Nortel's SIP Splash: Just a Ripple?

We were impressed with the length of this list and Nortel's strong support of SIP, so we asked the company about third-party vendor support and interoperability testing. Unfortunately, Nortel has little data to offer. Apparently, SIP support is limited mostly to the Nortel product line. Therefore, since SIP was designed to make VoIP (voice over IP) products from multiple vendors work together, Nortel's big SIP noise is reduced to a whisper, at least in the near term.

IT and networking professionals should be wary of any standards announcement that involves only one vendor. Standards compliance is great for PR, but the real benefits can come only from true multivendor interoperability. Without it, all you've got is the sound of one hand clapping.