TechNO Expo

Awaiting Adoption

In 1999, TDM phone systems were the standard enterprise telephony. The big three vendors were Lucent, Nortel, and Siemens. There was a division between PBX and “key” systems—PBX for large, complex companies or applications and key systems for small to medium business. Phone systems and their associated voicemail systems were especially vulnerable to Y2K issues and so quite visible in the Y2K hysteria. As with most technology, companies inspected their phone systems before 2000, and, it is pretty safe to say, many of them were upgraded in 1999. Business was GREAT!

Then the technology bubble collapsed in 2000. Telecom vendors suffered along with the rest of the technology marketplace. However, telecom adoption encountered another obstacle. Cisco introduced its IP-based Call Manager product, and VOIP was being hyped as a groundbreaking technology. The classic architecture of enterprise voice systems (specifically TDM) was pronounced dead. “Why invest in dead-end technology!” and “VOIP is the only way to go!” were commonly heard statements.

In December 2001, Twin Cities Business asked “What are the factors that will drive the adoption of VOIP?” as part of its “What Business Thinks” feature. The results, when compared to the reality of 2008, are sometimes surprising. Of the 407 technology executives surveyed:

14%  were using VOIP

35%  said managers outside their departments understood what’s needed in a VOIP network

83%  said that worries about the technology would constrain a firm from adopting VOIP

78%  said a single-wiring infrastructure within the company was a compelling reason for shifting to VOIP.

Clearly, companies were hesitating when it came to VOIP adoption.