[May 23, 2011]

Edgewater Networks Brings High-End Session Border Controller Functionality to Small and Mid-Sized Businesses

Edgewater Networks (News - Alert) today announced the addition of the EdgeMarc 250 Series Enterprise Session Border Controller to its family of EdgeMarc products. Aimed at small to mid-sized businesses and branch offices of larger enterprises, the 250 Series simplifies the management, improves the performance and reduces the costs of converged voice, video and data networks by integrating enterprise level session border controller features and flexible network connections into a single, easy-to-use device.

The new EdgeMarc 250 Series Enterprise Session Border Controller from Edgewater Networks. (Photo: Business Wire)

"Enterprise Session Border Controllers are becoming an increasingly important gateway for the delivery of Unified Communications services, such as VoIP and video conferencing," said Diane Myers, Directing Analyst, VoIP and IMS at Infonetics Research (News - Alert). "This is true even at the small to mid-sized enterprise level where the challenges of interoperability and policy management can be as vexing as they are to large enterprises."

Edgewater Networks addresses the top challenges for the secure and reliable delivery of enterprise Unified Communications (UC), including device and protocol interoperability, security and policy management, troubleshooting and QoS. While other vendors address these challenges with multiple point solutions, Edgewater provides the only comprehensive solution that:

• Connects - Voice and video devices to VoIP services through protocol mediation
• Protects - Voice and video devices with an application aware firewall
• Optimizes - Voice and video quality through prioritizing and traffic shaping
• Monitors - The quality of real-time communications to simplify troubleshooting

This provides a strong platform for the deployment of UC applications, including SIP Trunking, Enterprise Video, Hosted PBX (News - Alert) and Distributed Office Connectivity.

The EdgeMarc 250 Series is ideal for small to mid-size businesses or for large enterprise branch office installations. It provides a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet WAN, ADSL 2/2+ WA, 8 x 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet switch, 802.11 b/g/n WAP, 4 x FXS ports, 1 X FXO port and 1 X USB port. Key software features include support for up to 10 concurrent calls, VoIP and video aware NAT/firewall, IPSec VPN, protocol harmonization for interoperability of VoIP and video devices, active VoIP line testing, call quality monitoring, survivability, WAN link redundancy, QoS and more.

The EdgeMarc 250 Series is used to connect analog phones, fax machines or small key systems/PBXs to the IP network. It provides a PSTN connection for failover and the ability to route voice and data over alternate WAN links for survivability. These WAN links include ADSL, ethernet or certified broadband wireless cards using the integrated USB port. The integrated Ethernet switch is ideal for workgroup environments and the integrated 802.11 b/g/n wireless access point provides high speed data networking for mobile devices.

"High quality and reliability have always been hallmarks of our business VoIP services," said Arnaud Gautier (News - Alert), Senior Vice President of Product Management at MegaPath, one of the nation's leading providers of broadband data, voice, and managed security services. "The EdgeMarc 250 Series will enable us to provide enterprise-class session border controller features with lower complexity, at a reduced cost."

"As Unified Communications continues to grow, enterprises are seeking a comprehensive gateway for all of their IP communications," said David G. Norman, Chief Executive Officer of Edgewater Networks. "The EdgeMarc 250 Series enables us to extend the benefits of our higher-end solution to businesses of all sizes."

Pricing

U.S. list pricing for the EdgeMarc 250 Series products range from $375 to $652 depending on configuration.

Edgewater Technology

Edgewater Networks' EdgeMarc product line is based on the following innovative technology:

• Adaptive Session Gateway (News - Alert) -- Reduces latency and handles complex signaling transformations. The technology is developed from Edgewater's more than ten years of expertise in interoperability for voice and video devices.
• Session Control And Policy Manager - Recognizes real-time communications devices and applies needed policies, resulting in simplified configuration, reduced installation times and reduced operating costs.
• Traffic Management -- Comprehensive QoS system that enables simplified bandwidth control on access links and the ability to support IP-based communications without being on both ends of the access link.

Edgewater Solution

The EdgeMarc 250 Series Enterprise Session Border Controller is a part of a comprehensive solution that includes EdgeConnect managed Ethernet switches, the EdgeView VoIP Support System and EdgeView Reports. EdgeConnect switches are ideal for converged voice, video and data networks and the EdgeView VoIP Support system is used to troubleshoot network impairments that negatively affect VoIP quality. EdgeView Reports provides network operators with valuable performance information needed to properly maintain today's converged networks.

The Edgewater Networks solution provides broad interoperability with industry leading providers of voice and video equipment. The company's industry-wide Plug & Dial interoperability program includes a SIP trunking certification lab with over 20 PBX models and state-of-the-art automation tools.

About Edgewater Networks, Inc. - Your gateway to IP-based communications.

Edgewater Networks, Inc. is a leading provider of Enterprise Session Border Controllers that connect, protect, optimize and monitor IP-based communications. Edgewater's solution ensures the secure and reliable delivery of converged voice, video and data services while providing the policy management and enforcement needed for today's collaborative communications and applications. EdgeMarc Enterprise Session Border Controllers provide a VoIP and video aware NAT/Firewall, protocol harmonization for interoperability of VoIP and video devices, active VoIP line testing, call quality monitoring, survivability and QoS. EdgeConnect Ethernet switches simplify administration and QoS for converged networks. The EdgeView Reports Server provides visibility into VoIP network performance and the EdgeView VoIP Support System eases the setup, monitoring and management of VoIP endpoints.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6733224&lang=en

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