News

BEDFORD, MA. MARCH 26, 2012 – Acme Packet, the leader in session delivery networks, today announced the industry’s first UC vendor-neutral session management solutions with support for Microsoft Lync. The new solutions combine Microsoft Lync with legacy multivendor enterprise communications networks without compromising Microsoft Lync’s powerful enterprise voice features. This ensures full interoperability, simplified operations, reduced telecommunications costs and streamlined regulatory compliance.
“Acme Packet’s session management solutions provide a great option for combining Microsoft Lync with an existing IP telephony infrastructure and activating the full suite of Microsoft Lync voice communications capabilities,” said Kapil Sharma, Principal Group Program Manager, Lync Partner Engineering Team. “Enterprises can decouple their legacy communications infrastructure and use Acme Packet’s vendor-neutral solutions, enabling a smooth migration to a truly unified communications network featuring Microsoft Lync.”
Enterprises are often burdened with complex multivendor telephony networks, composed of multiple generations of PBXs that use unique protocols, separately configured dial plans and configured with each PBX operating independently. Consolidating this infrastructure onto a common IP trunking system and migrating it to modern unified communications capabilities can be complex, time consuming and expensive. Alternative session management solutions are not designed to optimize the advanced Microsoft Lync telephony features and can result in reduced functionality.
Acme Packet session management solutions support Microsoft Lync and enable seamless migration to the full suite of Microsoft unified communications applications while simplifying the legacy IP telephony infrastructure. Enterprises can simplify network operations, increase business agility and better control costs.
Key features of the Acme Packet solution include:

• Protocol normalization and interworking between H.323 and SIP protocols, which are built on 10 years of Acme Packet experience protecting investments in existing enterprise telephony infrastructure
• Centralized dial plan management tools that use Microsoft Lync’s flexible E.164 addressing capabilities while unifying disparate legacy enterprise dial plans.
• Highly scalable protocol and media encryption capabilities that help protect user privacy and confidentiality in the largest enterprise networks
• A session routing engine with an Active Directory interface applies centrally defined rules and user policies to help control costs, simplify administration and ensure quality of service
• Support for Microsoft Lync media bypass that optimizes bandwidth utilization
• Media interworking that resolves common incompatibilities, including DTMF and fax
• Call accounting log that captures and centrally stores complete call detail records, simplifying and reducing the cost of regulatory reporting and enabling cost recovery
• Industry-leading high availability features that protect the communications infrastructure against failures

“Microsoft Lync is rapidly gaining momentum as the unified communications solution of choice for all types of enterprises,” said Seamus Hourihan, senior vice president, corporate strategy, Acme Packet.  “Our session management solution puts IT managers in control of complex multivendor telephony networks and helps protect their investments.
The session management solutions are based on the Acme Packet Net-Net product family. They are available immediately and fully qualified by Microsoft under the Unified Communications Open Interoperability Program (UCOIP) to ensure interoperability with Microsoft Lync.