Over the past two to three years IP telephony deployments and convergence projects have substantially increased. IP networks, with the emergence of new flavors in application software, can provide enhanced network robustness as well as better network security. IP solutions offer tremendous scalability to solve network needs, which translates into cost savings and more efficient user accountability. The inherent qualities of an IP environment afford options to better meet disaster recovery needs and the flexibility to network multiple offices. IP becomes the essential tool for greater network optimization.

The telecom trend towards IP environments can be directly linked to the financial and technological commitments of the large telecom manufacturers like Cisco, Avaya, Nortel and ShoreTel. IP telephony is no longer considered a gimmick, or unproven technology, but instead, is an evolving shift in paradigm, a standard, just as the mainframe and dumb terminal shifted to server and PC workstations.

Despite the advantages, equities, fixed income and exchange-based trading floors remain slow adopters of IP telephony. Ironically, many of their corporate parents have committed large-scale back office or corporate headquarters communications systems to an IP-based solution. These transaction and information intensive market segments are ideal environments for IP telephony systems and the inherent benefits and advantages offered by convergence.

Specifically, trader voice functionality such as dial tone, speed dialing, private lines, open conference and hoot and holler circuits can all be addressed by one IP-based system. The complete integration of back-office administrative staff onto a system that is also capable of managing the complex turret environment helps reduce IT/telecommunications overhead, all the while increasing capabilities available to the support staff in the trading floor environment. A true IP environment eliminates the need for multiple telephone/PBX and trader voice turret systems. The consolidation of features, functions and services onto one integrated IP platform makes good business sense and is more cost effective than ever. Such deployments offer these advantages:

• The ability to maximize assets by combining the PBX and turret into one, best of breed, platform.

• The creation of a scalable and flexible infrastructure capable of supporting five to 5,000 users whether they are in the home office or working from remote locations around the globe.

• The availability of an integrated and simplified administrative interface that allows for in-house, multi-site management and control of all IP related hardware, software and infrastructure. This results in more efficient use of IT time and effort.

• Standards-based IP systems provide access to more technical personnel and resources that support the system, lowering the overall total cost of ownership. There is no longer the need for a proprietary system that requires proprietary technical expertise that is usually expensive and difficult to obtain.

• The flexibility to move users, optimize bandwidth, add components and functions without "forklift" upgrades. In fact, a roadmap to migrate from TDM to IP allows users to maximize their current resources and grow into an IP environment in a time frame that makes sense in their unique environment.

• The ability to take full advantage of the accessibility that IP allows in the large variety of device and connectivity options. Users can use USB handsets, soft phones/turrets on the PC and even PDA devices that enable full access to all speed dial numbers, direct lines and directory services.

• The move towards standardization of IP-based telephony platforms will ultimately mean longevity, scalability and extended investment protection for new system acquisition. Corporations will have more time to fully realize their systems potential without fear of obsolescence and premature replacement.

• Finally, disaster recovery planning options are dramatically expanded without the dramatic expense. The tools exist to mirror the active trading environment with a fully functional, full-featured system providing users with either soft or hard turret devices that deliver all of their speed dials, private wires and contacts at remote sites.

To further illustrate the benefits of IP telephony, first consider today's common trading floor environment. Two separate and unique systems are required to meet the telephony needs of all users. A PBX is required to provide dial tone and other services to administrative and back office personnel while a separate and complex turret system is required to support the needs of traders and brokers on the trading floor. Additionally, these systems need to be integrated with one another to distribute the dial tone, requiring the assistance of technicians with a unique, proprietary and expensive skill set. Once both systems are up and working, the day-to-day operational requirements are still costly and complex. Daily moves, adds and changes (MACs) must be tracked and executed, adding cost to the bottom line in both administrative support and technical expertise.

In an IP environment the number of systems required to meet the needs of all users, whether they are on the trading floor, or in the back office, is reduced to one. This reduces the IT personnel overhead necessary to care for the systems while creating an environment in which the existing personnel have a greater understanding of the system. The administration of that system and the user endpoints can be managed via one common administrative interface from one location, regardless of how widespread the users are geographically.

The common administrative interface provided to IT personnel in an IP environment is a powerful tool. The MACs, that are so costly in today's environment, become simple and efficient. A unique user profile is created, which includes phone numbers, client contact information lists, private wires and speed dials, and is used to make each endpoint portable and secure. Office and seating locations become regionally non-specific and open seat assignment becomes the norm. Additionally, when a user steps away from his or her desk, it is a simple task to have all or select calls, including direct wires, speed dials and contact lists appear on multiple desks or even at an administrative support person's desk via a soft turret loaded on a PC, laptop or PDA. If a user needs to spend three weeks in a remote office, the user's profile can be moved to the new location providing an exact replica of their trading desk environment without weeks to provision private lines or days in reprogramming systems.

Lastly, IP is an ideal solution for addressing disaster recovery planning and execution. End users will be able to optimize existing WAN infrastructures and maximize the strategic deployment of systems across the network. Environments ranging from five to 5,000 users can be supported on a single, distributed platform that can be mirrored at multiple sites providing the ultimate in disaster recovery implementation and assurance.

If you haven't had the opportunity to explore all the possibilities that IP affords, it is a technology that continues to evolve, improve and mature, while offering unlimited potential and growth for the future needs of the competitive businesses on a global basis.

Steve Yost is Vice President of Marketing at American Telesis, Inc. Blackberry: 646-784-2926; email: syost@american-telesis.net; web: www.american-telesis.net.