LAS VEGAS and SAN JOSE, Calif., May 8, 2000 - Furthering its leadership in IP telephony, Cisco Systems, Inc., today announced the extension of its Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data (Cisco AVVID) to enterprise branch offices (EBOs) and mid-sized companies. The Cisco Integrated Communications System (ICS) 7750 is an advanced IP telephony system that allows EBOs and mid-sized companies to leverage converged e-business applications to outpace the competition in the Internet economy.
Cisco AVVID is an open, distributed and scalable architecture designed to reduce network complexity, enable businesses to take advantage of New World applications and reduce costs by simplifying operations in the back office. Cisco ICS 7750 brings the power of AVVID to EBOs and mid-sized businesses by combining the key elements required to build a complete IP telephony system, including data and voice networking, call processing and New World applications within a single converged solution. The ICS 7750 is designed for rapid deployment and can be seamlessly managed as an extension of the campus network. Because it is built on the Cisco AVVID standards-based open architecture, the ICS 7750 is the ideal platform for IP telephony applications that will help companies take their business to the next level.
As customers begin to conduct more business over the Web, their expectations for online customer service increase. The ICS 7750 equips businesses to exceed these demands and transform branch office environments into dynamic, responsive, people friendly, e-businesses through smart New World applications such as interactive Web sites that integrate data, voice and video enabling real-time communication via the Internet.
"My co-workers rely on the Web to conduct business. In order to respond to their requirements, we are implementing Cisco AVVID IP telephony solutions throughout the company," said Marc Kessman, vice president of technology at Walker Digital. "The ICS 7750 offers us an integrated platform to deploy advanced e-business applications, which allow us to immediately adapt to their needs and provide the highest levels of service. Due to the fact that the ICS 7750 is compatible with the existing IP telephony system in our headquarters, our branch office employees are now able to function as if they are in the main office. This allows us to present a consistent presence regardless of our staff's location."
By leveraging a company's existing IP infrastructure, the Cisco ICS 7750 provides remote employees the same seamless access to voice systems that they already enjoy with data resources. This allows corporations to project a united front to customers, suppliers and employees.
"The Cisco ICS 7750 is designed to help businesses respond to customer needs and stay ahead of the e-business curve," said Paulette Altmaier, vice president and general manager of the Remote Internetworking business unit at Cisco Systems. "The IP telephony system enables advanced applications that allow businesses to intelligently communicate with clients through the contact medium of their choice, such as the Internet or the PSTN [Public Switched Telephone Network]. This sophisticated relationship management capability allows businesses to attract and retain customers by delivering personalized service."
Integrated IP Telephony Solution
The Cisco ICS 7750 is a complete IP telephony solution that enables EBOs and midmarket companies to rapidly deploy New World applications such as unified messaging, data/voice collaboration, and video streaming. The system incorporates the key elements needed to deliver converged data, voice and video - multiservice router/voice gateways based on the industry-proven Cisco IOS technology, application servers running core voice applications, call processing software, integrated Web-based system management, and a data switching interface for seamless connectivity to recommended Cisco Catalyst QoS enabled switches.
"By combining the essential elements of an IP telephony system, call processing, core voice applications, routing and a switching interface, on a single platform Cisco is simplifying the adoption of IP telephony business applications," said Michael Speyer, director, Yankee Group. "The modular design of the Cisco ICS 7750 gives businesses the flexibility to choose the capabilities they need now while allowing them to add capacity, redundancy, new functionality and e-business applications as their needs change."
Flexibility
The ICS 7750 is a chassis-based system and has six universal slots, allowing businesses to customize the system based on current needs. The design provides the flexibility to connect to a variety of WAN links, voice trunks, common analog devices (such as fax machines), personal computers, file servers and IP phones, allowing businesses to make changes or add resources as necessary. In addition, the ICS 7750 can be deployed with any recommended QoS enabled Cisco Catalyst switch giving customers the flexibility to choose the solution that best meets their needs. The system's modular design allows businesses to configure the system for maximum availability by incorporating redundant WAN interfaces, call processing cards and power supplies.
Cisco initially will offer two types of universal slot cards in the ICS 7750 - the Multiservice Route Processor (MRP) and the System Processing Engine (SPE). The MRP router/voice gateway card has two modular interface slots that support voice interface cards and WAN interface cards. The SPE is an embedded application server that supports call processing and applications.
Typical customer configurations for the ICS 7750 are expected to be up to 150 users while still allowing for expansion as businesses grow. In addition, the inherent scalability of the AVVID architecture allows for further growth.
Integrated System Management
The ICS System Manager is a Web-based management application developed expressly for the Cisco ICS 7750. It allows users to install, configure and manage system components through a single graphical interface. This can be done locally or remotely over the Internet - a critical advantage for EBO sites that may not have onsite technical resources. Additionally, the ICS 7750 supports all SNMP-based management tools such as CiscoWorks2000.
Standards-Based System
As IP telephony becomes a mainstay of successful businesses, the need for an assortment of applications that serve various business needs will intensify. To ensure smooth application integration and encourage third-party vendors to develop new applications as part of the Cisco AVVID architecture, the Cisco ICS 7750 will support API standards such as TAPI/JTAPI and will continue to support emerging standards that foster application integration. Cisco is working to develop an ecosystem of third-party application developers to provide customers a wide range of applications to serve their business needs.
The ICS 7750 is an ideal solution for new offices. For established environments wanting to benefit from IP telephony applications, the system can extend existing system functionality by integrating it into current infrastructure including LAN, WAN, PBX and voice-mail systems.
Pricing and Availability
The Cisco ICS 7750 will be available in third quarter of the calendar year 2000. Pricing on a fully configured system, including data/voice functionality and a Cisco IP Phone, starts at $765 per user.
