Cisco talks up voice strategy

Cisco has outlined its plans for the Voice over IP (VoIP) market, emphasising the significance of enterprise application development beyond traditional telephone services.

The networking firm is working on a development suite, called the E-Service Application Engine, for programmers to create customised XML applications. Revenue for IP telephony equipment is projected to exceed $3.2bn by 2005.

Cisco said that unified messaging, voice, recognition, high-quality wideband voice and 'find me' services, that allow people to direct calls to their mobile and home phones, would be key applications.

The firm believes that overall increases in bandwidth, new wireless connectivity standards that include third-generation, and an increased demand for intelligent networks, will drive the market for VoIP dramatically.

Mike Volpi, chief strategy officer at Cisco, explained that IP is the bedrock of the internet providing the foundation necessary for companies to become technological innovators.

He said that today's volatile market fosters the conditions for tornado markets, which are characterised by rapid industry changes that are difficult to predict and challenging to navigate.

"Markets such as enterprise VoIP are showing early signs of the tornado stage," he said. "As innovative new services spring up around these technologies, profits are increasing, new applications are proliferating and independent delivery channels are being developed."

Internet-based telephone equipment is a cheaper alternative to the traditional systems that businesses use, he added, explaining that growth will be driven by new features such as unified messaging, which offers the ability to check voice mail, email and faxes from a PC, phone or other device.

Alistair Woodman, marketing director of Cisco's service provider unit, said the company is concentrating on high-end applications that would differentiate IP-based telephony from traditional telephone services.