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RIM's Voice Over Wi-Fi Enforces Company Policies
Research In Motion is preparing BlackBerry MVS 5 for release this year to share work phone numbers between a desk phone and a BlackBerry. Using Cisco technology, BlackBerry MVS 5 routes calls through a PBX for security, filtering and lower fees. RIM will also allow telecom companies to offer BlackBerry MVS 5 as part of their corporate service.
Research In Motion said Monday that the company is enhancing its voice over Wi-Fi calling platform to enable enterprise workers to share a work phone number between a desk phone and a BlackBerry smartphone when placing and receiving business calls. Called BlackBerry Mobile Voice System 5 (MVS 5), the technology is designed to work in tandem with Cisco Systems' unified communications manager and wireless systems at home, in the office, or available at public hot spots.Slated for introduction later this year, BlackBerry MVS 5 will help maintain company policies by routing calls through the corporate private branch exchange (PBX), which also can help to cut down on long-distance charges and international roaming fees, RIM said. The incoming calls ring simultaneously on the employee's desk phone and BlackBerry smartphone.
Although not the first vendor to support voice over Wi-Fi, RIM's announcement is important because it has long been the "gold standard" in the enterprise, noted Lisa Pierce, an independent wireless analyst at the Strategic Networks Group. "Many IT departments have been requesting this type of capability, so it's no surprise that vendors are responding," Pierce said.
IT Controls
BlackBerry MVS 5 will sport advanced IT features for providing controlled, managed and secure use of BlackBerry smartphones over corporate telephone systems. Among other things, the platform will enable IT administrators to control the specific Wi-Fi networks that employees will be able to access, and include incoming call filters that can be set to allow or block telephone numbers placed on a company's customized caller list.
Also on tap are the requisite network preference settings for prioritizing the use of Wi-Fi or cellular for placing phone calls. Additionally, MVS 5 will incorporate authentication technology to ensure that only authorized BlackBerry smartphones have access to the corporate telephone system .
Despite the advantages that the technology has to offer, analysts note that there are also some drawbacks, including the limited installed base in terms of Wi-Fi networks that are deployed and architected for voice. Moreover, the economics of assuring WLAN performance versus other alternatives to reach mobile employees on site must be considered, Pierce noted.
"If there are a large number of BlackBerry users on-site, then the RIM/Cisco approach could provide greater ROI," Pierce said. "But if there are a comparatively small number of users, the carrier approach could provide better economic returns."
A Mix Of New And Old
There are aspects to RIM's MVS 5 announcement that are new, but much of the underlying technology has been available in various guises within Europe for the past several years via startup vendors and PBX solution providers, noted IDC Research Director Nicholas McQuire.
"On the device side, Nokia has been working with Cisco for some time on similar technology for its high-end business devices, for example," McQuire said. "In fact, the underlying platform of RIM's MVS is based on an acquisition made by RIM called Ascendent Systems in the U.S. several years ago."
However, some of the native user interface features on BlackBerry handsets are new, McQuire noted. What's more, RIM has added a new interoperability platform to the mix that will give telecommunications companies the opportunity to offer MVS 5 as part of their corporate phone-system offerings.
"They have done well to add some incremental value to this emerging requirement for businesses," McQuire said. "For the most part, however, the underlying least-cost routing aspects have been around for several years with limited success so far in the enterprise market."
McQuire also noted that MVS is a RIM-only solution that will require additional server hardware to be deployed by the enterprise. "In Europe, there is a greater mix of other devices within businesses, which makes the decision of going 'RIM-only' for this solution a bit trickier for CIOs," McQuire said.