIP in support of an application increases its survivability and availability. IP communication applications have been used as the alternative communication method when traditional networks have failed or been blocked.
Re-defining SIP Trunking
SIP is transforming how businesses communicate and collaborate. There is much to learn as businesses transition to and expand their use of SIP. Understanding the network implications of a real-time session management protocol in the environment of packet switching is important. Session management, bandwidth allocation, packet prioritization, security and interoperability dominate today’s discussion of SIP. However, as the protocol evolves and is updated to support additional applications like FoIP, there will continue to be a blurring of the lines between the protocol and the applications it supports.
SIP is changing the way communications is defined. It is no longer simply a device to device concept. It is instead user to user without application or geographical limitations. Therefore, my new definition is:
SIP is a protocol supporting a user to user communications paradigm that utilizes any device, any application, anywhere, anytime.
Wow! And that seems to describe Unified Communications!

Phone System: Migrate Your BCM with the Avaya IP Office release 7.0 and save the cost of new phones
March 17, 2011 // Avaya, Channels: Dealers, Distributors, Resellers & VARs, Industry News, Migration, Nortel, Products & Services
With Avaya IP Office release 7.0, Nortel BCM customers can now migrate their phone system into Avaya’s award-winning SME solution ‘IP Office’, re-using their Nortel handsets which their users know and love. As handsets make up the majority of new phone system cost, this is an unprecedented opportunity for Nortel BCM and Meridian customers to move their telecommunications forward and protect their Nortel investment with a platform that has a clear path forward. Avaya have invested millions with IP Office release 7 to ensure that Nortel BCM customers now have the best possible migration path and future for their aging BCM phone system.
Avaya IP Office 7 automatically configures BCM handsets when connected, and supports the majority of call handling features including: speed-dial, call parking, group pickup, paging, transfer, ring again, do not disturb, conferencing and more. Avaya IP Office is a multi-site phone system, which lets customers share resources between offices with up to 32 locations and 1000 users. If one office is closed, calls can automatically be diverted to the office that is open, and callers won’t even notice. Employees can reach each other with just a 3-digit extension, whether they are across the hall or across the county.
Avaya IP Office 7 includes a unique “Nortel Data Migration Tool” which allows extraction, conversion and transfer of voicemail, mailbox content, voicemail greetings and associated configuration data. The tool brings a high-value to the end-customer: users will keep their voicemail content and personal greetings. The IP Office Phone System supports Caller ID and can link to a customer database/CRM solution such as salesforce.com, SAP and most other CRMs. When a customer calls, the phone system can automatically bring up a screen pop of information about the caller.
Avaya IP Office has great mobility features for mobile workers on the road. Avaya’s “One Number” feature eliminates the problem of multiple phone numbers for individuals by managing all their different numbers through the office phone system. Employees only need to give out one number (ie the office number) and Avaya IP Office sends those calls to the number the employee designates – anytime and to any device. Businesses using Nortel BCM systems may spend hundreds or thousands of pounds on third-party conference call services. Avaya IP Office has two inbuilt conference bridges which eliminate outside charges for conference calls, another key business reason for a Nortel to Avaya upgrade. Conference calls can be pass worded, and arranged at a moment’s notice.
Please keep in mind that Teldisco Inc. can provide cost effective solutions to your existing telephone system until the time comes to make those changes.
IP Office 7 is intended for migrations from BCM50, BCM200, BCM400 and BCM450 systems using the following handsets: T7000, T7100, T7208, T7316, T7316e, T7406e, 4135, 4145, 4145EX, 7420, 1120e, 1140e, 1220 & 1230. Also supported on IP Office 7: Meridian Norstar 824, Meridian Norstar 824, Meridian Norstar Modular 032, Meridian Compact Plus, Meridian Compact and the Norstar M7000, M7100, M7208, M7310 & M7324 phones