Covergence Session Manager combines session border control with powerful routing, control, management, security and scaling capability
MAYNARD, Mass., February 4, 2008 – Covergence®, the leading provider of next-generation Session Border Controller solutions, today announced that Nianet, a leading provider of communications services in Denmark, has selected Covergence Session Manager (CSM). CSM, a super set of traditional Session Border Controllers (SBCs), is designed specifically to address the challenges of the most vulnerable region of IP networks – the access edge. Nianet is deploying the CSM on IBM BladeCenter to consolidate applications onto fewer platforms, simplifying their IT infrastructures and reducing deployment costs. Nianet also utilised the IBM BladeCenter solution for its deployment of the BroadSoft VoIP services platform.
As more enterprises recognize the potential cost savings and productivity enhancements of VoIP and real-time services such as unified messaging, video and multimedia conferencing, demand for these services continues to grow. Also, with more businesses moving their primary phone lines to IP while still requiring a seamless Private Branch Exchange (PBX), demand for “toll quality” hosted connections is increasing as well. To address this demand, service providers like Nianet must be able to scale the access edge with absolute predictability. Covergence Session Manager (CSM) is the industry's first session management solution designed for the access edge and can now be embedded within industry-standard platforms such as IBM BladeCenter.
Located where user SIP traffic first enters the network, CSM terminates, secures, controls and manages large numbers of user connections efficiently and effectively. The access edge is more difficult to scale than the network core and the network-to-network peering boundary. For example, a subscriber edge system has to process registration traffic, secure subscriber connections and protect the internal network from intrusions, attacks and compromises. Recognizing the vulnerability of the edge and an increasing demand from customers for quality VoIP, hosted PBX services and other real-time applications, Nianet chose CSM to provide the comprehensive security and IBM BladeCenter-compatibility Nianet needs.
“We required a solution that was both compatible with our deployment platforms and capable of securing and scaling the access edge,” said Steen Rye Jeppesen, business development director, Nianet. “After evaluating several session border controllers, we chose Covergence Session Manager running on IBM BladeCenter because of its flexibility and architecture and because it enables us to deliver the highest quality VoIP and real-time services to our customers.”
“By taking advantage of open technologies and using Covergence Session Manager with IBM BladeCenter, Nianet is better able to create secure, reliable, high-quality solutions at lower cost and risk, ”said Scott Firth, director of telecommunications industry marketing, IBM Systems and Technology Group. “Working with Covergence and IBM, Nianet not only centralizes applications and network connections within a compact chassis, but it also allows them to extend secure, reliable VoIP and real-time services to its customers.”
“CSM is purpose-built to address the problems of the access edge and can be embedded within top industry-standard platforms, such as IBM BladeCenter,” said Bob O’Neil, president and CEO, Covergence. “With CSM, Nianet can scale the security, performance, quality and reliability of their hosted PBX service while utilizing the IBM BladeCenter for increased cost savings.”
CSM is designed to meet the needs of small to medium-sized businesses (SMB) and scales its offerings all the way up to the world’s largest service providers, with recently-announced support for the IBM BladeCenter. CSM also feeds critical performance and quality metrics to the management frameworks from IBM and others to provide operations teams with the complete visibility and span-of-control they need. All CSM models are available from Covergence today and can be purchased by contacting sales@covergence.com or (+1) 978.823.5200.
About IBM BladeCenter
IBM has the broadest portfolio of blade offerings in the industry, including:
· BladeCenter S for small firms and branch office, retail environments;
· BladeCenter E and BladeCenter H for enterprise data center deployments and;
· BladeCenter T and BladeCenter HT for robust, telecom central office deployments with NEBS3 / ETSI requirements.
Using a common architecture across the BladeCenter family allows clients to mix and match offerings to suit their specific needs, from enterprise to carrier deployments. For more information about IBM BladeCenter, please visit: ibm.com/bladecenter.
For more information on next-generation network solutions and products from IBM, visit: www.ibm.com/telecom/systems.
About Covergence
Covergence is the leader in scaling, securing and controlling VoIP and other real-time services. The award-winning Covergence Session Manager combines traditional session-border-control functionality with comprehensive security features and management tools. The Covergence Session Manager is purpose-built to securely and reliably connect users to VoIP and multi-media services while giving organizations the complete control and visibility they require.
About Nianet
Nianet a/s was established in May 2003 during the uptake of the Danish part of KPNQwest and a huge number of pipes In the Danish fiberlines.
Nianet are based on one of the markets most advanced backbone networks, which binds the Danish country together, with international access.
Besides fiber infrastructure, Nianet also introduced to the market an important Hosted PBX B2B player in 2007, under the brandname Fibertel a/s.
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