BellSouth Professional Services
IP Telephony Readiness Assessment
Market Service Description
July 2004
Team Members
Angel Cushma – Equipment Services Product Manager
Kevin Seim – Data Equipment and Services Offer Manager
General
This document serves as the IP Telephony Readiness Assessment Market Service Description. It
replaces all previous IP Telephony Readiness Assessment (a/k/a Voice over IP Assessment)
service descriptions.
Confidential/Proprietary: This document is for BellSouth internal use only, and may not be disclosed outside of BellSouth except
pursuant to a written agreement.
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BellSouth Professional Services
IP Telephony Readiness Assessment
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Who
The BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment primarily targets the following customers:
Segments:
Characteristics:
General Business, Major, and Enterprise
Customers planning to implement an IP Telephony solution or Voice
over IP (VoIP) application. In most cases, these customers will also be
relying upon BellSouth to implement and integrate the solution. All
customers who either receive a failing score on the BellSouth IPT
Snapshot or who do not qualify to receive the Snapshot because of
complex firewall applications on their LAN/WAN are required to have an
IP Telephony Readiness Assessment in order to receive a BellSouth
Engineered Solution to IP Telephony.
What
A BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment is a thorough, un-biased, consultative
examination and analysis of the readiness of the customer’s networking environment for the
migration to an IP Telephony solution – allowing for effective solution planning and deployment. A
customer deliverable includes documentation of all devices and network components,
performance and bandwidth GAP analysis, and final network design including recommendations
needed to insure successful implementation of IP Telephony.
Where
A BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment is available throughout the Southeast and
nationwide.
When
A BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment should be positioned as a pre-sale service for
any IP Telephony solution, including: Cisco AVVID, Nortel Succession, and BellSouth IP Centrex.
The IPT Readiness Assessment should be positioned as “The Next Step” to a failing score when
a BellSouth IPT Snapshot has been performed. However, for those customers who do not qualify
for the IPT Snapshot (due to complex firewall applications in the customer LAN/WAN), The IPT
Readiness Assessment may be the first step in the pre-sale process.
Why
The BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment is a necessary and valuable professional
service that will allow the customer to better prepare their network for a VoIP application and an
IP Telephony solution. Armed with the information uncovered by the Assessment, the customer
will better understand what to expect from IP Telephony in their network. And by properly
preparing their network by taking the prescriptive actions, the customer can ensure the application
will function as expected in their unique networking environment and can be confident in a smooth
transition to their IP Telephony solution.
Confidential/Proprietary: This document is for BellSouth internal use only, and may not be disclosed outside of BellSouth except
pursuant to a written agreement.
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BellSouth Professional Services
IP Telephony Readiness Assessment
How
A BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment is delivered by the BellSouth Communications
Systems Professional Services organization. Quoting is performed in BCS quoting systems (i.e.,
Quote CPE) and is priced on a per-device basis. All quotes and Statements of Work are to be
created by a BellSouth Central Design Engineer and/or Engagement Manager.
Confidential/Proprietary: This document is for BellSouth internal use only, and may not be disclosed outside of BellSouth except
pursuant to a written agreement.
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BellSouth Professional Services
IP Telephony Readiness Assessment
I.
SUMMARY
The BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment compliments BellSouth’s full array of Data
Professional Services, designed to assist your customer with all aspects of planning, designing,
implementing, and operating a successful data network solution. As part of the Planning
Professional Services suite, a BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment provides an unbiased, consultative examination of the readiness of your customer’s network environment for the
migration to an IP Telephony solution – delivering valuable recommendations to ensure effective
solution integration.
The IP Telephony Readiness Assessment is a component of the BellSouth 2004 Quality of
Service Assurance Plan. All customers who choose a BellSouth Engineered Solution to IP
Telephony, that do not use the QoSWorks box*, are required to have an IPT Readiness
Assessment unless they receive a “passing” score on the BellSouth IPT Snapshot*.
*More information about QoSWorks and the IPT Snapshot can be found on Product Encyclopedia
Products Supported
A BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment supports the following IP Telephony solutions:






Cisco AVVID
Nortel Succession CSE
Cisco Call Manager Express
Nortel BCM
Nortel ITG
BellSouth Centrex IP
Confidential/Proprietary: This document is for BellSouth internal use only, and may not be disclosed outside of BellSouth except
pursuant to a written agreement.
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BellSouth Professional Services
IP Telephony Readiness Assessment
Network Assessments are a key component within BellSouth’s Planning Professional Services
suite. Assessments generally focus on a customer’s network traffic across their LAN(s) and/or
WAN(s), with individual offerings including:
 Network Performance Assessments – providing valuable performance statistics to your
customer prior to any major network application or technology additions.
 IP Telephony Readiness Assessments – determining and providing overall network
readiness results and recommendations to customers considering an IP Telephony
solution.
 Network Troubleshooting Assessments – identification and isolation of network
troubles, along with recommended paths of improvement.
Network Assessments are just the beginning to providing a total solution offering to meet the
complex needs of today’s equipment customer. In addition to equipment, a CPE solution
comprises multiple services; all designed to ensure the solution can and will properly integrate
within the customer’s networking environment.
CPE SOLUTION
Infrastructure
M anagement
Services
Services
Planning
Integration
Services
Services
Support
Equipment
Services
BellSouth Professional Services are key to ensuring a customer’s CPE solution is designed
properly, integrates seamlessly, operates at peak performance, and maximizes ROI. The
complex and expensive skill-sets required to implement today’s networking solutions, such as IP
Telephony and Wireless, are beyond the reach of most customers; the right personnel are too few
and too costly to acquire. BellSouth’s Professional Services teams augment the customer’s
Information Technology staff, putting the right people and the right skills to work for the customer.
Even if a customer can afford to employ these skill-sets, utilizing them for CPE solution integration
pulls them away from other vital business tasks, such as strategic planning and development.
Utilizing BellSouth Professional Services allows your customer to focus on other critical business
needs with confidence.
Confidential/Proprietary: This document is for BellSouth internal use only, and may not be disclosed outside of BellSouth except
pursuant to a written agreement.
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BellSouth Professional Services
IP Telephony Readiness Assessment
II.
SERVICE DESCRIPTION
Service Overview
Successfully implementing an IP Telephony solution is a complex task requiring skill, experience,
and planning. Studies show that upwards of 85% of enterprise networks aren’t ready to support
VoIP. A BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment provides a thorough, un-biased,
consultative examination of the readiness of the customer’s networking environment for the
migration to an IP Telephony solution – allowing for effective solution planning and deployment.
A BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness adheres to the following methodology:
 Network Review – gathering and baselining pertinent data across all network elements
that are expected to support the Voice over IP (VoIP) application
 Network Analysis – analyzing all gathered data to identify network issues, performance
gaps, and/or bandwidth concerns that may affect VoIP
 Assessment Deliverable – documentation that includes: all current network devices and
network elements, an analysis that details the overall readiness of the network for the IP
Telephony solution, the impact of current applications on the proposed solution, and the
network recommendations to ensure effective and best-performance integration and
operation
Armed with the information provided by a BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment, the
customer will better understand what to expect from IP Telephony in their network. And by
properly preparing their network by taking the prescriptive actions as outlined by the Assessment
deliverable, the customer can ensure the application will function as expected in their unique
networking environment and can be confident in a smooth transition to their IP Telephony
solution.
Network Review
The first step of a BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment is the Network Review. This
phase is a data gathering and data collection period designed to aggregate information and traffic
patterns from a typical operating cycle within the customer’s network environment. The duration
of the Review engagement of a BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment allows for
complete visibility of the customer’s network utilization – from periods of low network utilization to
peak utilization cycles. Gathering a large data sample allows BellSouth to properly plan and
design the IP Telephony solution for all possible network usage scenarios.
To gather information pertinent to the IP Telephony Readiness Assessment, BellSouth will
monitor WAN circuits, LAN segments, and Point-to-Point Ethernet links, and will poll SNMPcapable devices. Only those circuits, links, and devices that will transport voice traffic will be
monitored or polled. The following data collection activities will be performed utilizing the latest in
network analyzing, assessing, and polling tools:
Confidential/Proprietary: This document is for BellSouth internal use only, and may not be disclosed outside of BellSouth except
pursuant to a written agreement.
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BellSouth Professional Services
IP Telephony Readiness Assessment
WAN Point-to-Point
Circuits
WAN Frame Relay
Circuits
 Identify peak and average circuit throughput and utilization
 Identify circuit errors
 Review Layer 3 protocol distribution
 Identify peak and average throughput and utilization of the
physical circuit
 Identify physical circuit errors
 Review Layer 3 protocol distribution for the entire physical
circuit
 Identify peak and average throughput and utilization of the
individual Permanent Virtual Circuits (PVCs). If the PVCs have
0 CIR, then utilization will not apply
 Review Frame Relay specific information such as
FECN/BECN/DE frames
A maximum of 128 PVCs can be detailed per physical circuit at one time
LAN Segments
Point-to-Point Ethernet
and Gigabit Ethernet
Links
SNMP-Capable
Devices (depending
upon supported
statistics)
 Identify peak and average throughput and utilization of the
segment
 Identify Frame rate and Frame length information
 Review Layer 3 protocol distribution
 Review IP protocol distribution
 Identify top talkers – MAC addresses
 Identify Broadcasts and multicasts
 Review VLAN statistics (if applicable), for up to 128 VLANs at a
time







Identify peak and average throughput and utilization of the link
Identify Frame rate and Frame length information
Review Layer 3 protocol distribution
Review IP protocols distribution
Identify top talkers – MAC addresses
Identify broadcasts and multicasts
Review VLAN statistics (if applicable), for up to 128 VLANs at a
time
 Identify physical errors (for gigabit Ethernet links)
 Review CPU utilization
 Review Memory utilization
 Review Buffers utilization
Interface statistics will vary by interface and typically include utilization
and errors
Confidential/Proprietary: This document is for BellSouth internal use only, and may not be disclosed outside of BellSouth except
pursuant to a written agreement.
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BellSouth Professional Services
IP Telephony Readiness Assessment
Network Analysis
Once the Review phase has been completed and all pertinent data has been identified, the
BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment moves into the Network Analysis phase. During
this phase, the ability of the customer’s network to support the IP Telephony solution will be
established.
A BellSouth Certified Network Engineer will collate, review, and analyze all gathered information
from the Network Review. The Engineer will ascertain if there is sufficient network capacity for
the solution, assess the readiness of each monitored device to support VoIP, analyze bandwidth
for the proposed voice path to determine the ability to support voice traffic, and identify any
network issues or problems that could impact voice quality across the IP Telephony solution.
Assessment Deliverable
Once all pertinent network data has been gathered and analyzed, the BellSouth IP Telephony
Readiness Assessment transitions into the Deliverable phase. During this phase, the BellSouth
Certified Network Engineer constructs an IP Telephony Readiness report based upon current
network conditions, with a consideration of future modes of operation, and presents it to the
customer. The report will include, but is not limited to:
 Summary as to the overall readiness of the customer’s network environment to support the
proposed IP Telephony solution
 Analysis as to the readiness of each observed network device to support Voice over IP
 Bandwidth impact analysis including an identification of the maximum amount of
simultaneous VoIP calls over each network link
 Report of all observed network errors and potential voice-impacting issues
 Recommendations for network/device configuration changes and/or upgrades to best
support the integration and operation of the IP Telephony solution
The IP Telephony Readiness Assessment deliverable is a valuable document that will allow the
customer to better prepare their network for a VoIP application and the IP Telephony solution.
Armed with this document, the customer will better understand what to expect from IP Telephony
in their network. And by properly preparing their network by taking the prescriptive actions, the
customer can ensure the application will function as expected in their unique networking
environment and can be confident in a smooth transition to their IP Telephony solution.
Confidential/Proprietary: This document is for BellSouth internal use only, and may not be disclosed outside of BellSouth except
pursuant to a written agreement.
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BellSouth Professional Services
IP Telephony Readiness Assessment
Pre-Assessment Requirements
In order to perform a BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment, the following information
will be required prior to the engagement:






Test results and analysis from BellSouth IPT Snapshot
Customer contact information for designated single point of contact
Network diagram of the proposed IP Telephony solution (AVVID, CSE, Centrex IP, etc.)
Customer network diagram identifying all links and devices that will traverse VoIP traffic
Link types and link speeds of all circuits that will traverse VoIP traffic
Customer IP addressing scheme
This information will be provided by the customer and the BellSouth account team. If information
concerning the customer’s network environment cannot be provided, then a BellSouth
Professional Services Engineer can perform a Network Survey and Inventory for an additional fee.
A preliminary IP Telephony solution design is required prior to an IP Telephony Readiness
Assessment. It is important that the account team has already established the customer’s IP
Telephony qualifications and expectations, and that the customer has already seen and
understood a preliminary solution design.
Confidential/Proprietary: This document is for BellSouth internal use only, and may not be disclosed outside of BellSouth except
pursuant to a written agreement.
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BellSouth Professional Services
IP Telephony Readiness Assessment
III.
POSITIONING
Target Market
An IP Telephony Readiness Assessment targets any customer considering a VoIP application
and/or IP Telephony solution. The BellSouth assessment can be used for Cisco, Nortel and
Centrex IP telephony applications. The IPT Readiness Assessment targets customers who have
latency sensitive applications, in addition to voice, on their network. Even those customers who
typically in-source LAN/WAN integration, will tend to out-source professional assessment services
that support newer technologies such as IP Telephony, Video and Wireless LAN.
The 2004 Quality of Service Assurance Plan includes the IPT Readiness Assessment as the
second step in the process of Quality of Service. All customers who either receive a failing score
on the IPT Snapshot, or who do not qualify for the Snapshot due to complex firewall applications
on their LAN/WAN, are required to have an IPT Readiness Assessment performed prior to the
implementation of VoIP on their network. The IP Telephony Readiness Assessment is critical to
deliver a BellSouth Engineered Solution to IP Telephony.
Value Proposition
Customer Value Proposition
Expectation A BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment helps the customer to
Setting understand how a VoIP application and the subsequent IP Telephony solution will
work and operate in their unique networking environment. Key analyses outlined
by the Assessment will provide information such as device/network
documentation, bandwidth impact, maximum call volumes, and quality of service
expectations. Without knowing this information upfront, a customer can never
really have a proper expectation as to how IP Telephony will function in their
network.
Effective Planning for the implementation of an IP Telephony solution is a difficult and
Planning complex undertaking – requiring a thorough knowledge of many aspects of data
and voice networking. A BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment is a
critical and essential tool in the planning of that IP Telephony solution. By
thoroughly documenting and monitoring and polling network elements that will
traverse voice, an assessment as to the readiness of each element and the
readiness of the overall network to support a VoIP application can be obtained.
From this baseline, a skilled and experienced BellSouth Certified Network
Engineer can determine the necessary device, configuration, upgrade, and/or
traffic change(s) that need be made to the customer’s network in order to support
the IP Telephony solution, and then make the proper recommendations to the
customer. By taking these recommended actions, the customer can be confident
in the smooth transition to, and the proper operation of, their IP Telephony
solution.
Without performing such an in-depth and thorough examination of the network
environment, and without the corresponding analysis by a Network Engineer
Confidential/Proprietary: This document is for BellSouth internal use only, and may not be disclosed outside of BellSouth except
pursuant to a written agreement.
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BellSouth Professional Services
IP Telephony Readiness Assessment
highly skilled in all aspects and idiosyncrasies of IP Telephony, the customer can
never properly plan for an IP Telephony solution; instead having to deal with
possible-resulting severe network issues as they arise during and after the
solution integration. The long-run costs of not properly preparing a network for IP
Telephony can greatly exceed the relatively small upfront costs of planning.
Additionally, inexpensive VoIP assessment software packages and free IP
Telephony audits do not and cannot provide the comprehensive diagnosis and
detailed recommendations provided by a BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness
Assessment and its accompanying Certified Network Engineer. Following these
detailed prescriptive actions will help the customer to properly plan for a
succession IP Telephony solution integration.
BellSouth Account Team Value Proposition
Retained By positioning a BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment, the Account
Credibility Team can be confident in the solution they are proposing and the subsequent
integration of that solution into their customer’s network. Troubled installations
create backlash for the Account Team and rarely create repeat business; and an
IP Telephony solution lacking this proper up-front planning will certainly result in a
troubled install.
Positioning an IP Telephony Readiness Assessment
demonstrates to the customer the Account Team’s understanding of the
complexity of IP Telephony solution integration and the value BellSouth delivers
by striving to ensure a smooth installation and successful operation.
Increased Professional Services make up the bulk of a CPE solution; from Pre-sale Planning
Sales Services, such as the BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment, to PostRevenue sale Support Services, such as DataCare IP Telephony Manager – services can
amount to significant sales revenues. Adding the appropriate Pre-sale Planning
Service to an opportunity will help the account team reach their sales objectives
quicker.
Downstream Services such as IP Telephony Readiness Assessments allow BellSouth the
Opportunity opportunity to become the customer’s trusted network partner. Services build the
customer’s confidence in BellSouth to help them plan and operate their network at
its peak performance levels. The partnership relationship that ensues can help to
deliver additional network equipment and network service business to BellSouth
and the account team.
Confidential/Proprietary: This document is for BellSouth internal use only, and may not be disclosed outside of BellSouth except
pursuant to a written agreement.
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BellSouth Professional Services
IP Telephony Readiness Assessment
IV.
METHODS AND PROCEDURES
Pricing and Quoting
To simplify the pricing strategy across all BellSouth Planning Professional Services, pricing for
Planning Professional Services is based upon the number of devices in the customer’s
network/network segment. Per-device pricing for the BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness
Assessment adheres to the following schedule:
BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment Per-Device Charges
Qty of Devices
Price per Device
1-100
101-250
251-500
501-1000
1001+
$145.00
$137.00
$130.00
$124.00
$118.00
20 device minimum charge, or $2,900.00
As with all Professional Services, the BellSouth IP Telephony Readiness Assessment is
performed by the BellSouth Communications Systems (BCS) Professional Services team and
therefore utilizes all BCS systems (i.e., Quote CPE, OPIE, etc.). To prepare a quote the Sales
Team simply counts the number of devices in the customer’s network or network segment to be
assessed. Only those devices that will traverse voice traffic should be included in the
device count. The Design Engineer enters the IP Telephony Readiness Assessment product
code (see below) into PQDN, and then inputs the correct quantity of devices. For very large,
complex, and/or unique networks, it is highly advised to contact the appropriate Engagement
Manager for assistance with pricing, as a custom quote may be more appropriate. As part of the
project kick-off meeting, the Professional Services Engineer will ascertain the correct quantity;
should that quantity be different from what was placed on the order, then the order will be
adjusted accordingly. All customer questions as to pricing differentials will be forwarded to the
Sales Team.
Ordering
All standard BCS ordering procedures apply when placing an order for a BellSouth IP Telephony
Readiness Assessment. Standard Statements of Work can be created by the Central Design
Engineering team, and customized Statements of Work can be created by the BellSouth
Engagement Management team. Additionally, it is important to fully provide all pre-assessment
required information to the BCS Professional Services Team (See Pre-Assessment Requirements
section page 8). The information can be forwarded to the Professional Services team via the
Notes screen in OPIE or via direct contact with the appropriate Professional Services Engineer.
IP Readiness Assessment Product Code
Once the number of devices has been quantified, a single product code is used to order The IP
Readiness Assessment.
Description
IP Telephony Readiness Assessment
Product Code
VOIPAS
Confidential/Proprietary: This document is for BellSouth internal use only, and may not be disclosed outside of BellSouth except
pursuant to a written agreement.
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