Zultys debuts with SIP-based IP PBX

Zultys Technologies made its US debut this week with the MX1200 - an IP telephony server, or IP PBX - aimed at replacing circuit-switch phone networks in small businesses.

The IP PBX, based on technologies such as Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and an embedded Linux operating system, is targeted at companies with 100 to 4,000 employees. The product is also targeted to compete with similar gear from market leaders Cisco Systems Inc., 3Com Corp., Avaya Inc. and Alcatel SA. The MX1200 could be used to combine voice and data onto a single LAN/WAN infrastructure while integrating applications such as instant messaging, voicemail and e-mail on corporate desktops. The IP PBX is based on an embedded Linux operating system from Monta Vista Linux, and runs SIP, an emerging voice-over-IP call-control and application protocol technology. SIP is considered by some industry observers to be the successor to proprietary call control technologies, as well as previous VoIP standards such as H.323 and Media Gateway Control Protocol.

A single MX1200 supports 20 to 1,200 users, and four boxes can be networked together - locally or over a WAN - to support 4,800 users. (Additional users are added through software license upgrades). The MX1200 supports 25 standard PBX functions, such as call forwarding, call pickup, caller ID, conferencing, intercom and others. An automated attendant is also included, which can be configured with VoiceXML scripts. An automatic call distributor (ACD) feature is also included for configuring call routing and queuing for a call center setup.

The device itself is a two-rack-unit (19-inch-high) appliance integrated with a 28-port 10/100M bit/sec LAN switch. Twelve of the ports have IEEE 802.3af-based inline AC power. The appliance also has eight T-1/E-1 ports and a single long-reach (1.2-mile range) 100Base-FX fiber Ethernet port.

The device comes with eight analog ports for connecting fax machines, analog teleconference equipment or simple phones. Two copper-based Gigabit Ethernet connections are also included for linking MX1200 devices to each other or to a larger LAN switch. Up to 400 hours of voicemail can be stored on an integrated hard drive.

The MX1200 supports quality-of-service protocols such as IEEE 802.1p prioritization and 80.1Q virtual LAN tagging, as well as DiffServ functions. The box can also act as a router, with support for Open Shortest Path First and Routing Information Protocol.

On the client side, the MX1200 comes with SIP-based desktop software called MIXE, which combines an instant-messaging client, corporate directory and presence application. Users can make calls from the MIXE client by clicking on contact names in the application, which rings the SIP-based phones on both the caller and recipient end.

The presence application in MIXE can be used to check the availability of employees. MIXE can also be used to check voicemail messages from a PC or a SIP phone. The client software can integrate with Microsoft Outlook, allowing users to make phone calls by clicking on names in an Outlook directory. (Voicemail is not accessible through an Outlook client, however.)

Zultys does not sell SIP phones, but its product is interoperable with phones such as Cisco’s SIP-enabled 7960 IP phone, as well as SIP phones from IP Dialog, Pingtel, and Snom. A Microsoft Windows XP desktop PC outfitted with a headset and running the SIP-based Windows Messenger application can function as an endpoint with an MX1200.

With its product launch, Zultys is looking to jump into the IP PBX market, which IDC predicts will go from US$2.2 billion in revenue this year to US$6.6 billion by 2007, as businesses begin to migrate away from circuit-switch PBXs to IP-based phone systems.

Zultys, which was founded in 2001, will be going up against many large, well-established players. According to IDC, Cisco was the market leader in IP PBX revenue for the first half of 2002, with 35 percent of the US$500 million in revenue, followed by 3Com with 18 percent and Avaya with 8.5 percent.

The MX1200 will go against systems such as 3Com’s NBX; Alcatel’s OmniPCX 4400; Avaya’s IP600, S8700 and S8300 IP PBXs; Cisco’s CallManager; Mitel’s 3300 Integrated Communications Platform (ICP); Nortel’s Business Communication Manager (BCM) and CSE 1000; Shoreline’s ShoreGear converged voice switches; and Siemens’ HiPath IP PBX.

The MX1200 is available in the US now and costs around US$212,000 for a 1,200-user system, or around US$177 per user without phones. IP phones from supported manufactures range in price from US$200 to US$1,000.