Sword outlined seven areas where IMS standards still haven’t Systems integration and testing are two other areas that harmonized: will play key roles in the future of IMS deployment. “There’s 1. Handing of denial of service. a big role for system integrators,” says Sword. “There are a 2. Topology hiding. whole bunch of SIs in the enterprise space, but the domain

3. What are the common security elements between wireless knowledge is limited, no one manufacturer is going to be do-and wireline? Where does the SBC sit? ing a one-stop shop. The gap in the industry is the SI piece.

4. Overload protection, call gaping, call rate limiting (push to Not testing, not monitoring–its installation and deployment. talk). It’s going to be a deployment hurdle for IMS to get over with

5. Lawful intercept. pretty quickly.”

6. Access protocol interworking. IBM intends to be a major player in the telecommunications 7. Undefined, but being defined; transcoding when going from industry as IMS is implemented over the next several years. “We, wireline-to-wireless and wireline-to-wireline. like everyone else, see the telcos are seeking less costly methods and bring more opportunities to the business,” says Joe Ziskin,

“What we’ve deliberately tried to do is not to confirm or deny VP of strategy and growth initiatives, IBM Telecommunications any vendor implementation of IMS,” says Sword. “Customers Industry. “We see a real opportunity to bring value.” ask us ‘Can you please confirm this vendor versus that vendor’ Part of bringing value to carriers will be by providing solu-and we don’t do that… We speak to what architectures work to tions and systems integration services. IBM doesn’t intend to certain behaviors.” For example, some network implementation simply sell hardware and software, but to bring together multi-solutions work better in a cable-based architecture as opposed vendor solutions and combine them together with IBM’s exper-to a mobile one. tise in business processes. Ziskin says IBM will initially focus on

Sword says that carriers can be very exhaustive about plan- IMS service creation, integration within the applications plane, ning to deploy an IMS architecture, but the process normally and aiding carriers in service management. gets slowed down “when people actually have to do it.” One Big Blue has a lot of weight to bring to the table. IBM has a especially challenging area engineers encounter is interworking network of over 800 business partners working with the com-at all levels, from device interworking of two software switches pany to deliver next-gen telecom solutions and an integrated set working together up to interaction at the carrier level. of hardware and software components built around the compa-

Case studies play a key role in the presentation, based on ny’s eServer BladeCenter T and CarrierGrade Linux computing Empirix’ field experience in IMS carrier trials and implemen- platform. The company expects to make a series of announce-tations. “We’ve provided tips and tricks of what we’ve found ments highlighting their technology investments in next-gen-through teething problems with carriers and manufacturers,” eration telecommunications services. says Sword. Carriers can be very exhaustive on negative testing. “IBM has talked about the service provider delivery environ-

Participants have asked about what IMS features they need ment for a number of years,” says Ziskin, pointing out they’ve to focus on, ways on verifying interoperability, and current and advising carriers on standards and process change for several future headaches in IMS deployment. “We speak to what are the years. “With IMS, when you look at service creation, it allows more troublesome parts of network provisioning and network you to deploy the services over the infrastructure that exists planning,” says Sword. “[People want to know] three years and the multiple places it has to be deployed. Where IBM is from now, what are going to be the real pain points?” coming from, it’s more than education, but it’s also a transfor-

While not strictly waiving the flag of IMS, NexTone ( www.ma tion that will occur within the [business] processes. How nextone.com) plans to spend part of their latest US$35 million do you transform processes differently, how do you trans-venture round in building out an educational system to train and form the organization, how do you address the services in a certify over 10,000 engineers in using their real-time IP session different way?” management products. The company has run a pilot program As a part of IBM’s broader reach into the industry, it has in Europe that has trained over 1200 engineers and expects to announced six Telecommunications Solutions Labs (TSLs) formalize several different levels and types of certification. worldwide, located in Austin, Beaverton, La Gaude, Hursley,

Two categories of people will be targeted for education, IP Montpellier and Beijing. The labs provide an environment for engineers responsible for IP transport and session managers re- clients to work with comprehensive solutions using IBM tech-sponsible for putting together the network at layer 5. Topics to nologies with business partner applications. Solutions featured be covered in the curriculum will start with the basics of build- include network transformation, service delivery platforms, ing, operating, and troubleshooting networks and scale up to and BSS/OSS transformation. Several IMS proof of concept proj-more advanced topics such as network expansion and making ects are currently underway at the labs. Ziskin says the labs will them hardened to Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. enable service providers understand how IMS services can be

“Ultimately, we’ll do this in partnership with [others] that delivered within their networks, how they would work within focus on the education piece,” says Dan Dearing, NexTone’s their network, and give them insight on how to leverage their VP of marketing, indicating the company would be making an- legacy networks. V nouncements later this year with organizations that focus on educating technology workers. “We’ll provide the kernel to Mohney is also Online Editor for VON Magazine. Over the past work with the partners to develop the expertise and prolifer- decade he’s experienced two Internet startups (DIGEX, SkyCache/ ate that knowledge. We’re not going to become an educational Cidera) and written for tech publications from BOARDWATCH to company.” The Inquirer. He can be reached at dmohney@vonmag.com.