Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 10, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
TANDBERG, one of the leading manufacturers of products for visual communication, today introduces its new Video Communication Server – a network unit for a wide range of applications. Thus the product includes comprehensive control for video calls and is equipped with TANDBERG’s Firewall Traversal, a technology for bridging the firewall. As the first product on the market, the Video Communication Server supports Firewall Traversal for both the H.323 protocol and the SIP standard (Session Initiation Protocol). The Video Communication Server is also supplied with FindMe™, a novel program for call forwarding that, according to the manufacturer, considerably improves the accessibility of employees.
The demands on employee mobility are very high nowadays. They are therefore hardly still reachable under a single telephone number. Landline and cell-phone numbers as well as dial-in numbers for setting up video conferences therefore often have to be called one after another in a time-consuming process until the desired conversation partner answers at the other end of the line. With FindMe™, all users of a network can now determine when and where incoming calls are forwarded. Missed calls thus belong to the past. FindMe™ also offers a major advantage for the caller: They now need to dial only a single number to reach their conversation partner by telephone or also by video conference – or put another way: They call the person and not the end device.
While H.323 represents the proven standard protocol for the transmission of audio and video signals over a computer network, the increasingly popular SIP standard makes it possible to fully exploit not only current but also future generations of technology. SIP thus provides the basis on which VoIP systems from organisations and service providers can be integrated into an infrastructure. In doing so, it supports mobile applications such as TANDBERG Movi and telepresence systems just as it does long-established functions, for example call forwarding, holding calls and brokering. Especially for communication by video, which is being used increasingly because of its integrative and relationship-promoting component, the new technology is decisive. “In view of the increasing number of different means of communication, the TANDBERG Video Communication Server supports companies in ensuring that employees can be reached quickly and independently of location,” says Thomas Nicolaus, Managing Director of TANDBERG Central Europe. “We connect people – not communication devices.”
In addition to FindMe™, the TANDBERG Video Communication Server contains the TANDBERG Control and Expressway applications, which make connection control and the devices for bridging the firewall compatible with the SIP standard. TANDBERG enables seamless and natural communication in which technical protocol standards no longer play a role for the user. The Video Communication Server ensures transparent communication between SIPand
H.323 units such as endpoints, Management Tools and the IT infrastructure. Investments already made in H.323 devices can be significantly upgraded with simple integration into the SIP standard. TANDBERG is accepting orders for the Video Communication Server with immediate effect. Delivery will take place at the beginning of September.
Further Links:
- Tandberg
