AudioCodes Universal Communications Architecture (UCA)

September 22, 2017

Actuating future-proof universal communications without replacing existing infrastructure.

Unified communications (UC) in enterprise is an essential technological infrastructure that has revolutionized the way the world does business. As we move farther away from PSTN to embrace IP communications, the shift has become palpable, resonating from every corner of just about every industry right into the hands of the consumer.

The future is coming into sharper focus, and the ideal is no longer a dream, it’s an expectation of a certain level of productivity, connectivity, and customer service that can’t be ignored.

Additional benefits of UC include:

  • Reduced cost of communications equipment, infrastructure, and management
  • Reduced energy consumption and carbon footprint
  • Nimble scalability
  • Much improved connectivity and call quality
  • A significant boost in workforce productivity
  • Omnichannel enablement

The costs of communications are already greatly reduced by routing internal and long-distance calls through your IP network, but with the introduction of a least-cost-routing solution such as ARM (AudioCodes Routing Manager), you could see an additional savings of up to 38% on your total communications spend – a significant coercion to entry in this space, among many others.

Modernizing the voice network

As an enterprise grows and evolves, it is likely that numerous communications silos exist, each with its own connection plans and routing needs and policies. Additionally, legacy telecom companies are in a transitional phase, and will soon force companies that have not yet adopted IP telephony to make the move. This will preclude a major shift in technological needs, meaning you will be obliged to make this move sooner or later.

With numerous disparate technologies distributed across any given enterprise, a viable solution is required to modernize the network. A solution such as AudioCodes Universal Communications Architecture (UCA) does just that, connecting existing communications silos without the need to replace existing infrastructure. It also consolidates network security efforts, eliminating the need for session border controllers at every node.

With UCA, the migration can occur gradually and at a pace in keeping with budgetary and operational constraints. This is accomplished by virtue of UCA being able to operate on existing infrastructure while consolidating communications management, shoring up security with system-wide session border control, and optimized call routing through ARM.

As a result, while the public domain moves towards its inevitable transformation, the enterprise with UCA and ARM already in place is ready with a truly future-proof solution that leverages their existing architecture even as it facilitates progress.

The many benefits of UCA

UCA provides a long list of benefits that will benefit enterprise operations. First, and most impactful to the bottom line, is the cost savings, both in call plans and infrastructure needs. By implementing UCA with ARM, a single dial plan can be leveraged across the entire network, even if that network is global in reach.

Communications are managed over corporate WAN, and regional SIP trunks can be established to reduce the cost of connecting to the PSTN.

Migration to UC can be managed in stages in order to minimize disruption to operations while maximizing efficiency.

Centralized management and monitoring of the voice network delivers more reliable connectivity and higher call quality and reduces the overall cost of operation.

Finally, UCA provides next-generation security protocols that protect the entire network from DDoS and other malicious attacks. Instead of having to establish an SBC to protect every outlet, one SBC is sentry to the entire network.

UCA is also compliant with new and emerging global data security policies.

Your communications are consolidated and its management is strengthened, streamlined and simplified to deliver a solution that will empower and support your growth well into the future.

The four pillars of voice network modernization

The fundamental architecture of UCA is based on four pillars:

1. Connect and migrate

This involves consolidating SIP trunk connections through the establishment of regional hubs. SBCs are placed at each branch office, and local PSTNs can be removed or kept, if needed to facilitate backups. This can be done gradually on the way to a full-fledged migration to an all-IP infrastructure.

2. Unify, centralize, and optimize

SBCs unify enterprise communications silos and eliminate signaling incompatibilities.

The UCA then centralizes the enterprise routing management and dial plans, meaning that if a routing change is required, it can be deployed across the entire network with a single action. Management of enterprise call routing is accomplished within ARM, and call quality and bandwidth are optimized and improved by 60% on average with AudioCodes’ VoIPerfect technology when MPLS is unavailable.

3. Secure and comply

the SBC secures the enterprise and all of its branches against malicious attacks, DoS and DDoS, and adds a layer of encryption and authentication that protect against external and internal threats. ARM enforces security policies across the entire network, including S4B, conference calls, and mobile calls.

4. Manage and operate

Management of UCA is conducted through a centralized management solution, AudioCodes’ OVOC, or One Voice Operations Center. Updates and configurations can be pushed out to the entire enterprise, call quality and performance can be centrally monitored, and troubleshooting made easy.

In conclusion, AudioCodes’ UCA is poised to become the foundation of your digital transformation, and the modernization of your enterprise voice network. Paired with ARM, OVOC, and AudioCodes’ SBCs, it will support your growth on any scale, whatever the future has in store.

CCG and AudioCodes: a winning combination

If you are in the process of modernizing your communications infrastructure, there is no better time to deploy AudioCodes’ UCA. Call CCG today to speak to one of our technicians about how easy it is to get started.