AudioCodes

AudioCodes Ltd.
Public
Traded as TASE: AUDC NASDAQ: AUDC
Industry VoIP, Telecommunications, Communication systems
Founded 1993 (1993)
Headquarters Airport City, Israel
Key people
 Shabtai Adlersberg (Chairman) and (CEO)
Products IP telephony, Media gateways,
VoIP gateways,
Mobile VoIP,
Residential gateway
Revenue Increase US$ 150.04 million (2010)
Increase $ 10.44 million (2010)
Profit Increase $ 12.13 million (2010)
Number of employees
 650 (2014)
Subsidiaries AudioCodes Inc.,
Netrake Corporation,
CTI Squared Ltd.,
NSC Natural Speech Communication Ltd.
Website www.AudioCodes.com

AudioCodes Ltd. designs, develops and sells advanced Voice-over-IP (VoIP) and converged VoIP and Data networking products and applications to service providers and enterprises. AudioCodes is a VoIP technology market leader focused on converged VoIP & data communications and its products are deployed globally in broadband, mobile, cable, and enterprise networks.[1]

AudioCodes' international headquarters and R&D facilities are located in Israel, with branch offices in USA, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, UK, China, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico.

Company history

AudioCodes was established in 1993 in Israel and founded by Mr. Shabtai Adlersberg and Mr. Leon Bialik.[2] Mr.Shabtai Adlersberg had previously co-founded DSP Group, a semiconductor company, in 1987.[3] AudioCodes was established based on its low-bit-rate speech compression technology. The company's first achievement was when its speech compression algorithm was selected by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as a basis for the ITU-T G.723.1 standard.

By 1996 and 1997, AudioCodes has been recognized for its high quality voice over packet chips. Continuing up the “food chain” AudioCodes began building PCI VoIP communication blades. AudioCodes shifted their focus to CompactPCI boards, achieving a transition to a higher capacity enabling the gateway market to take off.

In 1999, AudioCodes was listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange (NASDAQ: AUDC) and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. In 2001 AudioCodes released their first media gateway independent platform, based on existing blade and chip technology. The first product was an analog media gateway followed by a family of media gateways combining analog and digital interfaces. AudioCodes then began to develop and sell high density media gateways and media servers.

AudioCodes entered the field of call recording in 2004 when it acquired Ai-Logix. Ai-Logix’s was a leading provider of advanced voice recording technology and integration cards for the call recording and voice/data logging industries. AudioCodes used VoP communications boards by leveraging Ai-Logix’s technology, strategic partnerships and customer base.[4]

Throughout 2005, AudioCodes partnered with a number of companies such as Microsoft, IBM, Texas Instruments, and MailVision and was able to expand its technology reach and partnerships. These additions enabled the company to announce new products in the media gateways series which supported SIP functionality and Voice over IP Applications for Service Providers and Enterprises. Around this time, AudioCodes also announced VoIP Chip for Analog Telephone Adapters. In addition, AudioCodes’ Mediant Gateway achieved outstanding voice quality results at the European telecommunication standards institute event (January 24, 2005).

Broadsoft joined the list of AudioCodes partners in 2006 when the two companies teamed to help Service Providers streamline VoIP service delivery. By 2009 they had launched a strategic initiative to simplify deployments of IP voice networks.[5] Another significant turning point in the relationship between the two companies was in 2014 when BroadSoft and AudioCodes announced that they were collaborating on "One Voice for Hosted Services". The One Voice initiative included BroadSoft's unified communication services and AudioCodes' IP phones, routers, SBCs and gateways serving as a one stop shop for Service Providers that are offering enterprises next generation VoIP services.

As the decade progressed, the company continued to expand its product portfolio with Session Border Controllers (2006), multi-service business gateways/routers (2008) and IP Phones (2011). Throughout this period, AudioCodes also strengthened its ties with Microsoft and in 2008 attained Gold Certified Partner status.[6] In January 2013, AudioCodes came out with a major announcement when it launched “AudioCodes One Voice for Microsoft Lync”. This is a unified product and service program intended to simplify and accelerate voice-enablement of Lync implementations with a complete portfolio of IP Phones, Media Gateways, Enterprise Session Border Controllers (E-SBCs), Survivable Branch Appliances (SBAs), Session Experience Manager (SEM) network management tools, support and professional services. The program supports smooth migration to Microsoft Lync and co-existence with current telephony systems in multi-site and multi-national deployments.[7] Since the announcement, AudioCodes’ partnership with Microsoft intensified and AudioCodes’ products received Lync qualification. Audiocodes continuously expanded the number of products included in the One Voice for Lync solution.[8]

AudioCodes began working in the call center telecommunications sector in 2003 with VoiceGenie,[9] which was acquired by Alcatel-Lucent-owned Genesys in 2006.[10] The company deepened its footprint in 2011 when it was named a vendor in the Genesys SIP Select program specifically for the company’s Mediant 1000 and Mediant 2000 gateway products, which provide the interface between the PSTN and Genesys SIP Server.[11] In 2012, AudioCodes E-SBC achieved certification from AT&T for SIP Trunking with Genesys-powered contact centers and full certification for its Enterprise Session Border Controllers.[12]

AudioCodes currently has over 15 million VoP ports deployed in over 100 countries. Its High Availability Platforms (Mediant Media Gateways, Mediant Session Border controllers and IPmedia Media Servers) cover the entire spectrum of low, mid and high-density applications for the Service Provider and large Enterprises.

Acquisitions

Solutions

AudioCodes provides a variety of Unified Communications (UC) solutions branded under “OneVoice” including AudioCodes One Voice for Lync, AudioCodes One Voice for Hosted Services and the One Voice Operations Center. Additionally, the company offers solutions for Enterprise UC and PBX connectivity, Contact Centers and Mobile VoIP.

AudioCodes One Voice

AudioCodes One Voice for Lync is a unified product and service program intended to simplify and accelerate voice-enablement of Microsoft Lync implementations. The AudioCodes solution allows Lync to support voice by having all of the integration and support handled by one vendor. The portfolio includes: Lync-compatible IP phones, SBCs and Enhanced Gateways for Lync, Branch Office Survivability, Applications for Lync (SmartTAP recording, Auto Attendant, Fax Server and Campus Mobility within Lync), Management Tools and Professional Services.[15]

AudioCodes One Voice for Hosted Services program enables service providers to connect and treat customers whether they are migrating from legacy trunking to SIP trunking services or onwards migrating to complete hosted PBX and unified communications from the cloud.[16] AudioCodes partners with BroadSoft in promoting this solution of unified communication services. AudioCodes' IP phones, Multi-Service-Business-Routers, SBCs and gateways serve as a one stop shop for Service Providers offering enterprises next generation VoIP services.

One Voice Operations Center - the AudioCodes One Voice Operations Center uniformly manages, monitors and operates the entire AudioCodes One Voice portfolio, including SBCs and Media Gateways, Microsoft SBAs and IP Phones. The software includes Session Experience Manager (SEM), Element Management System (EMS) and SBC Configuration Wizard.

Mobile VoIP Solutions - Offers HD VoIP calls, messaging and presence via mobile devices for enterprise users and service provider consumers. The mobility solutions enable end users to save on cellular calls by utilizing Wi-Fi or cellular data connections for voice calls.

Products

The Company offers a broad range of products including Session Border Controllers (SBCs), Media Gateways, Multi-Service Business Routers (MSBRs), IP Phones, Residential Gateways, Media Servers, Value Added Applications and Professional Services. AudioCodes’ technology, VoIPerfectHD™, relies on the company’s experience in DSP, voice coding and voice processing technologies. AudioCodes’ High Definition (HD) VoIP technologies and products provide an improved voice communications experience.

Enterprise Session Border Controllers (SBCs) – located at the business premises, the SBC acts as the demarcation point between the business’s VoIP network and Service Providers’ SIP-based services such as SIP trunking or hosted unified communications applications. The SBCs consist of High Availability Redundancy, Survivability and Resiliency. It also enables secure and reliable connectivity of remote users within a centralized unified communications or IP contact center architecture. Among the SBC family are also the hybrid SBC products which offer investment protection by supporting gradual migration from TDM to IP, and from PSTN to SIP Trunking supporting SIP and TDM connectivity on the same hardware platform.

Mediant Software E-SBC - a software-only version of AudioCodes’ E-SBC, enabling third-party and OEM vendors to integrate E-SBC functionality into their own communication solutions.

Survivable Branch Appliances (SBA) - a line of enterprise-class integrated CPEs designed to ensure access to data and voice services in the event of a WAN outage. The SBA is a hardware device that ensures the availability of enterprise-wide voice service and voicemail. It also contains a public switched telephone network (PSTN) gateway for use in the event of VoIP failure.

High Definition (HD) IP Phones - improve voice quality and user experience by widely deploying wideband speech codecs across their telephony networks. The AudioCodes 400HD series of IP phones were the first to support OPUS which allows media traverse without transcoding in a mixed WebRTC and SIP environments.

Multi-Service Business Routers - Multi-Service Business Routers are all-in-one devices that allows service providers to provide their business customers an internet connection, connectivity, survivability and security. This allows the end customers to maximize their broadband connections for both data and voice applications.

MediaPack Gateways – An analog media gateways family that provides superior voice technology for connecting legacy telephones, fax machines and PBX systems with IP telephony networks and IP-based PBX systems.

Media Gateways – comprise a line of highly reliable and scalable IP communications platforms that connect VoIP and TDM networks. The Media Gateways serve as a junction between VoIP networks, legacy TDM equipment, and the PSTN.

Residential/SOHO Gateways - Integrated devices that includes router ATA and advanced features. They allow the connection of ordinary analog telephones or fax machines to a Voice over Broadband (VoBB) service. In addition, they support WAN and LAN ports for connecting to data networks and the service provider’s broadband infrastructure. The MediaPack family of residential devices also offer a built-in ADSL2+ modem, multiple antenna wireless LAN connectivity, DECT handsets supporting HD VoIP, Bluetooth interface for connecting cellular phones and optional battery backup.

SmartTAP - a secure and stable call recording solution that enables the recording of key business interactions within any organization. SmartTAP is compatible with VoIP, TDM, and hybrid telephony environments and can be easily configured using an intuitive web-based interface, which simplifies the system deployment and operation.

SmartWORKS - a recording engine that enables software solution providers to incorporate call recording functionality into their applications without having to learn how to integrate into the telephony environment.

VoIP Processors (Chips) - AudioCodes provides a complete line of voice over packet (VoP) processors, suitable for OEM implementations of voice communications over packet networks. Each processor features low bit rate Vocoders, State-of-the-art Echo Canceller and T.38 compliant fax relay. The VoP chip processors are intended for high and medium density gateways, Residential Gateways and Integrated Access Devices (IAD), for client applications such as small gateways and IP phones.

Media Blades – The blade family features media gateway and media server platforms for packet-based applications in the converged, wireline, wireless, broadband access, and enhanced voice services and CTI markets provided to OEMs, network equipment providers and system integrators.

Services and Support – AudioCodes offers services and support through three main channels: Professional Services - allows partners to complement their own services offering with AudioCodes’ modular portfolio of Professional Services. The AudioCodes Academy - holds a comprehensive set of technical training courses for AudioCodes’ partners and customers. The Academy provides several levels of certification and distinct training programs. Customer Support - a global support team provides technical support services, training and consulting that ensure customer care and optimized network performance and availability.

Awards

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The 10 That Established VoIP" (PDF), ILocus, September 2007
  2. ↑ Nicky Blackburn (December 2004), "Success is calling: AudioCodes closes a circle", THE JERUSALEM POST (Online Edition)
  3. ↑ "Shabtai Adlersberg Profile", Forbes.com, retrieved 2010-05-01
  4. ↑ AudioCodes Announces Acquisition of Ai-Logix
  5. ↑ http://www.broadsoft.com/news/2009/audiocodes-and-broadsoft-launch-strategic-initiative-to-simplify-deployments-of-ip-voice-networks/ Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ http://www.audiocodes.com/press-releases/2008-3-6-gold-certified-microsoft-partner Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ http://www.cnbc.com/id/100376754 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ http://www.hala-trading.org/audiocodes-announces-availability-of-400hd-ip-phones-for-microsoft-lync-nasdaq/ Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/audiocodes-and-voicegenie-announce-strategic-partnership-and-successful-completion-of-interoperability-testing-70792987.html Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ↑ http://www.home.alcatel.com/vpr/vpr.nsf/va_TousByIDPere/II07EA01FBF0B66CA1C12571470047FCA9EngII Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ http://www.tmcnet.com/channels/enterprise-sbc/articles/160287-audiocodes-named-genesys-sip-select-call-centers.htm Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ↑ http://www.audiocodes.com/history/2012 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ↑ "AudioCodes Announces Agreement to Acquire Netrake Corporation", CompactPCI and AdvancedTCA Systems magazine, July 6, 2006
  14. ↑ "AudioCodes to Buy CTI2", Light Reading, February 1, 2007
  15. ↑ http://www.ucstrategies.com/unified-communications-strategies-views/audiocodes-one-voice-for-lync-another-take.aspx Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ↑ http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/08/idUSnGNX6DN84h+1d8+GNW20131008 Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ↑ http://callcenterinfo.tmcnet.com/Analysis/articles/340400-interactive-intelligence-names-audiocodes-as-infrastructure-partner-the.htm Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

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