Enterprise customers will be able to get a bigger bang for their VoIP buck by leveraging several enhancements to Verizon Business' leading global VoIP portfolio.

New capabilities announced Thursday (Dec. 4) include:

• A new Verizon VoIP Interoperability Lab where customers can test drive the compatibility of their premises equipment with Verizon's VoIP or IP Contact Center products.
• Certification of an additional Nortel IP PBX for Verizon's IP Trunking offering.
• Availability in Europe of automatic call rerouting for VoIP customers, to provide business-continuity benefits unavailable in a traditional voice-communications environment.

Verizon VoIP Lab Offers Test Drive

To help U.S. customers advance the use of VoIP, Verizon Business is introducing a lab environment next month where they can test the compatibility and capabilities of customer premises equipment that has not been certified with the Verizon VoIP or IP Contact Center portfolios. By participating in the Verizon VoIP Interoperability Lab, a company can test drive virtually any piece of equipment -- for example, an IP PBX or a Premise Session Border Controller -- during a two-week trial period, using a simple Internet connection and Verizon VoIP or IPCC service (including IP Toll Free and IP Interactive Voice Response). Following a successful trial, customers can then elect to contract for VoIP or IPCC, using their CPE. The Verizon VoIP Interoperability Lab supports multiple services across the enterprise for large-business and government customers.

New IP PBX Platform Affords Greater Choice and Capability

For customers who choose to work with IP PBX equipment that has already been rigorously tested and certified as compatible with the Verizon VoIP portfolio, Verizon Business is adding a new IP PBX platform from industry leader Nortel. The Nortel Communications Server 1000 Release 5.5, a cornerstone of Nortel's Unified Communications platform, offers customers a mobile and highly flexible unified communications technology designed to be the most energy efficient available. Nortel delivers industry-leading unified communications solutions and is the only company to have delivered more than 80 million voice lines and 80 million data ports to its global customers.

The new offering is available to customers in the U.S. and Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Ireland, Italy and Sweden.

Automatic Call Rerouting Helps Maintain Business Continuity

The company is also expanding the availability of its Inbound Failover feature, enabling Verizon IP Trunking and Verizon Integrated Access customers in Europe to benefit from this capability, which previously had been available only to U.S.-based companies. The feature is now available in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Ireland, Italy and Sweden to customers who use Private IP with VoIP.

Inbound Failover automatically forwards calls to another IP address in the event of unforeseen circumstances, a cost-effective feature that will provide business-continuity benefits not available to customers using traditional TDM services.

As a result, customers can leverage load-balancing capabilities that enable them to distribute traffic between IP terminations, enhancing utilization of failover resources. Together, Inbound Failover and load balancing can provide a cost-effective business continuity solution.

Verizon Business is a leader in developing and delivering IP solutions helping large businesses and government agencies transition to VoIP on their own path and pace. Verizon VoIP solutions enable high-quality voice communications in a converged network environment, leveraging Verizon Business' vast national and international footprint and a wide range of innovative features. The Verizon VoIP portfolio also allows customers to use their existing infrastructure, enabling them to mix and match services, whether network or premises-based.