Anticipating further growth in demand for voice over IP infrastructure in corporate environments, Ottawa’s Nuvo Network Management Inc. last month launched a new offering for remote management services for converged voice and data networks.
The rNMX 7000 series manages networks for companies deploying convergence technologies so they can simultaneously transport voice, data and video over the network.
“What this builds on is some key offerings we have in the areas of VLAN management, where we’re managing to the port level on a Cisco switch,” said Doug Carwardine, vice-president of business development for Nuvo. “And whether or not you have a data computer, for example, or whether it’s a telephone, we’re now able to manage both devices.”
He said companies are going to need to be able to manage both voice and data from their network as voice over IP (VoIP) technologies become more widely used in the corporate environment.
“Imagine your traditional phone that we’re talking on today and how available that is. You pick up the handset and you get dial tone, and very rarely is it never there,” Carwardine said. “Well, data networks are now becoming so mission-critical that they have to be available at least, if not more, than a phone network is today. In order for that to occur, you have to have proactive management of that data network, and that’s where we come in.”
Nuvo constructed its rNMX 7000 series to support Cisco Systems Inc.’s AVVID (Architecture for Voice, Video and Integrated Data) technology, and while 90 per cent of Nuvo’s customers are on Cisco network architecture, Nuvo also works with other SNMP vendors to support their technologies. According to Carwardine, the rNMX 7000 series is best suited to Fortune 1000 companies and governments that are implementing VoIP and VLAN infrastructures, but it is also suitable for any companies working with Cisco’s AVVID.
According to Dan McLean, research manager, network support and integration, for International Data Corp. (IDC) in Toronto, the remote management services market is one of the most frequently purchased and outsourced services. And while Nuvo is a smaller player in the market, they have had good success and made many impressive partnerships, such as the one with Cisco, he said.
“[The rNMX 7000 series] is a service where they’re looking to manage packetized voice-data networks. I think it’s interesting from the sense that I don’t think that there are too many companies that are doing this,” McLean said. “The larger ones tend to do it. The larger network management service providers tend to offer voice-data management services, but I think what’s interesting about this is the partnership that they have with Cisco in terms of bringing out this service.”
McLean predicts more companies will be entering the remote management services market in the future, especially as companies make greater and greater investments in packetized voice and data in their LANs.
“There’s some maturity in the market around the adoption of packetized voice-data, and we see some real significant spending over the next two or three years on a lot of this stuff, so I think it’s going to make a managed service like the one that Nuvo’s offering pretty important and pretty compelling for a lot of people,” McLean said.
The rNMX 7000 series is available now through Nuvo’s direct sales force or through the company’s channel partners. The rNMX 7000’s list price is $18 per port per month, but discounts are available based on quantity.
For more information about Nuvo, visit www.nuvo.com
