Networking This Week: VoIP Stays Hot

The hottest networking technology stayed hot this week, as VoIP headlines continue to dominate the networking universe.

Much of the news concerns potential VoIP security threats. VoIP Security Alliance Chairman David Endler warned that VoIP is literally a life-and-death issue, because hackers may target vital services. The bottom line, he says is that "the worst case scenarios involve life and death implications when you look at emergency services call centers" like 911, police and fire departments.

There are other threats, as well, such as consumers not being able to call emergency services, and general reliability problems.

Despite these potential problems, enterprises are increasingly turning to at VoIP, with companies such as Boeing, Ford, and Merrill Lynch either already deploying it, or in the process of deploying it. Big companies are looking to managed VoIP as well, as a survey found out that one-third of large enterprises plans on deploying managed VoIP.

In other VoIP news, it appears that Vonage, the current leader in consumer VoIP may not stay in first place forever. With cable TV, traditional phone companies, and AOL rolling out VoIP services, Vonage dominance may soon become a thing of the past, say industry analysts. Vonage is particularly vulnerable because cable and telephone companies can offer "triple-play services" of TV, Internet access, and telephony. Says Zeus Kerravala, an analyst at the Yankee Group research firm, "For a consumer getting a single bill and getting big discounts, that's a pretty compelling value proposition."You may be surprised that there was, in fact, other networking-related news this week. Cisco targeted the utility computing market with a deal to acquire Topspin Communications for $250 million in cash and options.

Lucent Technologies, meanwhile, won contracts totaling $36.3 million to perform communications infrastructure upgrades at U.S. Army installations in North America and Europe.

There's more, as well, and much more coming up. To keep up with the latest, check out Networking Pipeline's News section.

Links in This Story

VoIP Security Chief Warns of "Life And Death" Security Threats Security, Privacy, Reliability Among Risks Of VoIP

Enterprise Users Already Talking VoIP

One-Third Of Large Enterprises Favor Managed VoIP: Study

Vonage Seen As Vulnerable To VoIP Competitors

AOL Launches Internet Phone Service In Select Markets Cisco Targets Utility Computing With Topspin Acquisition

contracts Lucent Wins $36 Million To Upgrade U.S. Army Networks In U.S., Europe