In what should be billed as the deal of deals that makes VoIP ready for prime time, Boeing has decided that no one gets fired for buying Cisco. The giant government integrator and aircraft manufacturer has decided that when it comes to VoIP, Cisco is the way to go.
Boeing, the US aerospace group, is expected to announce today that it plans to roll out one of the world’s largest internet telephony networks over the next few years. Equipment maker Cisco Systems hopes the contract will help demonstrate that voice over internet protocol (VoIP) is ready for large-scale deployment.
What this means is the stratosphere for Cisco, and lots of work for Boeing.
By winning the Boeing business, Cisco clearly has both feet in the door for future work that Boeing will be involved with for many years to come. For Boeing, they’ve made a safe decision that validates that Cisco’s platform and technology, though not at the bleeding edge, is good enough for government work.
While many other companies will covet the business, if looked at intelligently, the decision to go VoIP across the board by Boeing means that VoIP is clearly ready to take its space inside the largest of enterprise organizations the world over. While lots of early wins will go to Cisco, there are many players on the board and lots of choices to be made. Of course, choosing Cisco won’t be a wrong move. It just may not be the best move for every company. But for an organization the size of Boeing, it likely was the only way they could fly.