Convergence - put it back on the agenda

If we told you voice and data convergence has arrived you may well say you've heard that before. Has there been a subject - and a word, used in its various senses - that has been so over-used and over-hyped in recent years?

But this is a good time to once again consider the subject - if you aren't already. The wider downturn and dot-com bust of the last two years have overshadowed the steady improvement in the technologies and integration that are necessary for convergence in the workplace.

Virtual private networks (VPNs) and even IP VPNs are now widely used and understood, the next version of Internet Protocol (IPv6) is around the corner, and vendors and their partners who traditionally concentrated on either voice telephony or data networking are genuinely spanning both sides of the equation now.

So this is where we plug a special report launched today on this subject, called Converged Communications, covering those very subjects. You'll be able to find it on an ongoing basis at http://www.silicon.com/convergence. So far, so mercenary.

But there are wider issues here that warrant this focus. Convergence will increasingly play a part in all organisations' communications strategies but there are plenty of barriers. Our vision of the converged office of the near future is idealistic - important because it sets a standard for what should be down the line - but idealistic nonetheless.

Then there are concerns about voice over wide area packet switched, as opposed to circuit-switched, networks - something Peter Cochrane will address in his next 'Uncommon Sense' column tomorrow. Other niggling doubts persist about the quality of service most equipment and other providers can offer for convergence, expressed by our sceptic-in-chief Martin Brampton in a 'Devil's Advocate' column next Tuesday.

In short, we're not saying the way forward will be easy. But while the fully converged life, featuring multiple, intelligent 'endpoint' devices and networks isn't that close, an office or department that makes use of the right technology, both fixed and wireless, can reap the benefits of convergence.

We hear about companies experimenting with handsets or headsets that use a private wireless LAN to run voice and of course the stock call centre and help desk CTI applications. Network managers are learning rapidly how to manage converged networks. Progress has been made.

Isn't it time you took a look at convergence again?

silicon.com's Converged Communications special report will run over the next six weeks. Keep up to date with the latest news and analysis on the subject at http://www.silicon.com/convergence.