IPS, SIMs and NBAD devices will evolve into a post-NAC monitoring function. Their days as single function devices are over. NAC is an architecture and approach to internal thread defense and not a fancy way to authenticate a user and their end point. NAC will subsume IPS, SIM and NBAD functionality into an overall IT security architecture. I explain my thinking in this Lippis Report podcast.

Zeus Kerravala, SVP of Yankee Group's Enterprise Research and Consulting and I provide another layer of analysis to the Networked Business Platform. We discuss the changed role of networking within IT and provide solid examples of why it�s the network that�s the business platform and not an OS or piece of software. We discuss Cisco�s acquisition of WebEx, Five Across and Utah Street Networks and their significance. We voice our disappointment with VoiceCon too. The folks defining the conference are too rooted in legacy telecommunications and don�t get the new era the industry has entered. One indicator was that the buzz on the exhibit floor and conference content were disconnected. Either CMP should shake up the VoiceCon staff or the industry needs a new venue. Enjoy it�s a good one.

We’ve received a lot of e-mail request that the Lippis Report newsletter analysis, the part that I write be available as a podcast. So we’ll try it with Lippis Report Issue 78: The Chief Communications Officer and please give us your feedback on the lippis.com site. I wrote this piece because I’m convinced that the there will be a need for a new position within IT executive management to deal with all the changes that are occurring in networks and communications. I’ve been writing about the network as a business platform which means that networking is evolving from a connectivity service to a service of services which is callable from a WebServices based programming language. Also Communications is undergoing a revolutionary change with unified communications and comm.-enablement. All of this change means that IT executive management needs to focus on it to extract the most value for their corporation. Without any future ado, here is Lippis Report Issue 78: The Chief Communications Officer

Zack Taylor, Avaya Vice President of Global Strategic Solutions, joins the Lippis Report Podcast to discuss how corporations can lower the cost of raising the customer experience through virtualized contact centers. Contact centers are being virtualized to expand an agents pool of knowledge workers that can service customers and quickly resolve issues thus improving the overall customer experience with the firm. How does an organization implement a virtualized contact center? What are the impacts of standards such as SIP, Web Services & SOA on customer service? How can a virtualized contact center enable enterprises to reach beyond the traditional contact center environment to bring more business assets and value into supporting customers? In short how does a corporation create a customer facing organization to deliver competitive advantage through improved customer experience? Zack and I discuss these issues and opportunities, site several customer examples who have deployed this model and explore how Avayas IP contact center enable enterprises to differentiate themselves from competitors and enable them to provide an improved customer experience. Enjoy, Nick