SIP Trunk - The first step towards Unified Communications

Unified Communications has been termed as the next big thing with respect to business collaboration. The market is growing and the future of UC and collaboration looks bright.

But first, let us find out what exactly is Unified Communications? Unified Communications enables employees to access voice, video and data effortlessly through a single interface irrespective of device or location. It helps boost employee productivity and collaboration, while lowering operational costs. Unified Communications is made possible by the use of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) technologies such as SIP Trunk which are designed to carry real-time communication (voice, video and instant messaging) over IP networks.

Now, let’s understand how SIP Trunk works.

Traditionally, telephone service was provided by the local phone company over a wire or a Trunk connecting the corporate PBX to PSTN (public switched telephone network). With the advent of VoIP though, voice communication over the Internet became possible using SIP. This further helped service providers to transmit thousands of voice sessions on a single SIP Trunk over the connection that is used for broadband Internet and data access. By combining voice and data on the same IP architecture, SIP Trunk provides a foundation for Unified Communications.

So how does SIP Trunk bring down costs? A single SIP Trunk can replace traditional fixed PRI/BRI phone lines. SIP Trunk is over an IP based transport network, usually a service provider’s Internet Protocol (IP) connection. While a traditional PSTN Trunk limits the number of calls to the number of channels available (usually 24 per Trunk), there is no such limit with SIP Trunk – as many as 1500 voice sessions can be carried over a single Trunk. The limit depends on bandwidth and not on the number of channels. Therefore, more calls can be accommodated by an increase in bandwidth (on demand) and you can do away with additional channels/Trunks as in traditional telephony.

SIP Trunk can be implemented by companies that have upgraded their infrastructure to an IP PBX that supports SIP. It is also very suitable for enterprises that operate multiple sites as it enables centralization of assets. Instead of buying a fixed number of dedicated lines to service the multiple locations (using traditional telephony), SIP Trunk allows companies to buy a certain amount of call capacity and use the same capacity localized on an as-needed basis. This allows them to manage call capacity across multiple locations and minimize idle capacity.

SIP Trunk comes with a whole host of benefits. It helps enterprises to consolidate and simplify their network architecture by supporting the transmission of voice and data and video using IP (Internet Protocol), which means a single SIP Trunk can replace many traditional Trunks.

SIP is an open standard that enables interoperability with other IP based systems and vendor equipment.

Thus, Unified Communications is all set to redefine what it means to collaborate, on both an internal and external basis. It will increase business efficiency and productivity, and enhance interaction with your key stakeholders. So, get ready to upgrade your organization!