For years everyone has talked about voice as an application and the possibility of running voice communications in a virtualized environment. The age of Virtualized software based communications is now here.

Virtualization continues to be a leading trend in IT, so long gone are the days when unsupported hypervisor technology prevented real-time applications such as voice from being virtualized. In today’s world, voice virtualization removes the barriers between real-time and traditional line of business applications, enabling your Unified Communications (UC) applications to work to their fullest potential on a virtualized platform – without the risk of delays compromising system effectiveness. When voice applications are virtualized, your telephony hardware can be consolidated right alongside your computing infrastructure, further streamlining your communications network with simplified voice platform administration. With virtualization, your benefits come packaged in a cost-effective flexible infrastructure that allows you to meet capacity and deliver effective disaster recovery methods to ensure business continuity.

Perhaps the most compelling reason for virtualization is a reduction in overall hardware distribution and energy footprint, leading to capital expenditure cost savings. Additional benefits, such as simplifying administration and remote console access from a common hypervisor management system are powerful tools. Virtualization provides the simplicity of centralized access across all communication servers and eliminates the need for discrete hardware platforms traditionally used to support telephony, voice mail, call accounting, and more.

So what are the additional benefits of virtualization, and how can they add the most value to your current strategy? We’ve put a list together of a few key advantages you can yield from a virtualized infrastructure:

1. Reduced number of servers – this can help lower your hardware costs significantly – by as much as 50-70%

2. “Green” adoption methods of VoIP/UC, which results in:

a. Less rack space in the Data Center b. Lower HVAC requirements c. Lower electrical requirements d. Reduced number of server outages

3. Helps expand and promotes the number of applications throughout the enterprise at a relatively nominal cost (primarily for licensing)

4. Enables a cloud-computing model – servers can reside just about anywhere

5. Encourages open standards

6. Allows applications to be centrally run for an entire enterprise

7. Expands redundancy possibilities at a relatively nominal cost

8. Flexibility/Scalability: Apps can be added as needed in less time

9. Less maintenance, less hardware failures

10. Ability to manage voice, unified communications and collaboration just like any other application in your virtualized data center.

Virtualizing applications such as voice and related communication software services will certainly add additional value to your virtual infrastructure investment. With increased efficiencies, significant savings, multi-licensing capabilities and UC now more affordable than ever, virtualization is no doubt here to stay. What’s more, Unified Communications (UC) features such as conferencing, IM, and Presence, can now be deployed alongside other virtualized business applications in your software-based private or hybrid cloud solution. Virtualizing UC, contact center and software-based communications is nothing new for NEC.

We’ve provided you with 10 benefits of a virtualized environment, but the list goes on. Click below to see how the NEC Univerge 3C software based solution incorporates features such as enhanced video and contact center functionality to enhance productivity for your end users and give added simplicity to your IT staff to ensure you’re getting the biggest bang for your buck in a virtualized environment. Ready to learn more about what you can add to your virtualization strategy?