Paul and I spent a week in Lake Oswego at a VoIP training for Cisco (presented by Ascolta).
Our instructor, Skip, took us through the multi-faceted Cisco VoIP system that included labs designed to “get our hands dirty” and really see the system in action.
Some of the OUS schools (the smaller ones) are looking at the possibility of a central core of VoIP hosted at OSU (by iNOC), with redundant paths at each campus in case of a fiber cut or other loss of service.
The technology has really come a long way. Cisco’s offering was robust and seemed complete. On the other hand, I know almost nothing about telephony – I was really there for exposure … which I got 🙂
I’m excited to see where this technology goes during the next 10 years. As voice and data network converge, Telcom is becoming unified. It’s a interesting change that’s putting unique pressure on one of the few industries that’s still thriving in “the recession”.