News for and about the Internet2 community

[Todd Sedmak <>]

Internet2 NET+ SIP Program with Hosted PBX Offers Lower Total Cost 

Of Ownership to Internet2 Members than Other Cloud Offerings

Emeryville, CA—Feb. 19, 2013--A new case study available today from Constellation Research exploring the benefits of hosted

solutions shows that SIP Services – facilitated by Internet2 and powered by Aastra Clearspan®

-- deliver a lower total cost of ownership than equivalent cloud-based offerings and

comparable total cost of ownership with premise-based communications solutions. The study

compares proposal responses for 13 different communications solutions, some premise-based

and some cloud solutions.

A new case study available today from Constellation Research shows that SIP Services – facilitated by

Internet2 and powered by Aastra Clearspan® -- deliver a lower total cost of ownership than equivalent cloudbased

offerings and comparable total cost of ownership with premise-based communications solutions. The

study compares proposal responses for 13 different communications solutions, some premise-based and some

cloud solutions. The proposal was for a 2,000 person, multi-location, unified communications solution and fiveyear

costs were normalized to enable an accurate comparison.

“Our data show that the total cost of ownership for cloud-based communications solutions is almost always

higher than it is for premises-based offerings,” said Dr. Brent Kelly, vice president and principal analyst,

Constellation Research. “A notable exception is that the SIP Services offered to the Internet2 community are

less expensive than all other cloud-based competitors, and it compares very favorably with all of the onpremises

offerings as well.”

Several universities are deploying SIP Services and working together to further develop features and

functionality tuned to work particularly well in a research and education environment. The early adopter

campuses include Texas A&M University, Tulane University, and University of Maryland, Baltimore County

with general availability to all eligible campuses spring 2013.

Beyond the specific technology features of the SIP Services, the cloud-based communication solution preserves

capital by moving to a subscription basis and provides built-in geo-redundancy and the ability to redeploy

scarce internal IT resources to focus on local institutional priorities. In addition, the SIP Services integrate with

the public switched telephone network for local off-net calling and for long distance, provided by Level 3

Communications. Alternatively, universities can use their existing providers for local and long distance dialing

by deploying an on-premises telephony gateway. Monthly basic SIP Services including voice and voice

messaging start at about $6 per user.

“The white paper reinforces that Internet2 members now have a scalable and cost effective way to leverage

unified communications that is quick to implement, preserves capital, less costly, easy to maintain and provides

a lower total cost of ownership over time,” said Internet2 Sr. Vice President Shel Waggener. “The community

collaboration results in easier deployment and a lower cost for institutions as more members subscribe.”

The Hosted PBX Services are provided using the Clearspan Unified Communications solution from Aastra.

Clearspan is a carrier-grade SIP soft switch for very large enterprises, cost-effectively scaling from 1500 -

100,000+ users. It has a full suite of applications built-in including unified messaging, conferencing, fixed

mobile convergence, and desktop integration. It seamlessly integrates with collaboration platforms and business

To read the entire case study, visit www.aastrausa.com/cloudROI. A more detailed discussion from

Constellation Research of drivers and benefits around cloud communications is also available by visiting

www.aastrausa.com/cloudreport. For more information, visit www.internet2.edu/sip or email

to learn about trialing the service through a pilot program, or register for one of two webinars at 

http://intecom.aastraintecom.com/internet2/register-test.php taking place on February 27 and March 7.

About Internet2

Internet2® is a member-owned advanced technology community founded by the nation's leading higher

education institutions in 1996. Internet2 provides a collaborative environment for U.S. research and education

organizations to solve common technology challenges, and to develop innovative solutions in support of their

educational, research, and community service missions.

Internet2 consists of 220 U.S. universities, 60 leading corporations, 70 government agencies, 38 regional and

state education networks and more than 100 national research and education networking partners representing

more than 50 countries. Internet2 offices are located in Ann Arbor, Mich.; Emeryville, Calif.; New York, NY;

and Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.internet2.edu.

About Aastra USA

Aastra USA Inc. is the US business unit of Aastra Technologies Limited, a company at the forefront of the

enterprise communication market. Headquartered in Concord, Ontario, Canada, Aastra develops and delivers

innovative communications products and applications for businesses. Aastra’s operations are truly global with

more than 50 million installed lines around the world and a direct and indirect presence in more than 100

countries. Aastra is entirely dedicated to enterprise communications and offers IP telephony and Unified

Communications solutions individually tailored to satisfy its customers’ requirements. These range from

feature-rich call managers for small and medium businesses and highly scalable ones for large enterprises,

associated UC applications, integrated mobility, multimedia call center solutions and high definition video

communications to a wide selection of desk phones and cordless terminals. With a strong focus on open

standards, Aastra enables enterprises to communicate and collaborate more efficiently. For additional

information on Aastra, visit our website at www.aastrausa.com.

Todd Sedmak

Internet2

PR & Media Relations Manager

202-331-5373